Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John—although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria. —John 4:1-4

It's time for us to stroll into Samaria and examine the subtle yet potent work of our Master. By reading the verses, we learn Jesus had been in Judea. Since the society at this time was agrarian, time was "measured" often by farming lifecycles (preparation of soil, sowing, harvesting, storage, etc.). Based on verse 35 (which we'll come to later), Jesus stayed in Judea for about six months. His primary purpose was to build upon John the Baptist's foundational work, prophesied in Isaiah 40:31: "A voice of one calling: "In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God."

John the Baptist had undoubtedly helped make Jesus a straight path. So much so that Herod Antipas had John imprisoned and later beheaded because he chastised Herod over his wrongful marriage. 

Even though the last Old Testament prophet (John the Baptist) was now aside (and many people were relieved by John's imprisonment), God brought a greater vexation than John had ever been: Jesus! There was no question that John the Baptist's imprisonment caused sorrow for his followers, but his imprisonment made room for a Savior. 

Matthew Henry says it well: "Because John's imprisonment had now made room for him there. That light being now put under a bushel, the minds of people would not be divided between him [John the Baptist] and Christ. Thus both the liberties and restraints of good ministers are for the furtherance of the gospel." 

Think of what Paul said in Philippians 1:12: "Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel."

Friends, when we or something we are stewarding are restrained, held back, or imprisoned, it doesn't always mean Satan is "out to get you." Sometimes, God is determined to do His work His way, which means you need to make room for Christ. It takes a discerning heart, connected to Christ, to know when to fight and release.  

Moving on. The Pharisees had heard about Jesus making and baptizing more disciples than John (we now understand more about John's ministry and whereabouts). The text says that it wasn't Jesus doing the baptizing; it was his disciples. There is such a robust application here for us as believers. Even though someone is saying something, it doesn't make it accurate. 

You don't see Jesus rearing up to correct the Pharisees in this instance (although he does harshly correct them at times). You simply see him leaving Judea and heading to his next divine appointment. He had done his work in Judea, and now more work was set before him. 

It was time for Jesus to head to Galilee because the persecution of Jesus would've led to a quick death, and it was not yet His time (John 7:30). The most practical route was through Samaria, though strict Jews opted for a longer route to bypass Samaria. The Samaritans were a racially mixed group of part-Jew/part-Gentile ancestry. So, both Jews and non-Jews hated them (nothing like being hated by both sides of the table). 

As we talked about in the intro, the Bible was written for us, but not to us. That means we need to dig a little deeper to understand the context more fully when there are historical references. Matthew Henry provides us with some background about the Samaritans and how they came about: 

The Samaritans, both in blood and religion, were mongrel Jews, the posterity of those colonies which the king of Assyria planted there after the captivity of the ten tribes, with whom the poor of the land that were left behind, and many other Jews afterwards, incorporated themselves. They worshipped the God of Israel only, to whom they erected a temple on mount Gerizim, in competition with that at Jerusalem. There was great enmity between them and the Jews; the Samaritans would not admit Christ, when they saw he was going to Jerusalem (Lu. 9:53); the Jews thought they could not give him a worse name than to say, He is a Samaritan. When the Jews were in prosperity, the Samaritans claimed kindred to them (Ezra 4:2), but, when the Jews were in distress, they were Medes and Persians; see Joseph. Antiq. 11.340-341; 12.257. 

If you've ever felt like you don't belong, the Samaritans could relate. You'll see bits of this historical context pop up again as we listen in to the conversation between the Samaritan woman and Jesus; today, let's remember that the Samaritans were not people anyone looked up to. 

Interestingly enough, Jesus Himself charged his disciples in Matthew 10:5 not to enter into any city of the Samaritans. Meaning they were not to preach the gospel or work miracles. Moreover, Christ Himself never preached publicly or did miracles in Samaria. But even though Jesus did not openly preach or perform a miracle, transformative work occurred. 

Suppose you remember the faith of the Canaanite woman in Mathew 15 as she cried out to the Lord about her daughter's healing. Jesus told her that He was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel, but she then reminded him, "Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table." 

Oh beloved, the Lord is not gracious to only the sheep of Israel, but also to those of us who are non-Jewish (we are all one in Christ and co-heirs with Him now because of His reconciliation through death and resurrection!). We may eat “crumbs,” but even those do a miraculously filling work. We saw the impact of those "crumbs" demonstrated in the Canaanite woman's life [the woman's daughter was healed, and Jesus commented on her great faith!]. And, we'll see those "crumbs" do a radical work in the life of this Samaritan woman we're about to meet. 

Verse 4 says, "Now he had to go through Samaria." I love this verse. I almost saved it as a stand-alone study for next week, but it makes a nice cliffhanger. :-) 

Verse 4 is practical in that He did, for logical reasons, have to travel through Samaria to get to Galilee unless He really wanted to take the long way. But, it also has a divine implication in that a work laid upon Christ's heart needed accomplishing. Jesus says in John 6:38, "For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me." 

There was a poor woman in Samaria — a lost sheep from the flock — who needed to be converted. And Jesus was just the divine interruption she needed. 

I can't wait for next week!