This morning in our study of the Fourth Gospel we come to the fourth chapter and the story of Yeshua and the Samaritan woman at the well. In this chapter Lazarus shows Yeshua moving north, from Judea into Samaria, where He has another important conversation with a person who was completely different from Nicodemus:
Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Yeshua was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Yeshua Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), He left Judea and went away again into Galilee. John 4:1-3 NASB
This three-verse sentence provides the background for what follows. The first two verses of chapter 4 return to the competition between Yeshua and John the Baptist. These verses bring to a close the section that began in 3:22. Verse 3 then provides the transition verse to Yeshua's encounter with the Samaritan woman:
Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Yeshua was making and baptizing more disciples than John John 4:1 NASB
This is the first time the writer described Yeshua as "the Lord." This was appropriate, in view of the superiority of Yeshua that both John and Lazarus had just established (3:28-30, 31-36). But notice that the ESV has "Yeshua" and not "lord":
Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John John 4:1 ESV
Why the difference? Bob Utley states, "Several Greek manuscripts have "Jesus" twice in John 4:1 (i.e., D, NRSV, NJB, REB), but "Lord" is in MSS P66,75, A, B, C, L (NASB, NKJV). However, even with the far better manuscript attestation for "Lord" UBS4 put "Jesus" in the text and gives it a "C" rating (difficulty in deciding)."
This is the only passage in the Gospels where it is recorded that Yeshua's disciples are baptizing. What kind of baptism is it that Yeshua's disciples are giving? It must be a baptism of repentance, similar to the baptism offered by John the Baptist since the baptism of the Spirit cannot be offered until after the crucifixion and resurrection. So for a short period of time Yeshua was doing the very same thing that John was doing: preaching repentance, preaching the arrival of Messiah, in the area of Judea. So John and Yeshua had overlapping ministries. But now John's ministry was decreasing and Yeshua's was increasing. John, who represents the Old Covenant, is being replaced. Yeshua is replacing Judaism.
(although Yeshua Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), John 4:2 NASB
This is a parenthetical note that is typical of Lazarus, this verse points out that Yeshua Himself did not baptize, but His disciples did—or, we could say that Yeshua baptized only by using His disciples as the agents.
Why does Lazarus feel the need to tell us that Yeshua did not baptize? Given the later fragmentation of the early church into leader-oriented schisms:
Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ." 1 Corinthians 1:12 NASB
Paul said:
I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. 1 Corinthians 1:14-15 NASB
I see this as suggesting reasons why Yeshua did not personally baptize those who followed Him. It's easy to see how a group of people who had been personally baptized by Yeshua might think that they were something special. Someone may have started the First Church of those baptized by the Lord Himself.
He left Judea and went away again into Galilee. John 4:3 NASB
The Lord Yeshua had ministered in Judea, but now had come the time to leave Judea and depart again into Galilee. In Judea Yeshua had been preaching repentance and the coming Kingdom just as John the Baptizer was doing. You remember their ministries had an overlapping period of time.
The verb that Lazarus uses here for "left" is a word that can mean something like abandon. He abandoned Judea. Yeshua had ministered in the Temple, he had ministered in Jerusalem. And His ministry had been largely rejected. So when we read that he abandoned Judea, this could be speaking of something that is judicial. This reminds us of what we saw earlier:
He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. John 1:11 NASB
Why does the knowledge that Yeshua's disciples were baptizing more people than John's force Yeshua and the disciples to withdraw from Judea to the Galilee? This point marks the beginning of the Pharisees' hostility towards Yeshua. Since it was not the time for the final confrontation between Yeshua and the Pharisees, the Lord withdrew to the North where the Pharisees had less influence.
It case you may be thinking that Yeshua is running out of fear of the Pharisees, let me remind you what we saw in the last chapter:
"The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. John 3:35 NASB
Yeshua is not the victim of any human impulse. Nobody can touch Him without His permission:
"No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father." John 10:18 NASB
Yeshua is in control, He is leaving because He "must" go through Samaria:
And He had to pass through Samaria. John 4:4 NASB
You didn't have to go through Samaria to get to Galilee. You could go over the coast and go up to Galilee and you would skip Samaria. Samaria was to the north of Judea. Or you could cross the Jordan River and go up the region known as Peria and you would miss Samaria that way. So you could go up to the West and miss Samaria, you could go to the East and you would miss Samaria.
Most commentators say that it was common for travelers from Judea to Galilee to cross the Jordan and travel up the eastern side rather than head directly north through Samaria . Strict Jews avoided contact with the Samaritans wherever possible to avoid ritual uncleanness. But Josephus, however, provides ample assurance not only that the aversion between Jews and Samaritans was strong, but also that Jews passing from Judea to Galilee or back nevertheless preferred the shorter route through Samaria (Ant. xx. 118; Bel. ii. 232; Vita 269).
Who's right? They may all be right. Most Galilean Jews chose to travel through Samaria rather than taking the longer route through Perea, east of the Jordan River, which Judean Jews preferred. The trip from Galilee to Jerusalem via Samaria normally took three days.
So with there being two alternate routes, why does the text say, "He had to pass through Samaria"? The word "had" in this text is the Greek word dei. It is often translated "must" in the Fourth Gospel. It seems that whenever Lazarus uses the impersonal verb dei the necessity involves God's will or plan. Let me give you a couple of examples:
"Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' John 3:7 NASB
"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; John 3:14 NASB
"Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." John 4:20 NASB
"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:24 NASB
So, over and over again we read of the divine necessity. I could go on, but I think you get the point. Oh, one more:
For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. John 20:9 NASB
So why was it that Yeshua had to pass through Samaria? It was a divine necessity, it was God's plan! The phrase, "it was necessary," was a typical Jewish way of saying that it was God's will. Thus the encounter with the Samaritan woman is no accident, but part of God's providential management of history. And let me add here that I think the "must" is prophetic. By going through Samaria Yeshua is fulfilling prophecy. Yeshua deliberately goes through Samaria because He must.
In order to understand what is going on in this chapter between Yeshua and the woman at the well, we need a little history lesson on Samaria. In order to understand why Yeshua "must" go through Samaria, we need to understand the history. What was it historically that caused this hostility between the Samaritans and the Jews?
Let's start at the beginning. After rejecting all people and putting them under the care of lesser gods, Yahweh chose Abraham and entered into a covenant with him. Abraham had a son, Isaac, who gave birth to Jacob, who became Israel:
He said, "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed." Genesis 32:28 NASB
Israel means: "God rules" or "He who rules with God." This is the first use of the term Israel in Scripture. Notice that the name Israel is not first given to the nation—rather, it is first given to an individual, Jacob. So Jacob is called Israel. Jacob marries two sisters, Leah and Rachel. With these two women and their maids came 12 sons, who became the 12 tribes of Israel:
All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. Ruth 4:11 NASB
So Jacob's twelve sons are called the "house of Israel," a term that refers to the twelve tribes, the Nation Israel. Israel, Jacob's sons, were delivered from Egyptian bondage and became a nation at Sinai when Yahweh gave them His Law and entered into covenant with them. They were now called "the house of Israel."
For throughout all their journeys, the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel. Exodus 40:38 NASB
Here the term "house of Israel" refers to the 12 tribes, the nation Israel. Notice that I said, "here" meaning "in this text" the term "house of Israel" refers to all 12 tribes. Some times "house of Israel" is used of all 12 tribes, the majority of times it is used for the Northern Kingdom, but there are some times when it is used of Judah, the Southern Kingdom. For example:
Then He said to me, "Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel." Ezekiel 3:1 NASB
Ezekiel is a prophet to the exiles of Judah, but 78 times in Ezekiel Judah is called the "house of Israel." So we have to determine its meaning from its context.
The twelve tribes of Israel remained united until after the death of Solomon:
Now the LORD was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not observe what the LORD had commanded. So the LORD said to Solomon, "Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant. "Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. "However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen." 1 Kings 11:9-13 NASB
The Kingdom is divided because of Solomon's idolatry. He violated the first commandment:
"You shall have no other gods before Me. Exodus 20:3 NASB
Yahweh is saying that He alone is Israel's Elohim. Other nations had their elohim, but Yahweh was the Elohim of Israel. If there were no other gods, why say this?
'The LORD your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day like the stars of heaven in number. Deuteronomy 1:10 NASB
This phrase is used 279 times in Deuteronomy, and 161 additional times in the Tanakh. Yahweh was Israel's God, and they were to have no other gods before Him.
The text in 1 Kings 11 goes on to say:
It came about at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had clothed himself with a new cloak; and both of them were alone in the field. Then Ahijah took hold of the new cloak which was on him and tore it into twelve pieces. He said to Jeroboam, "Take for yourself ten pieces; for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes (but he will have one tribe, for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel), because they have forsaken Me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the sons of Ammon; and they have not walked in My ways, doing what is right in My sight and observing My statutes and My ordinances, as his father David did. 'Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of My servant David whom I chose, who observed My commandments and My statutes; but I will take the kingdom from his son's hand and give it to you, even ten tribes. 1 Kings 11:29-35 NASB
When Solomon died in 925 or 926 B.C., the Northerners refused to recognize his successor Rehoboam and Jeroboam became their King:
When all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying, "What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; To your tents, O Israel! Now look after your own house, David!" So Israel departed to their tents. But as for the sons of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. 1 Kings 12:16-17 NASB
Verse 20 says:
It came about when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, that they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. None but the tribe of Judah followed the house of David. 1 Kings 12:20 NASB
The 10 tribes elected Jeroboam, a descendant of Joseph's son, Ephraim, as their king. The Temple was in Jerusalem, which was in the Southern Kingdom. So how were the Northerners to worship? They had to travel to Jerusalem. Jeroboam feared that by having to go to Jerusalem the two kingdoms might reunite. So Jeroboam expelled all the priests and Levites. He rejected worship of the Covenant at the Temple in Jerusalem, set up a new Temple on Mt. Gerizim in violation of the Sinai Covenant, and reintroduced worship of the golden calf:
Jeroboam said in his heart, "Now the kingdom will return to the house of David. "If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah." So the king consulted, and made two golden calves, and he said to them, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt." He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. And he made houses on high places, and made priests from among all the people who were not of the sons of Levi. Jeroboam instituted a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast which is in Judah, and he went up to the altar; thus he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. Then he went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised in his own heart; and he instituted a feast for the sons of Israel and went up to the altar to burn incense. 1 Kings 12:26-33 NASB
Later, a Northern king named Omri built the city of Samaria, which he made his capital, the capital of the Northern Kingdom. He also built a temple and an altar to Baal:
He bought the hill Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver; and he built on the hill, and named the city which he built Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill. Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, and acted more wickedly than all who were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and in his sins which he made Israel sin, provoking the LORD God of Israel with their idols. 1 Kings 16:24-26 NASB
So the house of Israel was split into two kingdoms. The 10 Northern tribes were known as the House of Israel. And the 2 Southern tribes were known as the Southern Kingdom or Judah. Both of these kingdoms, Israel and Judah, became harlots and forsook Yahweh:
"And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. Jeremiah 3:8 NASB
They were both immoral and ungodly, but God only divorced Israel. Why was that? He could not divorce Judah, because it was through Judah that Messiah would come:
Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, "Assemble yourselves that I may tell you what will befall you in the days to come. Genesis 49:1 NASB
"In the days to come" is "acharit- hayamim" in the Hebrew which means the "last days." Jacob is talking to his sons (the twelve tribes of Israel), and he pronounces the general evil that would come upon them:
"The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Genesis 49:10 NASB
Yeshua is referred to as "Shiloh," the name meaning: "He whose right it is," and a title anciently understood to speak of the Messiah:
"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity." Micah 5:2 NASB
In Ezekiel we learn more about the sin of these two nations:
The word of the LORD came to me again, saying, "Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother; and they played the harlot in Egypt. They played the harlot in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and there their virgin bosom was handled. "Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. And they became Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah. "Oholah played the harlot while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the Assyrians, her neighbors, Ezekiel 23:1-5 NASB
The Mother is the 12 tribe nation of Israel. The two daughters are the Southern Kingdom, Oholibah, and the Northern Kingdom, Oholah. These two kingdoms came out of Israel as a result of the two wives and two marriages of Jacob. The capital city of Judah was Jerusalem, and the capital of Israel was Samaria. The name "Samaria" eventually came to describe the district in which the city stood, and later even the whole Northern Kingdom.
Later in the 8th century B.C., Yahweh brought judgment on Israel's apostasy and the kingdom was destroyed by the Assyrians:
Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land and went up to Samaria and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. Now this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and they had feared other gods 2 Kings 17:5-7 NASB
The text goes on to tell us:
The sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them until the LORD removed Israel from His sight, as He spoke through all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day. The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon and from Cuthah and from Avva and from Hamath and Sephar-vaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. So they possessed Samaria and lived in its cities. 2 Kings 17:22-24 NASB
After the Assyrians captured the city and terminated the kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C., they deported the substantial citizens and imported 5 different groups of people from the East, who intermarried with the remaining Israelites resulting in a nation of half-breeds, an evil thing for a devout Jew. Worse yet, the true religion of Israel became intermingled with heathen idolatry:
At the beginning of their living there, they did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them which killed some of them. So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, "The nations whom you have carried away into exile in the cities of Samaria do not know the custom of the god of the land; so he has sent lions among them, and behold, they kill them because they do not know the custom of the god of the land." 2 Kings 17:25-26 NASB
So one of the priests whom they had carried away into exile from Samaria came and lived at Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD. But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the houses of the high places which the people of Samaria had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived. 2 Kings 17:28-29 NASB
The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech the gods of Sepharvaim. They also feared the LORD and appointed from among themselves priests of the high places, who acted for them in the houses of the high places. 2 Kings 17:30-32 NASB
So as you can see, Samaria is a total mess. Most of them have been scattered in other countries, and those left had intermarried and were worshiping other gods.
Later, after the Babylonian Exile in the 6th century B.C. when the Southern Kingdom of Judah was allowed to return to the land and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, the Samaritans offered to help rebuild the Temple. When their offer was rejected the Samaritans, in spite, sought in every way to keep the Jews from rebuilding the Temple (Ezra 4:1-5). The same thing happened later when Nehemiah was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem (Neh. 4:1-3).
The Samaritans built a rival temple on Mt. Gerizim opposite Shechem about 400 B.C., which they dedicated to Zeus Xenios. John Hyrcanus, the Hasmonean ruler of Judea, destroyed both it and Shechem about 128 B.C. These actions all resulted in continued hostility between the two groups. The Samaritans continued to worship on Mt. Gerizim, and accepted only the first five books of Moses as inspired, they had what is called the Samaritan Pentateuch, it has a slightly different textual history from the five books of Moses as found in the Masoretic text that we have translated in most of our editions of the Bible.
So the Jews viewed the Samaritans as biological and religious half-breeds. All of these events and factors had led to intense hostility between the Samaritans and the Jews by Yeshua's day. Centuries of enmity left deep-seeded hatred between Jews and Samaritans.
So we have ethnic, racial, and religious issues here that made Jews feel disdain for Samaritans. They were ceremonially unclean. They were racially impure. They were religiously heretical. And therefore they were avoided. We can't properly understand this story in John 4 unless we keep this hostile history in mind.
So in Yeshua's day the Samaritans were scattered among the Gentiles. The ones living in the land were of a mixed race, they lost their identity as Israelites and thus became identifiable only as part of the nations:
Then the LORD said, "Thus will the sons of Israel eat their bread unclean among the nations where I will banish them." Ezekiel 4:13 NASB
Israel is swallowed up; They are now among the nations Like a vessel in which no one delights. Hosea 8:8 NASB
So Israel is among the nations, which here refers to the non-Israelites, she has been swallowed up. But Yahweh promises that one day the two houses will be united:
The word of the LORD came again to me saying, "And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, 'For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions'; then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.' "Then join them for yourself one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. "When the sons of your people speak to you saying, 'Will you not declare to us what you mean by these?' say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand."' Ezekiel 37:15-19 NASB
The text goes on to say:
"Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations and no longer be divided into two kingdoms. Ezekiel 37:21-22 NASB
Notice that verse 21 says, "I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations." This is a promise of restoration:
Then it will happen on that day that the Lord Will again recover the second time with His hand The remnant of His people, who will remain, From Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, And from the islands of the sea. 12 And He will lift up a standard for the nations, And will assemble the banished ones of Israel, And will gather the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth. Isaiah 11:11-12 NASB
The Assyrians had scattered them, but Yahweh had promised to re-gather them. Yahweh says here that He is going to gather Israel, the 10 Northern tribes and Judah, the two Southern tribes. Now watch the next verse:
Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart, And those who harass Judah will be cut off; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, And Judah will not harass Ephraim. Isaiah 11:13 NASB
Ephraim is Samaria. There is going to be peace between Israel and Judah. Yeshua is this peace. Notice also:
Yet the number of the sons of Israel Will be like the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered; And in the place Where it is said to them, "You are not My people," It will be said to them, "You are the sons of the living God." And the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel will be gathered together, And they will appoint for themselves one leader, And they will go up from the land, For great will be the day of Jezreel. Hosea 1:10-11 NASB
Peter quotes this prophecy and applies it to Christians in the first century:
But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY. 1 Peter 2:9-10 NASB
When Peter writes "To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia," he is writing to the house of Israel who were "pilgrims"—they weren't living in the land of their birth. If you look at a map, you will see that the areas of "Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia" was the very area that the Tanakh tells us that the house of Israel was taken to in the Assyrian captivity. Now they are identified as "nations or Gentiles." Peter is writing to these nations, who have become Christians, and he calls them a chosen (race) generation. He says to them, "Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." This is a fulfillment of the promises that God made to the house of Israel through Hosea.
The Samaritans were not God's people, He had divorced them. But there will come a time that they shall be called, "sons of the living God."—this is a title that is in opposition to sons of idols, or other gods. They will once again be called children of the Living God.
I see this prophecy of Hosea as part of what Lazarus meant when he said:
And He had to pass through Samaria. John 4:4 NASB
Yahweh had promised to restore the house of Israel and the house of Judah and that promise is fulfilled in the Gospel. Yeshua had to go through Samaria to take the Gospel to the Samaritans just as He had promised to do. The salvation of the Samaritans is the divine necessity of John 4:4. John 4 fleshes out John 3:16, Yahweh loves the world, which includes Samaritans.