B. F. Westcott

Works in Logia

• The Gospel According to St. John: The Authorised Version with Introduction and NotesLondon: John Murray, 1892

What B. F. Westcott says, verse by verse

John 1

• John 1:1–18 · 2 passages

  Though the narrative of St John's Gospel is not marked off by any very distinct line from the introductory verses, it has been generally acknowledged that i. i— 18 forms an introduction to the…

• John 1:1 · 5 passages

  The first sentence of the Gospel offers a perfect example of the stately symmetry by which the whole narrative is marked. The three clauses of which it consists are set side by side (...and...…

• John 1:2

  2. In passing from the thought of the Personal Being of the Word in Himself to the revelation of the Word, the Evangelist brings the revelation into the closest connexion with the essential Nature…

• John 1:3–4

  The original words admit two very distinct divisions. The last clause of v. 3 may be taken either (1) with the words which precede, as A.V., or (2) with the words which follow. It…

• John 1:3 · 2 passages

  The exact form expresses all things taken severally, and not all things regarded as a defined whole. The thought to be brought out is that of the vast multiplicity of created things (spirits, matter,…

• John 1:4

  The works of the Word supplied for a time, from within and from without, that which He supplied more completely by His personal manifestations (ix. 5, note), and afterwards by His historical Presence (viii.…

• John 1:5 · 2 passages

  5. In v. 4 the divine essence and the divine purpose of creation are declared from the side of God ; in v. 5 the Evangelist describes the actual state of things from the…

• John 1:6–8

  6 — 8. The office of prophecy is shewn through the work of the Baptist; of whom the Evangelist speaks in regard to his personality (v. 6), the end of his mission (v. 7),…

• John 1:7

  On the idea of "witness" see Introd. The office of the prophet in the fullest sense is to make known Another. This office had been fulfilled "in many parts and in many fashions" by…

• John 1:8

  From this passage and other similar passages (v. 20, iii. 26 ff.) it has been plausibly argued that the Evangelist was familiar with some who unduly exalted the Baptist. ...

• John 1:9 · 2 passages

  But it seems best to take it more literally and yet more generally as describing a coming which was progressive, slowly accomplished, combined with a permanent being, so that both the verb (was) and…

• John 1:10

  Comp. v. 5, note. It is impossible to refer these words simply to the historical Presence of the Word in Jesus as witnessed to by the Baptist. The whole scope and connexion of the…

• John 1:11

  11. The Evangelist now passes from the universal action of the Word as the Light to His special action. Creation and mankind were His, and not unvisited by Him ; but in " the…

• John 1:12 · 2 passages

  12. The Jews as a nation did not receive Christ as Him for whose advent they had been disciplined; but this national rejection was qualified by the personal belief of some. These however believed…

• John 1:13 · 2 passages

  13. The spring of the new life to which the believer has "right" lies solely in God. The beginning of it cannot be found in the combination of the material elements, by which physical…

• John 1:14 · 6 passages

  The Incarnation, which has been touched upon in v. 11 in its relation to the whole course of revelation, is now presented in its essential character. In the former place the Advent was considered…

• John 1:15 · 2 passages

  15. The testimony of John is introduced in the same manner as before, as representing the final testimony of prophecy. John gave not only a general witness to " the Light," but also pointed…

• John 1:16 · 2 passages

  ... St Paul says that "all the fulness dwelt" in Christ (i. 19), and more definitely, that " all the fulness of the Godhead dwells in Him," "and ye," he continues, addressing the Christians…

• John 1:17

  The Law is represented as an addition to the essential scheme of redemption. Comp. Gal. iii. 19 ; Rom. v. 20. It was "given" for a special purpose. On the other hand, the Gospel…

• John 1:18 · 4 passages

  18. This last verse justifies the claim of the Gospel to be the Truth, while it lays down the inherent limitations of human knowledge. It is impossible, so far as our experience yet goes,…

• John 1:19–28

  This mission from Jerusalem, which is not mentioned by the Synoptists, took place, as has been seen, after the Baptism, and was probably caused by some rumours which arose from that event. It may…

• John 1:19–34 · 2 passages

  The narrative of St John starts from the same point as the original Apostolic Gospel (compare Acts i. 22, x. 37, xiii. 24; Mark i. i); but, as belonging to a later period in…

• John 1:19 · 2 passages

  The conjunction takes up the references already made to John's testimony : vv. 15, 6, 7. Thus the history is bound up with the dogmatic Prologue, the transition lying in v. 17 (Jesus Christ)…

• John 1:20

  For the combination compare -v. 3, note. The first term (confessed) marks the readiness of the testimony; the second (denied not) the completeness of it. Both terms are used absolutely. A similar phrase is…

• John 1:21 · 2 passages

  The construction of the original words adopted in A. V. is not found elsewhere in St John, though it occurs in St Paul (Rom. vi. 15, xi. 7). The words can also be rendered,…

• John 1:22

  They said therefore... This consequential (not temporal) then ... is very common in St John ; and it is necessary in most cases to give it the full rendering therefore in order to mark…

• John 1:23

  Or, a voice. The Baptist was simply "a voice of one crying," not invested with a distinct personality (" thou art to me No bird, but an invisible thing, A voice, a mystery"). Moreover,…

• John 1:24

  According to the oldest reading ... the translation is, they had been sent from...

• John 1:25

  They wished to condemn him from his own admission.

• John 1:26 · 2 passages

  The answer is in two parts, and suggestive rather than explicit. " I baptize, because the form of this baptism shews that, however striking outwardly, it does not belong to the work of the…

• John 1:27

  The most probable text gives simply coming after me, which is to be taken closely with the words which precede.

• John 1:28

  This name (Judg. vii. 24 ?) is a mere correction, made as early as the end of the second century (Syr. vt.), for Bethany, which was probably an obscure village in Peraea, and not…

• John 1:29–34

  The inquiries made from Jerusalem would naturally create fresh expectation among John's disciples. At this crisis (the next day) the Lord, who had retired for a time after His Baptism (Luke iv. i), returned,…

• John 1:29 · 6 passages

  Compare -v. 36. Christ was probably coming directly from the Temptation. It was fitting that His active ministry should begin with the solemn recognition by His herald. The omission of the Temptation by St…

• John 1:30

  Literally, according to the true text, in behalf of whom ..., i.e. vindicating whose glorious office as compared with my own.

• John 1:31

  I (emphatic), his precursor, trained for my work in the deserts (Luke i. 80) till the day for my mission came, knew Him not as Messiah (v. 26). From the narrative in St Luke…

• John 1:32–33

  5. The descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ at His Baptism is presented by St John simply as an objective sign to the Baptist. He does not speak of any communication of the…

• John 1:32 · 2 passages

  bare witness. It is important to preserve the identity of language throughout: vv. 7, 8, 15, 19, 34.

• John 1:33 · 2 passages

  The phrase is solemnly repeated from v. 31. The mission and the sign of the fulfilment of the mission are treated in the same way.

• John 1:34

  Rather, I (emphatic) have seen as a fact, without the accessory notion of attentive observation (v. 32), and have given my witness that... So far my experience and my work are now completed. The…

• John 1:35–42

  On this first day of His teaching Christ is recognised by those who have been already prepared to receive Him. The disciples of John are shewn in their true position towards him and his…

• John 1:35–51

  The work of the Baptist passed naturally into the work of Christ. His testimony found a true interpretation from some of his disciples, and they first attached themselves to the Lord. Christ who had…

• John 1:35

  Again the next day John was standing. The picture is one of silent waiting. The hearts of all were full with thoughts of some great change. Was standing: compare vii. 37, xviii. 5, 16,…

• John 1:36 · 2 passages

  having looked on. The word ... describes one penetrating glance, as again in v. 42, the only other place where it is found in St John. Comp. Mark x. 21, 27; Luke xx. 17,…

• John 1:37

  The word expresses the single act as their choice was made once for all. The circumstance has a significance for all time. Christ's first disciples were made by the practical interpretation of a phrase…

• John 1:38

  as He was going away. This action hindered the two disciples from following Him silently and unperceived as they might have done (they . . . followed ... but Jesus ...).

• John 1:39

  According to the most probable reading, Come and ye shall see. The present imperative ... describes an immediate act contemplated as already begun. The act of faith goes first: knowledge is placed definitely after.…

• John 1:40–42

  As to the relation of this meeting with St Peter to the call recorded in Matt. iv. 18 — 22 ; Mark i. 16 — 20; Luke v. i — ii, it may be…

• John 1:40

  The other being St John; v. 35, note.

• John 1:41 · 2 passages

  f indeth first his own brother. The words imply that someone else was afterwards found ; and from the form of the sentence we may conclude that this was the brother of the second…

• John 1:42

  He brought.. .Jesus looked on him and said.

• John 1:43–51

  The record of the fulfilment of John's work in the attachment of his disciples to Christ is followed by the record of the beginning of Christ's work. Jesus now " seeks" and commands (v.…

• John 1:43

  The next day (w. 29, 35) he was minded to go forth... and he/«<&/£...and Jesus saith... The transposition of the subject by the best authorities creates no real ambiguity. Compare xix. 5. The purpose…

• John 1:44

  Defined as Bethsaida of Galilee, xii. 21 ; and identified by Dr Thomson with Abu Zany on the west of the entrance of the Jordan into the lake, and by Major Wilson with Khan…

• John 1:45 · 2 passages

  Probably on the journey. Nathanael was "of Cana in Galilee" (xxi. a). The first disciple who "found Christ," and the first disciple whom Christ " found," became alike evangelists at once.

• John 1:46

  Literally, From Nazareth can any good thing be? i.e. can any blessing, much less such a blessing as the promised Messiah, arise out of a poor village like Nazareth, of which not even the…

• John 1:47

  Nathanael at once accepted the challenge.

• John 1:48

  Nathanael must have overheard the words spoken about him, and found in them some clear discernment of his thoughts (comp. ii. 25), which roused him to this question of surprise uttered without reserve.

• John 1:49

  answered him, according to the best text.

• John 1:50

  The words can also be taken affirmatively; but the same sense is given more forcibly by the question (comp. xvi. 31, xx. 29), which conveys something of surprise that the belief was accorded so…

• John 1:51 · 3 passages

  The word is for Nathanael, but the blessing is for all believers.

John 2

• John 2:1–11 · 2 passages

  The manifestation of the glory of Christ (ii. n) follows naturally upon the recognition of His claims in virtue of testimony and experience. He shews by a significant sign, spontaneously offered in the presence…

• John 2:1–2

  The details of time, place, and persons contribute to the meaning of "the beginning of signs." It was shewn in close connexion with the faith of the first disciples (the third day), at the…

• John 2:1 · 2 passages

  i.e. from the last day mentioned, i. 43. The distance from the place where John was baptizing to Nazareth was about sixty miles, three days journey.

• John 2:2

  Rather, And Jesus also...and (iii. 23, xviii. 2, 5, xix. 39).

• John 2:3–5

  The depth, obscurity, and (at the same time) naturalness of this conversation witness to the substantial truth of the record. The words only become intelligible when the exact relation between the mother of Jesus…

• John 2:3 · 2 passages

  Rather, -when the wine failed, as it might be expected to do from the unexpected addition of seven guests to the party already gathered. The fact that the arrival of Jesus had brought the…

• John 2:4 · 3 passages

  And Jesus saith. These two clauses are joined together closely, just as vv. 7, 8, while vv. 5 and 7 are not connected with what immediately precedes.

• John 2:5

  The Lord's reply left the faith which rests absolutely in Him unshaken. Nowhere else perhaps is such trust shewn. Whether divine help was given through Him or not, so much at least could be…

• John 2:6–8

  The manner of working the miracle is described with singular minuteness and yet with singular reserve. The wine is found to be present ; the water shews the contents of the source from which…

• John 2:6 · 2 passages

  The large number would be required in consequence of the many guests assembled at the feast. They were of stone — as our canon directs fonts to be — since that material is less…

• John 2:7

  The sixth verse is substantially parenthetical, and in thought v. ^ follows v. 5 directly.

• John 2:8 · 2 passages

  Rather, Draw. There is considerable obscurity as to the meaning of these words. According to the current interpretation the water in the vessels of purification was changed into wine, and the servants are bidden…

• John 2:9–10

  The independent witness to the two parts of the miracle establishes its reality. The ruler of the feast declares what the element is, the servants knew what it was.

• John 2:10

  The words are half playful and fall in with the character of the scene. The form of the first part of the sentence is proverbial, and there is nothing to offend in the strong…

• John 2:11 · 2 passages

  Rather, according to the true reading, This as a beginning of his signs . . .

• John 2:12 · 2 passages

  This verse forms a transition. As yet the family life was not broken. Till "His hour was come " in a new sense the Lord still waited as He had hitherto lived.

• John 2:13–17

  The record is a commentary on Mai. iii. i ff. Comp. Zech. xiv. ao f. The first step in Messiah's work was the abolition of the corruptions which the selfishness of a dominant and…

• John 2:13–22 · 3 passages

  It is impossible not to feel the change which at this point comes over the narrative. There is a change of place, of occasion, of manner of action. Jerusalem and Cana, the passover and…

• John 2:13

  ch. xi. 55. Comp. vi. 4. The exact rendering, the passover of the Jews, brings out the sense more clearly. The phrase appears to imply distinctly the existence of a recognised " Christian Passover…

• John 2:14 · 2 passages

  And He found. There is a pause at the end of -v. 13 which must be marked by the commencement of a new sentence. The visit to the Holy City is recorded first, and…

• John 2:15

  as a symbol of authority and not as a weapon of offence. The "cords" ... would be at hand. No corresponding detail is mentioned in the parallel narratives. Jewish tradition ('Sanh.' 98 b, WUnsche)…

• John 2:16

  Since these could not be driven. There is no reason to think that those who sold the offerings of the poor were as such dealt with more gently than other traffickers.

• John 2:17 · 2 passages

  We notice here on the occasion of the first public act of Christ, as throughout St John, the double effect of the act on those who already believed, and on those who were resolutely…

• John 2:18–22

  The act in which the Lord offered a revelation of Himself called out no faith in the representatives of the nation. Thereupon in answer to their demand He takes the temple, which He had…

• John 2:18

  The Jews therefore answered (and so in <v. 20). See i. 22, note. The connexion is with -v. 16 directly.

• John 2:19 · 3 passages

  The phrase here placed in its true context appears twice as the basis of an accusation, (1) Matt. xxvi. 61, note; Mark xiv. 57, 8, and (2) Acts vi. 14. In both cases the…

• John 2:20

  Rather, In forty and six...was this temple built as we now see it. The work is regarded as complete in its present state, though the reparation of the whole structure was not completed till…

• John 2:21 · 2 passages

  The pronoun (i. 1 8, note) is emphatic and marks a definite contrast, not only between the Lord and the Jews, but also between the Lord and the apostles. St John seems to look…

• John 2:22 · 2 passages

  Rather, was raised : so also xxi. 14. The full phrase would be, " was raised by God from the dead," as in the corresponding expression, "whom God raised from the dead" (Acts iii.…

• John 2:23–25 · 2 passages

  The record of the great Messianic work (ii. 14 — 1 6), which was the critical trial of the representatives of the theocracy, is followed by a summary notice of the thoughts which it…

• John 2:23 · 2 passages

  The triple definition of place (in Jerusalem), time (at the passover), circumstance (during the feast) is remarkable. The place was the city which God had chosen : the time was the anniversary of the…

• John 2:24–25

  The original is more exact and expressive: owing to the fact that — for that — He knew ... all men, and because He needed not... (Vulg. eo quod ...quia...). The ultimate reason lay…

• John 2:24

  Compare Luke xvi. n. The kind of repetition would be in some degree, though inadequately, expressed in English by "many trusted on His name ... but Jesus did not trust Himself to them." There…

• John 2:25

  This knowledge is elsewhere attributed to Jehovah (Jer. xvii. 10, xx. 12). It was immediate (of Himself), universal (all men), complete (what was in man, i.e. the thoughts and feelings as yet unexpressed).

John 3

• John 3:1–15 · 3 passages

  The general outline of the discourse can be marked with fair distinctness, and places the relation in which the new order— the kingdom of God. established through Christ— stands to the old in a…

• John 3:1–21

  This first conversation is, together with the Evangelist's comment, the personal application of the general call to repentance, with which the other Gospels open. It is, like the public message of the Baptist or…

• John 3:1

  Now there was a man.... The word man is repeated to emphasize the connexion with ii. 25. Nicodemus offered at once an example of the Lord's inward knowledge of men, and an exception to…

• John 3:2 · 2 passages

  This detail is noticed again in xix. 39 (but not according to the true reading in vii. 50). On each occasion where Nicodemus is mentioned we may see other traces of the timidity to…

• John 3:3 · 3 passages

  not the words, but the thoughts. The Lord's answers to questions will be found generally to reveal the true thought of the questioner, and to be fitted to guide him to the truth which…

• John 3:4 · 2 passages

  It is commonly supposed that Nicodemus either misunderstood the general scope of the Lord's answer, or half-mockingly set it aside. But in fact he employs the image chosen by the Lord in sober earnest…

• John 3:5 · 5 passages

  Christ meets the difficulty by an enlarged repetition of the former statement. As before He had insisted on the I fact of the new birth, He now reveals the nature of the birth. This…

• John 3:6 · 2 passages

  The words describe the characteristic principles of two orders. They are not related to one another as evil and good ; but as the two spheres of being with which man is connected. By…

• John 3:7

  If then this is a necessary law — such is the force of the Lord's words — that the offspring must have the essential nature of the parent, and if the kingdom of God…

• John 3:8 · 2 passages

  In Hebrew, Syriac, Latin, the words are identical (as properly Geist and Ghost) and Wiclif and the Rhemish Version keep "spirit" in both cases, after the Latin. But at present the retention of one…

• John 3:9

  How can these things come to pass ... ? How can this new birth, issuing in a new life, be realised? The idea is of change, transition, not of essence, repose. The emphasis lies…

• John 3:10

  the authorized teacher of the chosen people of God. The definite article ... marks the official relation of Nicodemus to the people generally.

• John 3:11 · 2 passages

  The plural contrasted with the singular w. 3, 5, 7, la (all are unemphatic) is remarkable. It has been explained as a simple rhetorical plural, or as containing an allusion to John the Baptist,…

• John 3:12 · 2 passages

  If I told. As, for example, in what He had just said to Nicodemus of the spiritual birth, though this was but as a sample of the teaching which He had already addressed to…

• John 3:13 · 3 passages

  The transition by "and" is completely according to the Hebrew idiom, which adds new thoughts without defining the exact relation in which they stand to what has gone before. That must be determined by…

• John 3:14 · 2 passages

  The character of the revelation through the Son of Man has been set forth in the former verse, and in this the issue of that revelation in the Passion is further indicated. This mystery…

• John 3:15

  Or, according to another reading, every one that believeth. may have in Him eternal life, according to the familiar formula of St Paul, in Christ. To "believe" is used absolutely v. 12, i. 50,…

• John 3:16–21 · 3 passages

  This section is a commentary on the nature of the mission of the Son, which has been indicated in Christ's words (vv. 13, 14), and unfolds its design (16, 17), its historic completion (18,…

• John 3:16 · 2 passages

  Short explanatory remarks are frequently added in the same way ..., ii. 25, iv. 44, vi. 6, 64, vii. 39, xiii. n, xx. 9.

• John 3:17 · 2 passages

  A transition is here made from the notion of sacrifice, love, gift (v. 1 6), to that of work and authority. ... There are two words equally translated "send," which have different shades of…

• John 3:18–19

  But though judgment was not the object of Christ's mission, judgment is in fact the necessary result of it. This judgment is self-executed, and follows inevitably from the revealed presence of Christ. (Comp. Luke…

• John 3:18

  The change of tense is most significant. In the case of the believer there is no judgment. His whole life is in Christ. In the case of the unbeliever, the judgment is completed ;…

• John 3:19 · 2 passages

  The reality — the necessity— of the judgment of the unbelieving is involved in the recognition of the character of Christ's coming. Judgment is not an arbitrary sentence, but the working out of an…

• John 3:20–21

  The tragic issue of Christ's coming, the judgment which followed it, was due to the action of a moral law. All that has affinity with the light comes to it, all that is alien…

• John 3:20 · 2 passages

  The word rendered evil here ... is different from the common word ... used in v. 19. It occurs v. 29 ; Rom. ix. ii ; a Cor. v. 10 (in each case contrasted…

• John 3:21 · 2 passages

  In addition to the contrast of the verbs already noticed (v. 20), there is a further contrast in the forms of the two expressions "doing ill" and "doing the truth." In the one case…

• John 3:22–24

  For a time Christ and the Baptist worked side by side, preaching "repentance" (Mark i. 15), and baptizing. The Messiah took up the position of a prophet in Judaea, as afterwards in Galilee. (See…

• John 3:22–36

  This section forms the natural sequel to the visit of Christ to Jerusalem. He had offered Himself there with a significant sign as Messiah. The sign was generally not interpreted or misinterpreted; and leaving…

• John 3:22 · 2 passages

  The phrase does not indicate immediate connexion. Comp. v. i, note. The first preaching of Christ was in the temple. When He found no welcome there He spoke in the Holy City: then in…

• John 3:23 · 2 passages

  The Baptist continued to fulfil his appointed work though he had acknowledged Christ.

• John 3:24

  More exactly, For John had not yet been cast... This note of time must be taken in connexion with Matt. iv. 12, 13, 17; Mark i. 14. The public ministry of the Lord in…

• John 3:25–30

  The outward similarity of the work of Christ and of the Baptist gave an occasion (25, 26) for the last testimony of the Baptist to Christ. In the eyes of some Christ appeared as…

• John 3:25 · 2 passages

  The particle ... is one not of time but of consequence : There arose therefore... as a consequence of this double work of baptizing, a question between some of...] Rather, "a questioning (a discussion,…

• John 3:26 · 2 passages

  The title of reverence is emphatic. The speakers first contrast the new Teacher with their own, and then describe his present action. Rabbi, he that was -with thee, in thy company as one of…

• John 3:27–30

  The words of the Baptist meet the jealous zeal, of his disciples. He (1) lays down the principle of revelation (v. 27) ; and then (1) applies it to his own work, both as…

• John 3:27 · 2 passages

  Every contrast of teacher with teacher is harmonized by the truth that each has only that which God has given him.

• John 3:28–29

  The principle stated in v. 17 is applied directly by the Baptist to himself, according to his earlier definition of his work, and, under a figure, to Christ.

• John 3:28

  You need no teacher to meet your difficulty. The zeal which you display is shewn to be mistaken if you only recall what I said. When I announced my mission I declared it to…

• John 3:29 · 3 passages

  The Baptist spoke plainly of himself, but he speaks of Christ's office and position in mysterious language, answering exactly to the situation. That position must be recognised in order that He may be known,…

• John 3:30

  That lies in the divine law of things. Comp. w. 7, 14, ix. 4, x. 16, xx. 9, note; Rev. i. i, iv. i, xx. 3, &c.

• John 3:31–32 · 2 passages

  The earthly teacher, and such were all who came before Christ, is contrasted with the One Teacher from heaven, (1) in origin (of the earth, from above, of heaven), (2) in being (of the…

• John 3:31–36

  This section contains reflections of the Evangelist on the general relation of the Son to the Forerunner, and to the teachers of the earlier dispensation generally. The Baptist had spoken figuratively in the language…

• John 3:31 · 2 passages

  not He that came. The work of Christ is regarded not as past nor as future, but as ever-present (vi. 33).

• John 3:32

  witnesseth. Even after the historical manifestation of Christ on earth has ended, He still speaks through His church. The present here is co-ordinate with the plural in v. ii. In that passage the Lord…

• John 3:33–35

  But even so, though the current of faith was checked, the church was in existence. There were disciples who had received the testimony at an earlier time, and found that in so doing they…

• John 3:33 · 2 passages

  The reference appears to be directly historic, going back to the time when the disciples were first gathered round the Lord.

• John 3:34

  The proof of God's truth is found in the absolute fulness of Christ's spiritual endowment.

• John 3:35

  The ground of what has been said lies in the actual relation of God to Messiah, as the Father to the Son.

• John 3:36 · 2 passages

  The absolute supremacy of the Christian revelation as compared with all that went before is seen in its final issues of life, and incapacity for life.

John 4

• John 4:1–3

  The Lord changes the scene of His ministry that He may avoid a premature collision with the Pharisaic party. Comp. vii. i, x. 39 f.

• John 4:1–44

  This section consists of three parts. The opening verses (1 — 3) form the historical transition from the notice of the teaching in Judaea (iii. 22 ff.). This is followed by the detailed account…

• John 4:1–54

  In looking back over this section (ii. 13 — iv. 54), the signs of harmonious progress in the development of the Lord's work are obvious. At first He stands before men with words and…

• John 4:1

  The word therefore carries back the reader to the narrative, iii. 22 ff. The action which roused controversy was necessarily notorious. Nothing implies that the knowledge of the Lord was supernatural (see ii. 24,…

• John 4:2

  The words are a correction of the report which has been just quoted. Comp. iii. 26. Christ did not personally baptize (comp. iii. 22) because this Judaic baptism was simply a symbolic act, the…

• John 4:3

  The original word is a very remarkable one ... ; and there is no exact parallel in the New Test, to this usage (yet compare ch. xvi. 28). The general idea which it conveys…

• John 4:4–26

  The order of thought in the conversation is perfectly natural. A simple request raises the question of the difference of Jew and Samaritan (4 — 9). The thought of this difference gives occasion to…

• John 4:4–38

  The record of the conversation consists of two main parts, (1) the account of the conversation itself (4 — 26), and (2) the account of its issues (27—38), both immediately (27— 30), and in…

• John 4:4

  i.e. this was the natural route from Jerusalem to Galilee. Josephus ('Antiq.' xx. 5. i) speaks of it as that usually adopted by Galilaean pilgrims; and in one place uses the same phrase as…

• John 4:5 · 2 passages

  So ... he cometh... a city...which is called Sychar...] a city called Sychar, as xi. 54; Matt. ii. 23. The term " city " is used widely, as in the passages quoted, and does…

• John 4:6

  It is important to notice in St John the clearest traces of the Lord's perfect manhood. He alone preserves the word " I thirst" in the account of the Passion, xix. 28.

• John 4:7

  The later legends give the woman the significant name Photina.

• John 4:8

  If they had been present they could have supplied the want. "Something to draw with" (v. 11), a "bucket" of skin, often found by the well sides, would form naturally part of the equipment…

• John 4:9 · 2 passages

  The Samaritan woman therefore saith ... The form in this verse ... is different from that in -v. 7 .... The stress is laid on character as implied in national descent and not on…

• John 4:10 · 3 passages

  The words are, as commonly in St John s Gospel, an answer to the essential idea of the foregoing question. The woman had sought an explanation of the marvel that a Jew should ask…

• John 4:11–12

  The woman's answer is in spirit exactly like the first. Her thoughts reach forward to some truth which she feels to be as yet far from her. How can she conceive of the gift?…

• John 4:11

  The well is at present partially choked up with rubbish. See v. 6, note. In Maundrell's time (March, 1697), it was 105 feet deep and had fifteen feet of water in it. Dr Tristram…

• John 4:12

  The pronoun is emphatic: "Art thou, a poor, wearied traveller, of more commanding power than the patriarch who gained by labour what he gave us?"

• John 4:13–14

  The words of Christ carry on the parable of the tenth verse, and in doing so. still answer the thought and not the words of the woman. They imply that she had felt rightly…

• John 4:13

  More exactly, Every one that... The form of expression is contrasted with the hypothetical whosoever in v. 14. "With this change of form follows also a change of tense ....

• John 4:14 · 2 passages

  in the sense of feeling the pain of an unsatisfied want, Rev. vii. 16. But the divine life and the divine wisdom bring no satiety, Ecclus. xxiv. 21.

• John 4:15

  The relation of the persons is now changed. A greater want supersedes the less. The woman is no longer able to follow the thoughts which lie before her in their mysterious depth ; but…

• John 4:16

  The apparently abrupt transition seems to be suggested by the last words of v. 15. In those the speaker passed beyond herself. She confessed by implication that even the greatest gift was not complete…

• John 4:17

  The words are half sad, half apologetic, as of one who shrinks from the trial conscious of weakness, and who seeks further assurance of power before rendering complete obedience. The command might disprove the…

• John 4:18

  Though the facilities for divorce are said to have been fewer among the Samaritans than among the Jews, there is no reason to suppose that the woman's former marriages were illegally dissolved. That which…

• John 4:19

  The word ... marks contemplation, continued progressive vision, not immediate perception. See ii. 23. We cannot tell in what way the Lord's words were more significant to the woman than to us (see i.…

• John 4:20 · 2 passages

  To the student of the law the exclusive establishment of worship at Jerusalem must have been a great difficulty. To a Samaritan no question could appear more worthy of a prophet's decision than the…

• John 4:21 · 2 passages

  The rival claims of Gerizim and Jerusalem are not determined by the Lord, for they vanish in the revelation of a universal religion.

• John 4:22 · 2 passages

  Your worship, that is, is directed to One with whose character, as He has revealed Himself through the prophets and in the history of His people, you are really unacquainted. You know whom to…

• John 4:23 · 4 passages

  The old differences of more and less perfect knowledge were to be done away.

• John 4:24

  God is Spirit, absolutely free from all limitations of space and time. The nature and not the personality of God is described, just as in the phrases, God is light (1 John i. 5),…

• John 4:25 · 2 passages

  The woman's answer to the declaration made to her helps us to understand why it was made. She had acknowledged the Lord as a prophet, but she felt that such truths could be affirmed…

• John 4:26

  The woman was prepared to welcome Messiah in His prophetic dignity, and in this He makes Himself known to her. Compare ix. 35 ff. In each case the revelation answers to the faith of…

• John 4:27–30

  The conversation being ended, its immediate effects are noticed. The disciples reverently wonder. The woman is filled with a hope beyond hope. Her countrymen are moved by her enthusiasm. The whole picture is full…

• John 4:27

  And... came; and they marvelled. The change of tense, which marks the pause of wonder, requires the insertion of the pronoun.

• John 4:28

  So the woman left... went away... This time the woman's answer is in action. The Lord had set aside His own want: she set aside her own purpose. But she shewed that her absence…

• John 4:29

  The Samaritan woman, like the first disciples (i. 41, 45), at once tells what she has found, and with the same appeal Come, see (i. 46).

• John 4:30

  Omit Then. The result of the woman's message is given abruptly. The trust of the hearers is the measure of her zeal.

• John 4:31–38

  The deeper lessons of the incident are unfolded when the Lord was left alone with His disciples. Their natural and loving request leads Him to point to wants more truly imperious than those of…

• John 4:31

  the disciples. The love of the disciples overpowered their wonder. They strive to satisfy the wants of their Master and not their own curiosity (v. 47).

• John 4:32

  that ye know not; that is meat of which ye know not the virtue and power. Comp. v. aa. For the image, see vi. 27.

• John 4:33

  not venturing to ask more from their Lord. Comp. xvi. 17.

• John 4:34–38

  The train of thought in these verses appears to be this. "My true food lies in working for the fulfilment of my Father's will, and the partial accomplishment of this end is even now…

• John 4:34

  The exact form of the expression ... emphasizes the end and not the process, not the doing . . . and finishing but that I may do... and finish. Comp. vi. 29, xv. 8,…

• John 4:35–36

  The punctuation and reading at the end of verse 35 are uncertain, but it seems best to omit already at the close of it, and to substitute it for and at the beginning of…

• John 4:35 · 2 passages

  These words have been understood in two ways, either (1) as a proverbial saying, marking roughly the interval between some familiar date (seedtime) and harvest; or (2) as a description of the actual state…

• John 4:36

  There is even now work for him to do, which has an immediate reward, and he gathereth fruit which shall not perish or be consumed, but endure unto life eternal. Comp. v. 14, vi.…

• John 4:37

  For herein is the saying... "I say this," so the words imply, " to prepare you by the lesson of your immediate success for future disappointment, for in this spiritual sowing and harvesting the…

• John 4:38

  The words probably point to the successful labours of the Apostles in Judaea (v. 2). At the same time their whole mission was included in their call.

• John 4:39–42

  39 — 42. The ready faith of the woman was found also among her countrymen. As she had looked for a religious teacher in the Christ, they acknowledged in Him "the Saviour of the…

• John 4:39

  Rather, because of the word (v. 41), the narrative ..., and not the simple statement only, of the woman as (or while) she (earnestly, constantly, and not once for all) testified ... ...

• John 4:40

  Their belief went thus far, that they wished to hear more of His teaching.

• John 4:41

  The phrase is comparative, far more (in reference to v. 39), and not positive .... This isolated notice is an instructive illustration of our fragmentary knowledge of the Lord's whole work.

• John 4:42

  More exactly, No longer Is It because of thy speech that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves. The order is remarkable. The word speech ... corresponds with talk in vv. 26, 27.…

• John 4:43–54 · 2 passages

  This notice of Christ's Galilaean work consists of a general account of the welcome which He found (vv. 43 — 45), followed by the narrative of a second "sign" (vv. 46 — 54).

• John 4:43

  After the two days (mentioned in v. 40) he went forth ... thence into Galilee.

• John 4:44 · 2 passages

  The testimony of Christ was the same as the testimony of the Apostles after the fall of Jerusalem.

• John 4:45

  So when He came... The issue justified the proverb. In Galilee, which was not Messiah's country, not even in popular estimation a prophet's home (vii. 52), Jesus found a ready reception. His works at…

• John 4:46

  He came therefore again... In consequence of the welcome which He received He went on to Cana, where He had first " manifested forth His glory" (ii. 11).

• John 4:47

  Literally, went away .... The word emphasizes the thought that the father left his son for the time.

• John 4:48 · 2 passages

  Jesus therefore said... The Lord read the character of the petitioner even through a petition which might seem to shew faith.

• John 4:49

  The faith, however imperfect, which springs out of fatherly love is unshaken. It clings to what it can grasp. Compare Mark ix. 24, which offers a complete spiritual parallel.

• John 4:50

  The assurance thus given is the final test, and it is sustained. So far the father endured without seeing. The crisis of life and death was present; hence it is enough to say "liveth"…

• John 4:51

  met him, saying that his boy ... liveth. Here only (according to the true reading) St John uses the oblique form ("that his boy liveth"), and not as in A. V., the direct ("Thy…

• John 4:52 · 2 passages

  He inquired therefore. ..So they said ......

• John 4:53

  that Jesus was the Christ. Comp. iii. 15 note. The belief in v. 50 is simply belief in the specific promise.

• John 4:54

  More closely: This did Jesus again as a second sign having come (after He came)... The point lies in the relation of the two miracles as marking two visits to Cana, separated by a…