John 4:27-54
Dear RTB’ers,
From yesterday, Jesus speaking, I who speak to you am He. (v. 26) This is the first account we have of Jesus claiming to be the Messiah. Strange that He revealed Himself to this Samaritan woman, but He had not made this claim to the Jews from where He had just come! Plus, in today’s reading, Many Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony… (v. 39a) and the Samaritans speaking, It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world. (v. 42b) One wonders why we do not read of continuing faith in Samaria.
An interesting item, So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed Him, having seen all that He had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast. (v. 45) Here we have an additional statement (as I have commented in previous years) about Jesus and His Galilean friends and neighbors going annually to the three feasts in Jerusalem. Recall Him with the scholars in the Temple when He was only twelve years old. We will see in John’s gospel that Jesus makes other trips to Jerusalem (John 5:1, 10:22) in addition to His final week there (John 12:12, ff.). Also, at Pentecost we have people coming to Jerusalem from all over, in addition to the crowd knowing that the disciples were Galileans (Acts 2:7-11).
The healing of the official’s son… Matthew and Luke also recount Jesus healing a Roman official’s son; in their gospels it’s a centurion whose son was ill. (See Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10) From their gospels we get those famous words, Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. (Mt. 8:8; slightly different in Lk. 7:6-7) We allude to this incident every Sunday following the Lord’s Prayer and just before Communion in the Prayer of Humble Access: “We do not presume to come to this your table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your abundant and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table; but you are the same Lord whose character is always to have mercy. Grant us, therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of your dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.”
An appropriate close…
Blessings.
See also: