John – Chapter 4:16-26
4:16 “Go, call your husband and come here” -The connection to 4:15 is the word “here.” In 4:15 this refers to Jacob’s well. In 4:16 it refers to Jesus himself! Jesus is connecting “living water” (the well) with the marriage image “husband.” This is not a new theme. Jesus has already been presented as the bridegroom and his work of salvation as a spiritual marriage (3:29), also the wedding at Cana (2:1-11). Consider also all the OT stories with the idea of marriage associated with a well: the servant of Abraham meets Rebekah (Gen 24:14-18); she becomes wife of Issac (Gen 24:1-67); Jacob meet Rachel (Gen 29:1-30); Moses meets Zipporah (Ex 2:15-22). The Evangelist tells us this is Jacob’s Well, indicating what kind of story this will be. 4:17 “I have no husband” – She has far exceeded the Jewish Rabbinical ethic that women may marry twice and at most three times, although not Scriptural. And Jesus notes that she is living with a man who is not her husband. 4:19 “I perceive that You are a prophet.” – The woman shifts quickly to worship and sacred space. Her sin has been exposed by a prophet. And the prophet’s job is to point to the place of forgiveness, hence her question about the place of worship. The central role of the prophet is the condemnation of false worship, of idolatry, which the prophets depicted as adultery (Ezek 16, 23; Hosea). Consider especially Hosea 2:16, 19-20; Jer 2:13, 3:6-11). Thus the five husbands could be a reference to the five heathen nations who, with their gods, had been displaced and settled in Samaria (i.e. 2 Ki 17). 4:20-26 “Neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem” – A few features distinguish this section “To worship” occurs nine times. The “hour” and “now” both point to end-times, His cross, and sacrifice. The “hour” of Jesus’s cross bears within itself the future worship of all united with Him. This is the longest speech in the section, indicating its climatic importance. Note also the necessity of worship in 4:20, 24. There is a sharp opposition between the worship of the Jews and Samaritans, indicated by “we” and “our” against “you” (plural). But Jesus ignores this argument because He is the new place of worship “in Spirit and Truth” (4:23-24). Jesus as the temple and “living water” is connected (Ez 47:1-12; Joel…