John 4:1

John 4:1-3 . When the Lord knew — Without receiving information from any one; how the Pharisees — Whose interest in the sanhedrim was very great; had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John — To shun the effects of their envy and malice, which were hereby excited; he left Judea — After having continued there, it seems, about eight months; and departed again into Galilee — His former place of abode, where the influence and power of the council were not so great, and where his presence was necessary, as the ministry of his forerunner in that country was now brought to a period. It seems the testimony which the Baptist had given to Christ, together with the miracles which he himself had wrought at Jerusalem during the passover, had greatly impressed the minds of the people; so that vast numbers, during his abode in those parts, were continually flocking around him, and many attached themselves to him as his followers; a circumstance which gave great umbrage to the Pharisees. For these men claimed it as the privilege of their sect to direct the consciences of the people, and were therefore enraged to find such numbers of them acknowledging, as the Messiah, one whose birth and fortune so little suited the notions which they had taught concerning the great deliverer of the nation.

The evangelist informs us, that Jesus himself baptized not — Perhaps because it was not proper to baptize in his own name, and because it was of more importance to preach than to baptize, 1 Corinthians 1:17 . Besides, it might have given those who were baptized by him occasion to value themselves above others, as happened in the church of Corinth, where the brethren valued themselves upon the character of the persons who had baptized them. Indeed the baptism properly Christ’s was that of the Holy Ghost, with which Spirit John had foretold he should baptize his followers. See Macknight.

John 4:1-4 account for His being in Samaria; 5–26 relate His conversation with a Samaritan woman; 27–38 His consequent conversation with His own disciples; 39–42 the impression He made upon the Samaritans. The circumstances which brought our Lord into Samaria seem to be related as much for the sake of maintaining the continuity of the history and of exhibiting the motives which guided His movements as for the sake of introducing the incident at Sychar.

Therefore Pointing back to John 3:22, and the controversy which arose about the two baptisms. The Lord See on Matthew 21:3. Knew (ἔγνω) Or perceived. See on John 2:24. Pharisees John never alludes to the Sadducees by name. The Pharisees represented the opposition to Jesus, the most powerful and dangerous of the Jewish sects. Made and baptized Both verbs are in the present tense. The narrator puts himself at the scene of the story: is making and baptizing.

When {1} therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (1) This balance is to be kept in doing our duty, that neither by fear are we terrified from going forward, and neither by rashness procure or bring dangers upon ourselves.

CHAPTER 4 Joh 4:1-42. Christ and the Woman of Samaria—The Samaritans of Sychar. 1-4. the Lord knew—not by report, but in the sense of Joh 2:25, for which reason He is here styled "the Lord."John 4:1-26 Christ talketh with a woman of Samaria, and revealethhimself unto her.John 4:27-30 His disciples marvel; the woman calleth the men ofher city to see him.John 4:31-38 Christ showeth his own zeal to do God’s work, and theblessedness of his disciples, who were to reap thefruit of his labours.John 4:39-42 Many Samaritans believe on him.John 4:43-54 He goeth into Galilee, and healeth a nobleman’s sonwho lay sick at Capernaum. Our Saviour knew as God, from that omniscience which isinseparable from the Divine nature, or as man, by the relation ofothers, that the Pharisees, (who had the greatest stroke in thesanhedrim), and the government of the church of the Jews, had receivedan information concerning him, that he had, by his doctrine which hepreached, and confirmed by miraculous operations,made and (by hisdisciples) baptized more disciples than John, thereby initiatingthem into a new church.

1 . When therefore the Lord knew ] The ‘therefore’ refers us back to John 3:26 . Of the many who came to Christ some told the Pharisees of His doings, just as others told John. the Pharisees ] See on John 1:24 . made and baptized ] Literally, is making and baptizing , the very words of the report are given. This is important as shewing the meaning of the next verse, which is a correction not of the Evangelist’s own statement but of the report. In the Authorised Version S. John seems to be correcting himself: he is really correcting the report carried to the Pharisees. than John ] They did not object so much to John’s making disciples. He disclaimed being the Messiah, and he took his stand on the Law. Moreover, he ‘did no miracle.’ They could understand his position much better than that of Jesus, and feared it less. See on John 6:15 .

John 4:1 . Ἔγνω , knew ) even though none told Him the fact.—[70] ἤκουσαν , heard ) Comp. ch. John 3:25-26 .— οἱ Φαρισαῖοι , the Pharisees ) who were likely to be displeased at it : ch. John 1:24 , “They which were sent to John , were of the Pharisees:” for the Pharisees’ wish was, that disciples should join themselves : Matthew 23:15 , “Ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte.”— πλείονας , more ) See again, ch. John 3:26 , “All men come to Him.” [70] ὁ Κύριος , the Lord) How it has happened that in this passage the Germ. Vers. departs from the margin of both Editions, preferring the name Jesus to the appellative Lord, it is not indeed easy for me to judge. I suspect that there is beneath it rather a lapse of memory, than a change of his critical opinion .—E. B.

(1) When therefore the Lord knew. —The second clause of this verse is given in the exact words of the report which came to the Pharisees: When therefore the Lord knew that the Pharisees heard, “Jesus maketh and baptizeth more disciples than John.” The report which reached John (John 3:26) had come to them also, and the inference from His retirement is that it had excited their hostility. The hour to meet this has not yet come, and He withdraws to make, in a wider circle, the announcement which He has made in the Temple, in Jerusalem, in Judæa, and is about to make in Samaria and in Galilee.

The Lord knew - When Jesus knew. how he knew this we are not informed; whether by that power of omniscience by which he knew all things, or whether some person had informed him of it. How the Pharisees had heard - The Pharisees, here, seem to denote either the members of the Sanhedrin or those who were in authority. They claimed the authority to regulate the rites and ceremonies of religion, and hence they supposed they had a right to inquire into the conduct of both John and our Lord. They had on a former occasion sent to inquire of John to know by what authority he had introduced such a rite into the religion of the Jewish people. See the notes at John 1:25. More disciples than John - Though many of the Pharisees came to his baptism Matthew 3, yet those who were in authority were displeased with the success of John, John 1:25. The reasons of this were, probably, the severity and justness of his reproofs Matthew 3:7, and the fact that by drawing many after him he weakened their authority and influence. As they were displeased with John, so they were with Jesus, who was doing the same thing on a larger scale - not only making disciples, but baptizing also without their authority, and drawing away the people after him.

John 4:1-3 . Ὡς οὖν ἔγνω , κ . τ . λ .] οὖν , igitur , namely, in consequence of the concourse of people who flocked to Him, and which had been previously mentioned. Considering this concourse, He could not fail to come to know ( ἔγνω , not supernatural knowledge, but comp. John 4:53 ; John 5:6 ; John 11:57 ; John 12:9 ) that it had reached the ears of the Pharisees, how He, etc. This prompted Him, however, to withdraw to Galilee, where their hostility would not be so directly aroused and cherished as in Judaea, the headquarters of the hierarchy. To surrender Himself to them before the time, before His hour arrived, and the vocation of which He was conscious had been fulfilled, was opposed to His consciousness of the divine arrangements and the object of His mission. He contented himself, therefore, for the present with the interest which He had already excited in Jndaea on behalf of His work, and withdrew, for the time being, to His own less esteemed country.[181] As to the date of this return, see John 4:35 ; it is an arbitrary invention to say (Lange, L. J . II. p. 515), that upon leaving Judaea He gave up baptizing because John’s imprisonment (?) brought a ban of uncleanness upon Israel (515 sq.). The performance of baptism must be supposed as taking place subsequent to this, when conversions are spoken of ( e.g . John 4:53 ), comp.