Verse 48 is the climax of John chapter 4, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.”
Did Jesus perform signs and miracles in Samaria? The nameless woman at the well (John 4:4-29) said to Jesus in verse 25, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” All Jesus needed to do was respond in the affirmative in the next verse, and she left the well and her water pot to declare in the village that the Messiah had come.
In verse 39, we read, “And from that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, ‘He told me all the things that I have done.’” The Samaritans invited Him to stay with them.
Jesus was accepted in Samaria because He exposed their sin. The Samaritans were indeed looking for a Messiah, One who would truly save them.
Contrast this to the Jews. First, they were not looking for a Messiah but a king. Second, they had abandoned heart-felt adherence to the law of Moses. Their obedience had been reduced to ritualized works and a self-proclaimed righteousness. Third, belief came primarily through signs and wonders. Fourth, the Jews were often stirred to anger at the teachings of Christ, the very same teachings which the Samaritans accepted.
The dialogue in chapter 3 with Nicodemus is an example. Jesus indicted his unbelief (John 3:10,12), and the whole message of Jesus in chapter 3 centers around belief (John 3:15-18). To believe on Christ, the woman at the well did not need an elaborate explanation of Old Testament prophecy and signs pointing to the fulfillment. She understood the signs of Messiah, namely, that He would declare to the people what they had done. Christ exposed her sin, and she believed. It is clear that the Samaritans were looking for the Messiah, while the Jews were seeking something else.
The contrast between the people is striking. This, then, is why Jesus said in verse 48, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” The Jews hinged their belief on Christ’s ability to overrule nature and provide a benefit to themselves. In other words, even if Christ had made gold grow on trees, the Jews would have only followed Christ for the gold. The Samaritans hinged their belief on Christ on whether He was able to reveal their wrongdoing.
How ready are we to have our wrongdoing exposed, and will we believe when our hearts are convicted? Too often, we still want signs and wonders as evidence before we will believe. A common thread among many self-proclaimed Christians is that they only believe for the benefits. This is also why so many people continue to give money to false teachers on television. They are only giving because they truly believe they are creating a future blessing for themselves. People only gamble for the same reason. Eventually, a gambling transaction will create a payout, and the gambler is oblivious to the personal cost.
And I believe prosperity has much to do with this scene in John chapter 4. Those who are less prosperous or living in nations which are less prosperous are more likely to be receptive along the lines of conduct rather than the benefits of following Christ. Those in prosperous nations and communities are seeking a trade-off. Why trade the poverty of following Christ when profiteering schemes are yielding wealth? Our tendency will be to choose earthly wealth ahead of spiritual treasure, and I believe this is part of what we see in the difference between the Samaritan response and the Jewish response to Christ.
It is obvious that the Jews wanted the benefits Christ offered through the signs and wonders. We see this more fully in John 6:2, and Jesus rebukes them for it in John 6:26-27.
Was the royal officer (John 4:46-54) interested in Christ’s instruction? No, he only requested a benefit from Christ, namely, the healing of his son. A child’s sickness unto death is certainly a serious matter for a parent, and it is likely a distraction even from devotion to righteous instruction. Nonetheless, this is not the only example of requesting a benefit from Christ without any adherence to His instruction.
This scene reveals who we often are as well, wanting the benefits of following Christ without conviction of sin, as the woman at the well experienced, or obedience to Christ’s instruction, which the Jews refused.
The Holy Spirit’s call to obedience is to follow Christ because He is Christ, the judge of the world. As John the baptist warned in Matthew 3, our call to obedience to follow Christ is to flee the wrath upon sin which is to come. Following Christ must not be centered around worldly prosperity, physical health, or the abundance of friends. Following Christ must be rooted in faith and repentance. The core definition of love is that we seek the best for the one loved, even if the worst happens to us. Our love for Christ must not be dependent on what we receive back or our perceived standard of living. Whenever we make our standard of living contingent on our belief in Christ, we do not have a genuine love for Christ.
This lesson is illustrated in the next healing by Christ in John 5:1-15. Could the lame man have truly heard Christ’s teaching, all the while he was lame and suffering? We do see this pattern by Christ that He removes the barrier to faith – the physical ailment is a distraction which would divert all focus and attention to the pain of the moment. However, Christ was not satisfied simply to heal. In verse 14, Christ issues the warning not to sin any longer.
There was a benefit conferred, yes, but it came with an admonition. To be well and whole is not just about physical healing. To be truly well and whole involves spiritual rebirth through the baptism of the Holy Spirit and receiving a new nature. It is the work of the Spirit to root out sin and corruption from our hearts.
If Christ performed any miracles, signs, and wonders, it was all undertaken to lead people to a baptism of the Holy Spirit. Christ said Himself in John 5:36 that His works bear witness to God the Father. Even Nicodemus admitted in John 3:2 that no one can perform these signs and wonders apart from God the Father.
Yet God the Father is not only concerned about healing, overruling nature, removing suffering, and prosperity. God the Father and the Holy Spirit are one, and the work of the Holy Spirit is a baptism by fire and creating a new nature in us. God’s nature is holiness and righteousness, and all else is a proof of His power and existence. God is drawing us into a relationship with Him, and because He is holy, we must be holy. A relationship is impossible if one side only wants a benefit but has no interest in sincerity. If we are sincere in our desire to follow Christ, then our sincerity must translate into repentance, holy living, and an embodiment of righteousness, not for the sake of righteousness but because we genuinely love the Lord.
Through chapter 4, we have a much better understanding of Christ’s promise of everlasting life (John 3:16) and admonition to believe and obey (John 3:36). We must not condition our belief on Christ upon any difference it may make to our standard of living. When the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, it is to enable belief on Christ. Our belief on Christ leads to the Holy Spirit imparting a new nature unto holiness and righteousness. All of this is without any regard for our outward circumstances.
An outcome of this well of water springing up is that the springs are the source of our energy, strength, and character with which we conduct ourselves in the world. In our old nature, we live unto ourselves on our own power and strength. In our new nature, Christ is the source of all the power we have to live for Christ.
While under the old nature, we lived unto sin. The woman at the well declares in agreement that Christ is the Messiah solely because He exposed her sin. In our new nature imparted through the Holy Spirit, Christ demands spiritual purity. The purpose of exposing our sin and convicting us of sin is to induce repentance and abstaining from sin in the future. This is the result of our new nature.
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