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John Chapter 4

    Chapter 4

THE INTERNAL SENSE.

  1. WHEN therefore the lord knew that the Pharisees had heard, that jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,
  2. Though jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,
  3. He left Judea, and departed again into Galilee.
  4. But he must needs go through Samaria.

THAT the lord perceived from his Divine principle in what manner the perverted church was offended at his teaching internal truths, and their prevalence over external, and that thus purification was effected by the truths derived from good, therefore he again applies himself to plant the church amongst the Gentiles, vs 1, 2, 3, 4.

  1. Then he comes to a city of Samaria called Sichar, near to the parcel of ground which Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
  2. But the fountain of Jacob was there. jesus therefore, being wearied with the journey, sat thus at the fountain. It was about the sixth hour.

And first amongst those who are principled in interior truths, in connection with interior spiritual good, thus with the Word, from which instruction is given in the things of love and charity, after a state of spiritual labour, vs. 5, 6.

  1. There comes a woman of Samaria to draw water. jesus says to her, Give to me to drink.
  2. For his disciples were gone away into the city to buy meat.

That on this occasion, they who are principled in the affection of good in that church seek instruction in truth, and this from divine dictate, to the intent that from the doctrine of truth they might appropriate good, vs 7, 8.

  1. Then says the Samaritan woman to him, How is it that you being a Jew ask to drink of me, who am a Samaritan woman? For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
  2. jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of god, and who it is that says to you, Give me to drink, you would have asked of him, and he would have given you living water.

They are therefore inquisitive concerning the divine dictate and its requirements, not being aware of the operation of such a dictate, and are accordingly instructed that it is from the divine humanity of the lord, who is the source of every truth of good, and who imparts such truth to those who apply to him for it, vs 9, 10.

  1. The woman says to him, lord, you have no vessel to draw with, and the well is deep; whence then have you that living water?
  2. Art you greater than our father, Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his sons, and his cattle.
  3. jesus answered and said to her, Whosoever drinks of this water shall thirst again;

This however appears incredible to those, who believe only in the letter of the Word, and who therefore do not see that all the Jewish patriarchs were representative of the lord, and that all the instruction they received from the Word was in consequence of its connection with his divine humanity, vs 11, 12.

  1. But whoever drinks of the water which I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the water which I shall give him, shall be in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life,

Therefore they are further instructed, that the truths of the Word can never become full and living and eternal truths in man, until they are seen and received as one with the divine truth, which is the same thing as the lord's divine humanity, vs 14.

  1. The woman says to him, lord, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come here to draw.

And in consequence of this instruction, they are led earnestly to desire the knowledge of the interior truths of the Word, vs 15.

  1. jesus says to her, Go, call your husband, and come here.
  2. The woman answered and said, I have not a husband. jesus said to her, You have well said, I have not a husband.
  3. For you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; in this you said truly.

But are further taught that such interior truths cannot be apprehended, until conjunction of good and truth be formed in the intellectual principle, which conjunction was at present not genuine or legitimate, vs 16, 17, 18.

  1. The woman says to him, lord, I perceive that you are a prophet.
  2. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain; and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where it is expedient to worship.
  3. jesus says to her, Woman, believe me that the hour comes, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, you shall worship the father.
  4. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know; for salvation is of the Jews.
  5. But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the father in spirit and truth, for the father seeks such that worship him.

Hence they perceive that the lord in his divine humanity is the source of all truth, and hence they are further instructed that representative worship is to cease, because it is a worship unattended with intellectual light, and that it is to be supplanted by a worship grounded in love, and enlightened by wisdom, which worship leads to conjunction with the supreme good, vs 19, 20, 21, 22, 23.

  1. god [is] Spirit; and they that worship him, must worship in spirit and in truth.

Because god is divine love and wisdom in a human form, or in a divine humanity, and therefore none can worship him acceptably but from that love and according to that wisdom, vs 24.

  1. The woman says to him, I know that Messias comes, who is called christ; when he is come, he will tell us all things.
  2. jesus says to her, I am, that speaks to you.

That it is revealed to those of the church who are in the affection of good, that divine truth will be manifested on earth in a bodily form, to impart instruction, and they are further taught from the Word, that the lord in his divine humanity is that truth, in union with the divine good, vs 25, 26.

  1. And upon this came his disciples, and wondered that he talked with the woman; yet no one said, What seek you? or what speak you with her?

That with those who are principled in truth, the establishment of the church amongst the Gentiles appears strange, and they are afraid to inquire into the purpose intended by it, or the manner of its accomplishment, vs 27.

  1. The woman then left her water-pot, and went away into the city, and says to the men,
  2. Come, see a man who has told me all things whatever I have done: Is not this the christ?

But they who are in the affection of good, when they have received instruction in truth, form their lives accordingly, and testify by doctrine that the divine truth is manifested as a man, who is thus omniscient, and acquainted with all the purposes and thoughts of man, vs 28, 29.

  1. Then they went out from the city, and came to him.

Which testimony is received in the church, and thus the lord is approached in his divine humanity, vs 30.

  1. In the meantime the disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, eat.
  2. But he said to them, I have meat to eat which you know not of.
  3. Then the disciples said one to another, Has any one brought him to eat?
  4. jesus says to them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

For to the end that he might be so approached, he from divine love glorified his Humanity, or made it divine, by submitting it to the government of the divine good in himself, until divine truth in himself became divine good, vs 31, 32, 33, 34.

  1. Say not you, that there are yet four months, and harvest comes? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and look upon the fields, for they are white already to harvest.
  2. And he who reaps receives compensation, and gathers fruit to eternal life, that both he that sows and he that reaps may rejoice together.

And thus a spiritual church was established which was in the affection of truth, and by virtue of that affection, in heaven, and thus conjoined with the lord in his joy, vs 35, 36.

  1. And in this is the saying true, that one sows, and another reaps.

For the lord dispenses truth and its affection, to the intent that the church may thereby attain to the heavenly good of love and charity, vs 37.

  1. I sent you to reap that on which you bestowed no labour; others have laboured, and you have entered into their labours.

And may thus appropriate to itself all the good things of heaven and of the lord, himself, vs 38.

  1. But many of the Samaritans of that city believed in him, on account of the saying of the woman who testified, He told me all things whatever I have done.
  2. So when the Samaritans were come to him, they asked him to remain with them, and he remained there two days.

They therefore, who are principled in spiritual good, acknowledge the lord in his divine humanity, from a belief in his omniscience, and Seek and attain conjunction of life with him, vs 39, 40.

  1. And many more believed, because of his own word;
  2. And said to the woman, We no longer believe because of your saying, for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is truly the Saviour of the world, the christ.

And are thus taught) not by external teaching only, but by the testimony of the divine good and truth in their own minds, that the lord in his divine humanity was the predicted Redeemer and Saviour of mankind, vs 41, 42.

  1. But after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee.
  2. For jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honour in his own country.
  3. When therefore he came into Galilee, the Galileans received him, having seen all things which he did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also went to the feast.

That the Gentiles are again instructed in the truth, which is rejected by those of the perverted church; and that they receive instruction, and become a church, being convinced of the omnipotence of truth, vs 43, 44, 45.

  1. Then jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain courtier, whose son was sick at Capernaum.

And that thus their natural ideas of truth become spiritual, but as yet not fully conjoined with good, vs 46.

  1. He hearing that jesus was come out of Judea into Galilee, went to him, and besought him that he would come down and heal his son; for he was about to die.

Therefore supplication is made to the lord in his divine humanity for assistance, and that they may be preserved from the influence of evil love, vs 47.

  1. Then said jesus to him, Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.
  2. The courtier said to him, lord, come down before my child dies.
  3. jesus says to him, Go your way, your son lives. And the man believed the word which jesus said to him, and went his way.

This supplication, however, does not proceed from a genuine but from a miraculous faith, nevertheless it is granted, and thus a genuine faith is implanted, vs 48, 49, 50.

  1. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told, saying, Your son lives.
  2. Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said to him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.
  3. Then the father knew that [it was] at the same hour in which jesus said to him, Your son lives. And himself believed, and his whole house.

And its conjunction with charity is acknowledged in all the lower principles of life, and seen to be the effect of the reception of the divine truth proceeding from the lord's divine humanity, which is the source of genuine faith, vs 51, 52, 53.

  1. This is again the second miracle [sign] that jesus did, when he was come out of Judea into Galilee.

Thus the church amongst the Gentiles was confirmed in the faith, not only by observing that their natural ideas of truth were become spiritual, but by experiencing also the conjunction of truth with good, or of faith with charity, resulting from their belief in the lord's divine humanity, vs 54.

Translation

1. WHEN therefore the lord knew that the Pharisees had heard, that jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,

2. Though jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,

3. He left Judea, and departed again into Galilee.

4. But he must needs go through Samaria.

5. Then he comes to a city of Samaria called Sichar, near to the parcel of ground which Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

6. But the fountain of Jacob was there. jesus therefore, being wearied with the journey, sat thus at the fountain. It was about the sixth hour.

7. There comes a woman of Samaria to draw water. jesus says to her, Give to me to drink.

8. For his disciples were gone away into the city to buy meat.

9. Then says the Samaritan woman to him, How is it that you being a Jew ask to drink of me, who am a Samaritan woman? For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

10. jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of god, and who it is that says to you, Give me to drink, you would have asked of him, and he would have given you living water.

11. The woman says to him, lord, you have no vessel to draw with, and the well is deep; whence then have you that living water?

12. Art you greater than our father, Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his sons, and his cattle.

13. jesus answered and said to her, Whosoever drinks of this water shall thirst again;

14. But whoever drinks of the water which I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the water which I shall give him, shall be in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life,

15. The woman says to him, lord, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come here to draw.

16. jesus says to her, Go, call your husband, and come here.

17. The woman answered and said, I have not a husband. jesus said to her, You have well said, I have not a husband.

18. For you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; in this you said truly.

19. The woman says to him, lord, I perceive that you are a prophet.

20. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain; and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where it is expedient to worship.

21. jesus says to her, Woman, believe me that the hour comes, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, you shall worship the father.

22. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know; for salvation is of the Jews.

23. But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the father in spirit and truth, for the father seeks such that worship him.

24. god [is] Spirit; and they that worship him, must worship in spirit and in truth.

25. The woman says to him, I know that Messias comes, who is called christ; when he is come, he will tell us all things.

26. jesus says to her, I am, that speaks to you.

27. And upon this came his disciples, and wondered that he talked with the woman; yet no one said, What seek you? or what speak you with her?

28. The woman then left her water-pot, and went away into the city, and says to the men,

29. Come, see a man who has told me all things whatever I have done: Is not this the christ ?

30. Then they went out from the city, and came to him.

31. In the meantime the disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, eat.

32. But he said to them, I have meat to eat which you know not of.

33. Then the disciples said one to another, Has any one brought him to eat?

34. jesus says to them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

35. Say not you, that there are yet four months, and harvest comes? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and look upon the fields, for they are white already to harvest.

36. And he who reaps receives compensation, and gathers fruit to eternal life, that both he that sows and he that reaps may rejoice together.

37. And in this is the saying true, that one sows, and another reaps.

38. I sent you to reap that on which you bestowed no labour; others have laboured, and you have entered into their labours.

39. But many of the Samaritans of that city believed in him, on account of the saying of the woman who testified, He told me all things whatever I have done.

40. So when the Samaritans were come to him, they asked him to remain with them, and he remained there two days.

41. And many more believed, because of his own word;

42. And said to the woman, We no longer believe because of your saying, for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is truly the Saviour of the world, the christ.

43. But after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee.

44. For jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honour in his own country.

45. When therefore he came into Galilee, the Galileans received him, having seen all things which he did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also went to the feast.

46. Then jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain courtier, whose son was sick at Capernaum.

47. He hearing that jesus was come out of Judea into Galilee, went to him, and besought him that he would come down and heal his son; for he was about to die.

48. Then said jesus to him, Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.

49. The courtier said to him, lord, come down before my child dies.

50. jesus says to him, Go your way, your son lives. And the man believed the word which jesus said to him, and went his way.

51. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told, saying, Your son lives.

52. Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said to him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.

53. Then the father knew that [it was] at the same hour in which jesus said to him, Your son lives. And himself believed, and his whole house.

54. This is again the second miracle [sign] that jesus did, when he was come out of Judea into Galilee.

Exposition

Verse 5. Then comes he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sichar, &c. This city was formerly called Sechem, and by it is signified interior truth. AC 4430.

Verse 6. Now Jacob's fountain [or well] was there, &c. The fountain of Jacob denotes the Word, and the doctrine of truth thence derived, and it was on this account that, when the lord came to the fountain of Jacob, he discoursed with the woman of Samaria, and taught what is signified by a fountain and by water, as described in John 4:5, 6, 7, 10, 13, 14. Inasmuch as the fountain of Jacob signified the Word, water truth, and Samaria the spiritual church, as appears abundantly from the Word, therefore the lord discoursed with the woman of Samaria, and taught that the doctrine of truth is from himself, and that when it is from himself, or, what is the same thing, from his Word, it is a fountain of water springing up into eternal life, and that the truth itself is living water. AC 2702.

That the words which the lord himself spoke in the evangelists, are life, is taught in John 4:6, 10, 11; where by the fountain of Jacob is signified the Word, as likewise Deut 33:28; therefore also the lord sat there, and discoursed with the woman; and by water is signified the truth of the Word. SS 2.

The reason why the lord discoursed with the woman of Samaria at Jacob's fountain [or well] was, because by the woman of Samaria was understood the church about to be established amongst the Gentiles, and by the Samaritans, who were also mentioned in another place, are understood the Gentiles who were about to receive doctrine from him and concerning him; by that fountain [or well] is signified doctrine from the Word, by water the truth of doctrine, and by the lord sitting at that fountain [or well] the Word or divine truth; that there is salvation by divine truth out of the Word from the lord, is signified by the lord's words, the water which I shall give him shall become a fountain of water springing up into eternal life. AE 537.

That the Word of the lord is such, that it gives life to him who is thirsty, that is, to him who desires life, and that it is a fountain whose waters are living, the lord teaches in John 4:10, 14. The ground and reason why the Word is alive, and thus gives life, is, because in the supreme sense the lord is there treated of, and in the inmost sense his kingdom is treated of in which the lord is all in all; hence it is that the lord calls himself, as to the Word which is from himself, a fountain of water springing up into eternal life. AC 3424.

Verse 10. Jesus said to her, If you knew who it is that says to you, Give me to drink, &c. By drinking is signified to be instructed in goods and truths, and to receive them. AC 3069.

That waters signify the truths of faith, see AC 10238.

Verse 14. Whosoever shall drink of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, &c. Water in this passage manifestly denotes the truth of faith from the Word, thus from the lord ; not to thirst denotes that truth will no longer be wanting. AC 8568.

Verse 23. The true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Spirit is the life of man; and that it specifically denotes the life of truth, which is the life of the intellectual part in man, and is called intelligence, is clear from John 4:23, 24. AC 9818.

Verse 24. God is a Spirit, &c. In all the heavens there is no other idea of god but the idea of a man; the reason is, because heaven in the whole and in part is in form as a man, and the divine [principle] which is with the angels, makes heaven. It is owing to this circumstance of god being a man, that all angels and all spirits are in a perfect human form. god is called a spirit, and god, as a spirit, is the spiritual principle proceeding from him. divine love and wisdom, DLW 11, 100.

Verse 32. I have meat to eat that you know not of. By meat is signified celestial good; and the reason is, because the meats of the angels are nothing else but the goods of love and charity, by which they are not only vivified, but are also recreated; those goods in act, or their exercises, are principally a recreation to the angels, for they are their desires; and that desires, which are obtained by act, are conducive to recreation and life, is a known thing. In the Word, in many passages, mention is made of meats or food; he who is unacquainted with the internal sense cannot know otherwise than that common [or bodily] meats are there understood, when yet spiritual meats are meant; hence it is evident how the interiors and exteriors of the Word, or the things which are of the spirit and the things which are of the letter, correspond to each other, so that whilst man understands them according to the sense of the letter, the attendant angels understand the same thing, according to the spiritual sense; thus the Word is written that it may not only serve the human race, but also heaven, on which account, all the expressions therein are significative of celestial things, and all the things therein are representative of them, and this even to the least iota. That meat in the spiritual sense denotes good, the lord also manifestly teaches in John 6:27, 55; 4:32, 33, 34. AC 5147.

Verse 34. My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, &c. To do the will of the Father, and to perform his work, is divine good in act, or exercise, which in the genuine sense is meat, as was said above. AC 5147.

Food [or meat] in the internal sense properly signifies these things which nourish the soul of man, that is, which nourish him after the life of the body, for he then lives a soul or spirit, and no longer has need of material food, but of spiritual food, which food is all that which is of use, and all that which conduces to use; what conduces to use is to know what is good and true; what is of use is to will and do them; these are the things by which the angels are nourished, and which therefore are called spiritual and celestial food. The mind of man, where his interior understanding and interior will are, or where his intentions or ends are, is also not nourished by any other food when he lives in the body; material food does not penetrate thither, but only to those things which are of the body, which that food supports, to the end that the mind may enjoy its food when the body enjoys its. The reason why food in the spiritual sense denotes every thing which is of use, is, because all man's science, and all his intelligence and wisdom, and thus all his faculty of willing, ought to regard use as their end, hence according to the quality of use is the quality of man's life. That meat, or food, in the internal sense, denotes every thing which is of use, is evident from these words of the lord, I have meat to eat which you know not of; my meat is to do the will of him who sent me, and to perform his work. AC 5293.

Verses 35, 36, 37. Say not you, There are yet four months, and then comes harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest, &c. These words relate to a new church from the lord ; that it is at hand, is signified by the fields which are white already to harvest; they of that church who are in the spiritual affection of truth, and thence in heaven, are understood by the words, he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit to eternal life; and the lord himself, from whom that affection of truth and heaven are, is signified by him who sows rejoicing together. AE 695.

These words were spoken by the lord concerning a new church about to be established by him; that the establishment of that church is now at hand, is understood by the words, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white already to harvest; to teach those who are about to be of that church, and as the lord says elsewhere, to collect and gather them together into the garner, is signified by reaping; that they who teach, thus who collect and gather together, are not themselves, but the lord, since whom the disciples have converted to the church, the lord has prepared to receive by the angels, that is, by divine truths from the Word, these things are understood, by one sowing and another reaping. I sent you to reap that for which you have not laboured; others have laboured, but you are entered into their labours. AE 911.

TRANSLATOR S NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS,

Verse 6. But the fountain of Jacob was there. Jesus therefore being weary with the journey, sat thus at the fountain. In the common version of the New Testament, what is here rendered fountain is called well, but the original Greek is pege, which properly signifies a fountain, or water springing or bubbling up, whereas a well is expressed by the term phrear, which occurs at verses 11 and 12, and denotes water in a state of mere stagnation. A fountain therefore, or pege, in its internal sense, is expressive of an order of truth more connected with good, than what is expressed by the term well, or phrear, on which account the two terms ought not to be confounded together, but kept distinct.

Verse 26. Jesus says to her, I am, that speaks to you. In the common version of the New Testament, the latter words of this verse are thus expressed, I that speak to you am [he] but in the original Greek they are thus expressed, Ego eimi, o lalon soi, which literally is, in the English language, I am that speaks to you. Thus the blessed jesus, on this, as on other occasions, asserts his supreme divinity, by taking to himself the emphatical appellation of I am, so peculiarly characteristic of essential deity.

Verse 29. Come, see a man who has told me all things whatever I have done. Is not this the Christ? These words, it is plain, cannot be understood literally, since it is impossible to suppose that the blessed jesus literally told the Samaritan woman all that she had ever done. But the case appears to be this, that the words of the blessed jesus had so operated on the mind of the woman, as to bring to her recollection the whole of her past life, not only in regard to its external form in words and deeds, but likewise as to its internal form in motives and ends, and consequently it appeared to her as if jesus had told her all. Well therefore might she exclaim, Is not this the Christ.

Verse 35. Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields. These words are remarkable, and by their internal sense and meaning demonstrate the divinity of the speaker, inasmuch as they point to distinct degrees of spiritual light, and at the same time to the proper object on which it ought to be exercised. For when it is said, Behold, I say to you, the words are designed to excite attention to the divine speaker ; and when it is said further, lift up your eyes, the necessity is urged of an elevation of the spiritual eye, or the understanding, before any spiritual object can be properly seen and contemplated; and when it is added lastly, look on the fields, the state of the church, in regard to its reception of heavenly seed, or the eternal truth, is announced as the important spiritual object, towards which spiritual light ought to be directed, and in the contemplation of which it ought to be employed. Thus we are instructed, that our first and principal duty is to regard jesus christ, or the incarnate god, as the great and only fountain of all truth; and our second is, to elevate our understandings, by raising them out of and above the perishable objects of time and sense; whilst the third is, to consider seriously and attentively the state of the church generally, and of our own hearts individually, as to the insemination, the growth, the fruitfulness and harvest of the eternal truth.

Verse 46. And there was a certain courtier, &c. The original term here rendered courtier is basilikos, which is derived from the substantive basileus, (a king), and thus denotes a person employed about a king, or in a king's business.

Verse 48. Then said Jesus to him, Except you see signs and wonders, &c. The Greek term here rendered signs is semeia, and the Greek term rendered wonders, is terata, from teras, which properly signifies a prodigy or miracle, and is accordingly rendered by the Latin term miraculum, where it is translated in the AE 706, on which occasion the enlightened author points out the internal distinction between a sign and a miracle, showing that the former denotes a testification which applies more to the conviction of the understanding, whilst the latter is a testification which applies more to the excitement of the will.

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