Commentary on the Gospel of John

                                  Chapter Four

                                                                                                                                      Verses 39-42

Many of the Samaritans believed in Jesus because of the woman's personal witness. But they did not believe because of the woman's voice. They believed because they heard the words of Jesus in the woman's voice. All of the Samaritans came to Jesus, and many more believed. But they all confessed to the woman that they did not believe because of her. They believed because they heard Jesus preach the gospel. They were saved solely by the Power of God. This same condition holds true with the local churches. The churches only deliver the message of the gospel. Only the Holy Spirit can cause sinners to repent and believe the gospel. John 16:7-11.

For this reason, no human ever goes to one of the regions of death because God's messengers failed to preach the gospel to that person. God has arranged for His messengers to preach His gospel at certain times and places so that people will hear the gospel preached by the Holy Spirit. God will reward those who obey, and He will punish those who disobey, but His messengers do not win any souls to Christ, and they do not cause any soul and spirit to go to one of the regions of death. Only the Holy Spirit holds the Power to cause sinners to repent and believe the gospel, and the Holy Spirit preaches to every human who ever lived. John 1:9; Colossians 1:20-23. Jesus often preached using parables in order to separate believers with a spiritual nature from unbelievers who could not understand. Matthew 13:13; Matthew 13:34-35; Luke 8:9-10. The messengers in the local churches preach the gospel for the same reason. Nevertheless, In the end of the world God will save all of the unbelievers within the regions of death with a lesser form of salvation when He appears to them in a great worship service as recorded in Revelation 5:11-14.

                                                                                                                                   Verses 43-45

After this great revival among the Samaritans, Jesus returned to Galilee where He had been raised. Jesus testified to them that they would not honor Him even though they believed He was a prophet. The Galileans received Him, but only as a kind of home-grown prophet who could do miracles. Apparently, they blinded themselves to faith that He was the Son of God because of their familiarity with Him. In other words, they believed Jesus to be a kind of local good old boy who made good. For this same reason, some in the churches never become saved by grace because they consider Jesus to simply have been a good and great teacher who once lived on the earth. For reasons of His own, God gave to a group of Samaritans, whom the Jews despised, spiritual natures capable of spiritual faith, and to His own people material natures incapable of spiritual faith while still alive in the flesh.