A Study of John's Gospel

John 4:39-42: Jesus Is The Savior Of The World

Jesus Is The Savior Of The World

A study of John 4:39-42

"Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, "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.""

‭‭John‬ ‭4‬:‭39‬-‭42‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:

-Samaritans: "Σαμαριτῶν"; "Σαμαρίτης", "samaritēs"; proper masculine noun - a Samaritan, an inhabitant of the region of Samaria.

Believed: "ἐπίστευσαν"; "πιστεύω", "pisteuō"; verb - to trust in Christ; through one's agency to be brought to faith. Used especially of the faith by which a man embraces Jesus, i. e. a conviction, full of joyful trust, that Jesus is the Messiah — the divinely appointed author of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God, conjoined with obedience to Christ.

-All The Things: "πάντα"; "πᾶς", "pas"; adjective - everything.

-I Ever Did (Have Done): "ἐποίησα"; "ποιέω", "poieō"; verb - to do a thing.

-Came: "ἦλθον"; "ἔρχομαι", "erchomai"; verb - of persons: to come from one place to another; used of those arriving and of those returning.

-They Asked: "ἠρώτων"; "ἐρωτάω", "erōtaō"; verb - to ask, entreat, beseech.

-To Stay: "μεῖναι"; "μένω", "menō"; verb - in reference to place: to remain, not to depart, abide.

-Two: "δύο", "dyo"; indeclinable noun - two.

-Days: "ἡμέρας"; "ἡμέρα", "hēmera"; feminine noun - of the civil day, or the space of 24 hours.

-We Have Heard: "ἀκηκόαμεν"; "ἀκούω", "akouō"; verb - to hear; to understand, perceive the meaning of what is said.

-Know: "οἴδαμεν"; "εἴδω", "eidō"; verb - to know, i.e. get knowledge of, understand, perceive of any fact.

-Indeed: "ἀληθῶς", "alēthōs"; adverb - truly, of a truth, in reality, most certainly.

-Savior: "σωτήρ", "sōtēr"; masculine noun - savior, deliverer, preserver. The Messiah, Jesus as the Messiah through whom God gives salvation.

-World: "κόσμου"; "κόσμος", "kosmos"; masculine noun - the inhabitants of the world, the human race.

Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

Many of the Samaritan people from Sychar believed in Jesus because the woman told them, "He told me all that I ever did." The people came from the city to the well where Jesus had spoken to the Samaritan woman, and they asked Him to stay with them; so He stayed for two days. And many more people believed during these two days. Then, the people of Sychar told the woman they no longer believed because of what she said, but because they had met Jesus for themselves. And to make it perfectly clear what they believed about Jesus, verse 42 says they believed He is the Savior of the world.

Implication (what does this mean to us):

In the preceding verses Jesus' disciples returned from a food buying errand to find Him conversing with a Samaritan woman. This was quite a shock because Rabbi's at this time did not speak to women in public, and Jews and Samaritans did not get along. But Jesus is different. Although this scene challenged their cultural perspective, they wisely remained silent, correctly assuming Jesus to be in the right. After the Samaritan woman rushed back into town to tell people about Jesus, He spoke to His disciples about the unparalleled delight that comes from doing God's will, and compared it to working in a field at harvest time. From this we learned that fulfilling the role God has called us to in building His Kingdom is far more satisfying than mere physical food that only satisfies for a day at best. And also, by comparison to the time of agricultural harvests, the time to labor in this harvest of souls is now, it will not last long, and it is a team effort led by God himself.