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The growing ministry of Jesus

Text: John 4:1-45

THE GROWING MINISTRY OF JESUS

The Pharisees were well informed. When John the Baptizer came on the religious scene, and began to be popular, immediately they sent people to interview him (John 1).

Another Person had taken center stage. His ministry had become even larger than that of John the Baptizer! The Pharisees must have gauged the success of a person’s ministry by the number of people who flocked to hear the preacher(s).

John practised baptism. The disciples of Jesus also baptized people. The number of people who were baptized by Jesus’ disciples grew so steadily that it drew the attention of the Pharisees. The Jews might not have minded it too much if the multitudes merely came to listen to a preacher. However, when they saw that people were being baptized as disciples of Jesus, then they felt that there was cause for alarm! They would ultimately lose their influence of the masses, if this phenomenon was not checked!

THE DECISION TO RETURN TO MINISTER IN GALILEE

What should Jesus do as He analyzed the situation at hand? Should He stay in Judea and have it out with the Jews? Or should He withdraw from Judea and minister elsewhere? John observed Jesus’ decision on this matter. (Only a disciple close to Jesus would have noted little details like these).

“Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees
had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples
than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize,
but His Disciples), He left Judea and departed again
to Galilee.”
John 4:1-3

If Jesus had remained where He was, it was likely that another delegation of Jews would have been sent to question Him. They had already challenged His authority when He went to the Temple and chased out all those who bought and sold there!

The last thing Jesus wanted to do was to enter into what He knew would be endless and fruitless debate! He had not come to earth to enter into interminable debates with people who did not really want to hear what He had to say. The wisest course of action, as Jesus deemed it, was to return to Galilee, where He first ministered.

ALL IN GOD’S PLAN!

Jesus had ministered in Galilee. He had won His first disciples in this region. His first miracle was in Cana of Galilee.

Then He went to Jerusalem, on the occasion of the Passover. This was His first Passover after John’s declaration that He was indeed “The Lamb of God” (John 1:29). In God’s plan, Jesus ministered in Jerusalem and there drew many who were impressed with Him. Some became disciples and were baptized!

Jesus’ hour had not yet come. It was not time for Him to have a showdown with the Pharisees, and He was certainly not afraid of them. He planned to return to minister in Galilee, and chose a route that would lead Him first to a woman of Samaria, and then ultimately to a whole village of Samaritans.

A SYMBOLIC MINISTRY

The ministry to the woman of Samaria and the Samaritans was symbolic. Jesus was not only showing to His disciples how He ministered. He was showing them how they too would one day minister to others – yes, Samaritans too!

The Disciples could not have guessed that one day they too would be called upon to preach the Word to the Gentiles. For the moment, they watched with astonishment their Teacher minister to a Samaritan woman first, and then to a whole village of Samaritans! Would wonders never cease! Their Teacher has not failed to amaze them again and again.

A BRIEF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The Jews and the Samaritans lived in the same geographical region, but they might as well have been living far way from each other. There was hardly any civil relationship between the two. To say that they had absolutely no relationship at all would be to overstate the case. They would trade with each other, for how else could they have survived? However such things were kept at a minimal and business relationships were kept at a very formal level.

The Jews despised the Samaritans for being a “half-breed” race. They had Jewish blood, and they shared many Jewish customs. However, with the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC under the Assyrians, many of the Jews were assimilated with the Assyrians.

The Assyrians had a programme to disperse their enemies and to integrate them with other races, so that the conquered people could not easily band themselves together and revolt against them. Many of the conquered Jews thought it pragmatic to assimilate, or risk extermination.

The Jews in the South, however, felt otherwise. The Babylonians conquered them, but they formed enclaves, and at great risk, refused to integrate with others. They developed a counter culture. They formed synagogues for the purpose of educating the Jewish community, and to preserve their Jewish traditions.

Hundreds of years had passed by the time Jesus came on the scene. The Jews and the Samaritans had by then developed quite distinct characteristics. As much as the Jews despised the Samaritans, the latter responded with intense hatred!

“BUT HE NEEDED TO GO THROUGH SAMARIA…” John 4:4

There were several routes that Jesus could have chosen to go from Judea to Galilee. The shortest route was this one chosen by Jesus. The other routes would have taken longer, but much more than just convenience was in the mind of the Master. He was going to the Samaritan city of Sychar for a purpose. He had a hidden mission to fulfill. He would lead many Samaritans to salvation!