John, the Scribe, saith
[The Saviour of the World] [Volume I] [Book III]
[Poem XII] Poem XIII [Poem XIV]
Eternal Life.
(The Gospel History, Sections 23 and 24)
He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is of the earth, and of the earth he speaketh: he that cometh from heaven is above all. What he hath seen and heard, of that he beareth witness; and no man receiveth his witness. He that hath received his witness hath set his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for he giveth not the Spirit by measure. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
When therefore the Lord knew how that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples), he left Judæa, and departed again into Galilee. And he must needs pass through Samaria.
John, the Scribe, saith
(The Saviour of the World, Vol I Book III Poem XIII)
Then John, that other John, the scribe who wrote:—
Needs must it be that Christ in all be first!
He cometh from above, and is above;
No other hath ascended into heaven,
And brought us knowledge of the things of God,
Things He hath seen and heard; yet none believes!
When any doth believe, opening his soul,
Such man sets seal to this, that God is true;
For all that God hath through the ages promised
Perceives this man, with sudden joy, in Him
Who is sent of God, speaketh the words of God,
And on whom is that pouring out of the Spirit,
Without or stint or measure, Esaias told of:
These be the signs by which we know Him, Christ!
Such and so great the Father’s love for the Son
That all things, life and death, and health and sickness,
Waters and winds, and all the souls of men,
And all ill demons that oppress men’s souls,
And every other thing man’s mind conceives,—
All these the Father into His hand hath given;—
And more, eternal life for who believes.
But if a man believe not, nor obey,
Seeing the brightness of the Father’s glory,
How shall such wretch escape the Father’s wrath?
When Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard
That multitudes, greater than those had sought
The baptism of John, now flocked to Him
To hear and be baptized, (though He Himself
Baptized not, but His disciples), He left Judæa,
(Tender o’er the grieved hearts that followed John)?
And, journeying slow, as poor men must, on foot,
He trod sequestered paths and beaten way
(Ah, could we find that pilgrim path for our feet!)
Northward, towards Galilee, where He was reared:
Wherefore He needs must through Samaria pass,
Hostile Samaria, south of Galilee.
St. John iii. 31–36.
St. John iv. 1–4.
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Commentary by J. R. Dummelow
Jn 3:31–36. Not, as some think, a reflection of the evangelist, but a continuation of the testimony of the Baptist. The Baptist places Christ (he that cometh from above) at an infinite elevation above himself (he that is of the earth) (v. 31). He declares that Christ came down from heaven, and so can testify to what He has seen there (v. 32). He alone can give the Spirit without measure (v. 34). He is God’s Son; to Him all power is committed; and through faith in Him eternal life is offered. To disobey Him is to incur God’s wrath (vv. 35, 36).
Jn 3:31. Christ’s teaching is as superior to John’s as the heavens are higher than the earth.
Jn 3:32. No man] a rhetorical overstatement. John deplores that the number of Christ’s followers, though great, is as nothing compared with what it ought to be. 33. That God is true (lit. ‘truthful’)] To believe the Messiah is to believe God, for the Messiah is God’s ambassador and interpreter (see the next v.).
Jn 3:34. For he giveth] This may either mean ‘for Christ giveth not the Spirit by measure (to believers),’ or, ‘for God giveth not the Spirit by measure (to Christ).’
Jn 4:1–42. Christ in Samaria. The ministry in Samaria is recorded because it is the author’s design to exhibit Christ as the Saviour, not only of Israel, but of the world (4:42).
The Samaritans were mainly an alien race, descended from the colonists planted in the land by the Assyrians (2 K 17:6, 24, 26, 29 Ezr 4:1, 9, 10). They boasted, however, of being Israelites, and with some degree of justification, for there was probably a considerable Jewish element in the population. Their worship, originally a compromise with heathenism, was now purely Jewish. They kept the sabbath, and the Jewish feasts, and observed circumcision and other traditional ordinances. Of the OT. they accepted only the Pentateuch, which they interpreted as commanding the erection of a Temple on Mt. Gerizim. That Christ should have preached in Samaria is somewhat surprising in view of such passages as Mt 15:24 and 10:5, but it must be remembered that He did not enter Samaria for this purpose, but simply to reach Galilee (v. 3).
Jn 4:1. The Pharisees had been hostile to John’s ministry; they were likely to be more so to the more successful ministry of Jesus. Our Lord, therefore, left Judæa, the chief centre of Pharisaism, to avoid a rupture. 2. Our Lord did not baptise, because it was His work to baptise with the Holy Ghost (1:33), and He could not do this (fully at least) till after His Ascension (see on 3:5 3:22). 4. Must needs go through] Jesus had just heard that Herod Antipas had cast John into prison (Mt 4:12). To escape this fate, He avoided Peræa, the seat of Herod’s power, and passed through Samaria.