John 4:42

Joh_4:42

Now we believe not because of thy saying: we have heard Him ourselves

The Samaritans confession of faith

I.

THE PERSONS FROM WHOM IT CAME. Samaritans out of the covenant, with imperfect notions of God and the Spirit of His worship, yet they were so captivated by Christs teachings that they felt He could be no other than the worlds Saviour.

II. THE JUST NOTIONS THEY EXPRESSED OF THE OFFICE OF CHRIST.

1. That He was to effect the salvation of the world, not of their race merely.

2. That He was to save by teaching the true religion. I know, said the woman, He will tell all things--i.e., concerning the worship of God, the topic of discussion.

3. Thus they must have placed the salvation itself in such a deliverance as these means were fitted to accomplish, viz., in deliverance from ignorance, hypocrisy, and superstition.

4. They were aware that the time was actually come for this Deliverers appearance: Jesus said, The hour cometh and now is. The woman responded, I know that the Messiah (lit.)

is now coming. Learn then

(1) How little benefit the external means of grace may prove to those whose minds, like those of the Jews, are occupied with adverse prejudices, so as to be negligent of their own improvement.

(2) What a proficiency may be made, by Gods blessing, on the diligent use of scanty talents. The Samaritans had no light but what came obliquely from the Jews, but they so far improved under their imperfect discipline as to attain views of the promised redemption which the Jews missed in spite of Moses and the Prophets.

III. THE WARMTH AND ENERGY OF THEIR CONVICTION. We know. Conclusion

1. Let every one take encouragement and learn the necessary assiduity in self-improvement.

2. Let no sinner despair of salvation. (Bp. Horsley.)

The progress of faith

I. ITS AWAKENING. Through indirect testimony concerning Christ. In this ease by speaking of the woman; in other cases through the witness born of and to Christ

1. By parents to children.

2. Ministers to congregations.

3. Teachers to scholars.

4. Believers generally to the world.

5. The scriptures to readers.

II. ITS CONFIRMATION. By the direct testimony of Christ Himself. In this case through Christs conversation with the Samaritans; in others, by the word of Christ carried home to the individual heart by the Spirit of Christ.

III. ITS ILLUMINATION. In the attainment of a true knowledge of Christs person and work. As here, learning led to believing, and believing to knowing; so will all in whom the ear and eye of faith are opened, the taking up of Christs word, and through that of Christ Himself, into the heart leads to that higher knowledge of Christ in which consists eternal life Joh_17:2). Lessons:

1. The value of Christian instruction.

2. The indispensableness of Christs own teaching.

3. The insight of faith. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.)

Christ the Saviour of the world

I. THE STATE OF THE WORLD REQUIRED A SAVIOUR.

II. CHRIST BECAME THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD.

1. He was Divinely appointed (Joh_6:27; Isa_61:1-3).

2. He voluntarily assumed the office (1Ti_1:15).

III. THE CHARACTER OF CHRIST AS A SAVIOUR.

1. A willing Saviour.

2. A free Saviour.

3. An all-sufficient Saviour. He can save

(1) From the guilt and condemnation of sin (Rom_3:24).

(2) From the dominion of sin and its polluting power (Tit_2:12; Tit_3:5).

(3) From the tormenting power, and the destructive consequences of sin (Heb_9:14; 1Pe_3:18).

(4) From the wrath of God, and the vengeance of everlasting fire 1Th_1:10; Rom_5:9).

IV. THE EVIDENCE THAT CHRIST WAS THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD. This is indeed the Christ, etc. Those who are saved by Christ can give the same testimony, for

1. They have the witness in themselves. They have proved the gospel to be the power of God to their salvation.

2. Believers are well assured that Christ was the Saviour of the world, by regarding the internal evidence of the Scriptures.

3. Christianity has survived all the attempts of its enemies to destroy it.

4. It is proved that Christ was the Saviour by a reference to the pages of history.

Application:

1. Let Christians examine and be satisfied with the truth of the gospel.

2. Be thankful for such a Saviour.

3. The rejector of Christ has cause for alarm. (Helps for the Pulpit.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4:42 The Samaritans had experienced for themselves that Jesus was true. Their name for Jesus, Savior of the world (also used in 1 Jn 4:14), demonstrated that the Samaritans were keenly aware of their distance from Judaism. Jesus’ ministry was not simply for Jews, but for all people (John 1:4-12; cp. 12:20-26).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh 4:42. Οὐκ ἔτι, now no longer) The true progress of faith is here evinced.—αὐτοί, ourselves) Augustine admirably remarks on this passage: At first it was by the report of others, afterwards by His own presence [the men were led to believe]. This is the way in which those who are abroad, and are not yet Christians, are dealt with in the present day. Christ is announced as having come, through Christian friends; that woman as it were, that is, the Church, announcing the tidings. Men come to Christ, and believe, through that report. He remains with them two days, i.e. He gives them the two precepts of charity:[88] and far more persons, and more firmly too, believe in Him, that He is indeed Himself the Saviour of the world. Hence it is evident in what sense that hackneyed quotation ought to be understood: I indeed would not believe the Gospel, did not the authority of the Catholic Church admonish (others read, move) me to do so: Contra Ep. fundamenti, Chap. v.[89] Inasmuch as in this passage Augustine is not teaching, but is opposing the Manicheans.[90]—τοῦ κόσμου, of the world) not merely of the Jews. Faith frees from party zeal: they believe in Jesus, since He is the Saviour of the world, having laid aside their boasting of their fathers,[91] Joh 4:12, “Art Thou greater than owe father Jacob,” etc.

[88] To love Christ, and to love one another.—E. and T.

[89] “The authority of the Church” is here not her infallibility, but her faithful testimony.—E. and T.

[90] The Edition of E. B. and Steudel caused me great difficulty by a misprint, “Non docet Augustinus, sed Manichæus adversum tenet.” The large Ed. of 1759 solved it by the true reading, ‘Manichæis.’ Calvin, Inst., lib. i., ch. Joh 7:3, answers the argument drawn by Romanists from the words of Augustine, here quoted, by saying, that Augustine, in the passage referred to, speaks of himself as a Manichean; viz. that he means that, when a Manichean, he was moved by the authority of the Church to believe the Scriptures. So also Musculus, who considers ‘crederem’ and ‘commoveret’ to be equivalent to ‘credidissem’ and ‘commovisset.’ Augustine, in the words immediately following, says, “Those whom I obeyed when they said to me, Believe the Gospel, why should I not obey when they tell me, ‘Believe not Mani?’ ” Whence it is plain, he is speaking of himself as an unbeliever, and is informing us how he was first converted from being a Manichean to be a Catholic Christian, namely, by listening to the voice of the Church. But that voice is the voice of testimony, not the voice of infallible authority.—E. and T.

[91] The Vers. Germ. is more clearly in accordance with this observation, as omitting along with the larger edition, New Testament, the reading ὁ Χριστός; than the Ed. 2, Gr., which leaves the addition ὁ Χριστός to the reader to decide upon.—E. B.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

42. ἀκηκόαμεν. The gloss παρʼ αὐτοῦ is added by א fam. 13.

After κόσμου, the rec. text, with ADLN ΓΘ, inserts ὁ Χριστός, but, again, this explanatory gloss is not found in אBC*TbW, and must be rejected.

λαλιά, “way of speech,” “manner of talking,” occurs again in N.T. only at Mat 26:73 and 8:43 (where see note).

οὐκέτι διὰ τὴν σὴν λαλιάν κτλ., “No longer do we believe because of thy speaking, for we have heard and know, etc.” οὐκέτι always means “no longer” in Jn. (cf. 6:66, 11:54, 14:19, 30, 15:15, 16:10, 21, 25, 17:11, 21:6). The initial stages of belief may be brought about by the report of others (see on v. 39), but the belief which is complete and assured depends on personal contact and association with Christ (see on 1:39 and cf. Luk 24:39, “Handle me and see”).

That the Samaritan villagers rose to the conception of Jesus as not only Messiah, but as “the Saviour of the world,” is not probable. This great title reflects the conviction of a later moment in Christian history, and of a more fully instructed faith. Jn. in writing the story of Jesus at Sychar tells it in his own phraseology, as will become apparent if the history of the terms “saviour,” “salvation,” is recalled.

In O.T. theology, Yahweh is the Author of salvation (see on 3:17), and to Him it is always ascribed. He is repeatedly called מוֹשִׁיע, σωτήρ (Psa 24:5, Psa 62:7, Isa 12:2, Bar. 4:22, 3 Macc. 7:16), the “Saviour” of Israel or of individual Israelites. σωτήρ is also used in the LXX of human deliverers, e.g. of the judges (Jdg 3:9), just as in Egypt the Ptolemies, and in Greece Brasidas and Philip of Macedon, were so designated. But in the O.T., Messiah is never called מוֹשִׁיעַ or σωτήρ, the nearest approach to such a description being Zec 9:9 ὁ βασιλεύς σου ἔρχεται δίκαιος καὶ σώζων. To O.T. Judaism, Messiah was but the instrument of the true σωτήρ, Yahweh, who is described (Psa 28:8) as ὑπερασπιστὴς τῶν σωτηρίων τοῦ χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ.

In the later literature, there are faint traces of the conception of Messiah as Saviour; e.g. it is said of the Son of Man in Enoch xlviii. 7, “The righteous are saved in his name, and he is the avenger of their life”; cf. l. 3. The Messianic deliverance was pre-eminently the “salvation of Israel” for which pious Hebrews looked (see on v. 22 above); but that in the first century Messiah was given the title σωτήρ is not proven.

In the Synoptists, σωτήρ occurs only twice, Luk 1:47 (where it is applied to God, as in the O.T.), and Luk 2:11 σωτὴρ ὅς ἐστι Χριστὸς κύριος, “a Saviour (not the Saviour) who is Christ the Lord.” Cf Act 13:23 and Act 5:31 ἀρχηγὸς καὶ σωτήρ, which suggests ὁ ἀρχηγὸς τῆς σωτηρίας of Heb 2:10.

The first unambiguous instance of the application of the title in its full sense to our Lord is Php 3:20 σωτῆρα … κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν. See also 2Ti 1:10, Tit 1:4, Tit 1:3:6, 2Pe 1:11, 2Pe 1:2:20, 2Pe 1:3:2, 2Pe 1:18; and cf. Eph 5:23, 1Ti 1:15.

The evidence shows that σωτήρ, as a title, began to be applied to Christ as readily as to God the Father, as soon as the Gospel message of redemption was understood and appropriated. The title has its roots in the O.T., and there is no need of the hypothesis that it is imported into the N.T. from the pagan mysteries or from the Emperor cults.1 But that it was recognised as a Messianic title before Christ came is unproved and improbable.

The universality of salvation (at any rate so far as Jews were concerned) had already been declared by the prophets; cf. Joe 2:32 ἔσται πᾶς ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλὲσηται τὸ ὂνομα κυρίου σωθήσεται (quoted Act 2:21, Rom 10:13). God is called τὸν πάντων σωτῆρα (Wisd. 16:7); cf. 1Ti 4:10 σωτὴρ πάντων ἀνθρώπων. But the magnificent title ὁ σωτὴρ τοῦ κόσμου is found in the Greek Bible only in the verse before us, and at 1Jn 4:14. It is one of the distinctive phrases of the Johannine writings; cf. 12:47 and especially 3:17, where the purpose of Christ’s mission is declared to be ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος διʼ αὐτοῦ. See note on 3:17, and for κόσμος on 1:9.

It has been suggested by G. Vos2 that a parallel for ὁ σωτὴρ τοῦ κόσμου may be seen in 2 Esd. 13:26, where it is said of Messiah liberabit creaturam suam. But it is doubtful if creatura is equivalent to “the universe of creation,” and further the passage may be affected by Christian influence.

A nearer parallel is Philo’s ὁ σωτὴρ τοῦ παντός (quod deus imm. 34), which he applies to God. The passage presents some superficial resemblance to the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. Philo has quoted Num 20:17ff., where the Israelites seek permission to pass through Edom, promising not to drink water from the wells, or, if they did, to pay for it. To be able to pass by the attractions of earth befits the heavenly soul; such is Philo’s reflexion, and he adds that it is folly to drink from cisterns contrived by the distrustfulness of man, when the Saviour of the Universe has opened to us His heavenly treasury (cf. Deu 28:12), in comparison with which all the wells in the world are not worth looking at. This suggests Joh 4:14, but then the σωτήρ in the Philo passage is not the Logos, but God Himself. The resemblance between Philo’s language and Jn.’s is not sufficient to indicate any literary connexion.

It may, however, be noted as a curious point that a reference in Joh 4:42 to Num 20:17f. is actually traced by Ephraim Syrus. In a baptismal hymn (Epiphany Hymns, vii. 7) he has: “To the sons of Lot Moses said, ‘Give us water for money, let us only pass by through your border.’ They refused the way and the temporal water. Lo ! the living water freely given and the path that leads to Eden.”

Departure from Sychar and Reception in Galilee (Vv. 43-45)

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 42. We have heard him ourselves] On seeing and hearing our Lord, the faith of those who had already believed on the woman's testimony was abundantly confirmed; and, besides those, may others believed who had not heard the woman speak.

This is indeed the Christ] The promised Messiah.

The Saviour of the world.] Not of the Jews only, but of the Samaritans, and of the whole Gentile world.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

42. On account of thy speech. Though I have followed Erasmus in rendering this word by oratio, (speech,) because loquela, which the ancient interpreter uses, is a barbarous term; yet I wish to warn my readers that the Greek word λαλία has the same meaning with the Latin word loquentia, that is, talk, or talkativeness; and the Samaritans appear to boast that they have now a stronger foundation than a woman’s tongue, which is, for the most part, light and trivial.

We believe. This expresses more fully the nature of their faith, that it has been drawn from the word of God itself, so that they can boast of having the Son of God as their Teacher; as, indeed, it is on his authority alone that we can safely rely. True, indeed, he is not now visibly present, so as to speak to us mouth to mouth; but, by whomsoever we happen to hear him, our faith cannot rest on any other than on himself. And from no other source proceeds that knowledge which is likewise mentioned; for the speech which comes from the mouth of a mortal man may indeed fill and satisfy the ears, but will never confirm the soul in calm confidence of salvation, so that he who has heard may be entitled to boast that he knows In faith, therefore, the first thing necessary is, to know that it is Christ who speaks by his ministers; and the next is, to give him the honor which is due; that is, not to doubt that he is true and faithful, so that, relying on so undoubted a guarantee, we may rely safely on his doctrine.

Again, when they affirm that Jesus is the Christ and the Savior of the world, they undoubtedly have learned this from hearing him. Hence we infer that, within two days, the sum of the Gospel was more plainly taught by Christ than he had hitherto taught it in Jerusalem. And Christ testified that the salvation, which he had brought, was common to the whole world, that they might understand more fully that it belonged to them also; for he did not call them on the ground of their being lawful heirs, as the Jews were, but taught that he had come to admit strangers into the family of God, and to bring peace to those who were far off, (Ephesians 2:17.)

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(42) We have heard him ourselves.—The “Him” is not part of the original text, and the sentence is more forcible without it: We have ourselves heard. Probably “the Christ” should also be regarded as no part of the original text, and the last clause should be, and know that this is truly the Saviour of the world. The result of their hearing is that they know. There is here, as frequently in St. John, stress laid upon the development of faith. We shall find it again in the following verses, which mark it in the case of the courtier.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

42. thy saying] Not the same word as in Joh_4:39, the Greek for which is the same as that translated ‘word’ in Joh_4:41. Joh_4:39; Joh_4:41 should be alike, viz. ‘word,’ meaning ‘statement’ in Joh_4:39 and ‘teaching’ in Joh_4:41. Here we should have ‘speech’ or ‘talk.’ In classical Greek lalia has a slightly uncomplimentary turn, ‘gossip, chatter.’ But this shade of meaning is lost in later Greek, though there is perhaps a slight trace of it here; ‘not because of thy talk;’ but this being doubtful, ‘speech’ will be the safer translation. The whole should run, no longer is it because of thy speech that we believe. In Joh_8:43 lalia is used by Christ of His own words; see note there.

we Have heard him ourselves] Better, we have heard for ourselves. There is no ‘Him’ in the Greek. ‘The Christ’ is also to be omitted. It is wanting in the best MSS.

the Saviour of the world] It is not improbable that such ready hearers would arrive at this great truth before the end of those two days. It is therefore unnecessary to suppose that S. John is here unconsciously giving one of his own expressions (1Jn_4:14) for theirs.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And said unto the woman,.... Who, it appears, kept hearing Christ, attending on him, and conversing with him; for having tasted of his grace, she could not leave him:

now we believe, not because of thy saying; not on account of that only: it should seem that these were the same persons that believed upon her word before they went out of the city; and who, when come to Christ, invited him into it; and now, having heard his excellent discourses, were confirmed in the faith of him:

for we have heard him ourselves; not only externally with their bodily ears, but internally, having ears given them to hear, so as to understand what he said; to mix it with faith, and receive it in love; to feel the power of it in their hearts, and taste the sweetness of it, and be nourished by it; and so as to distinguish his voice from another's, as Christ's true sheep are capable of.

And know that this is indeed the Christ; the true Messiah, and not a false one; the Messiah spoken of by Moses, whose books the Samaritans received, as the seed of the woman, the Shiloh, and prophet, like to Moses; the Christ of God, who is anointed to be prophet, priest, and King. The Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions leave out the word "Christ", and only read what follows,

the Saviour of the world: they knew him to be the Saviour, he who was spoken of as such; for his work to bruise the serpent's head implies it, and his name Shiloh imports as much: and besides, he is called by Jacob God's salvation, Gen 49:18. God appointed him as a Saviour; he sent him, and he came as such, and is become the author of salvation; and his name is called Jesus, on this account: and a great Saviour he is; both able, and willing; and he is suitable to the case of sinners; and is a complete, and an only one: and these Samaritans knew him to be "the Saviour of the world"; not of every individual person in it, for all are not saved by him; nor of the Jewish world, for many of them died in their sins; but of the Gentiles, in distinction from the Jews; see Joh 3:16; even of all God's elect, whether among Jews or Gentiles; of all that believe in him, of whatsoever nation, and in whatsoever state and condition: so that their knowledge of him, and faith in him, were beyond that of the Jews, who looked upon the Messiah only as a Saviour of their nation; and that the Gentiles would have no manner of benefit and advantage by him: though the Jews (b) do call the angel in Exo 23:20 , "the Saviour", or "Redeemer of" the world. And this the Samaritans might know from the writings of Moses, as from Gen 22:18 their present knowledge of Christ was not a mere notional, speculative, and general one, but was special, spiritual, and saving, which they had from the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ; they approved of him as their Saviour; they trusted in him as such; they had an experimental acquaintance with him, and practically owned him; and which they attained to by hearing him.

(b) Zohar in Gen. fol. 124. 4.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

Ver. 42. Not because of thy saying] Properly, because of thy prittle prattle, Δια την σην λαλιαν, propter loquacitatem tuam. So perhaps it seemed to some of them at first, who believed indeed when they heard him. Plato gives a good rule, Consider not so much τις as τι, who saith, as what is said. Prejudicate opinion bars up the understanding; muddy water in a vessel causeth the best liquor to run over. Intus existens prohibet alienum.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This is indeed the Saviour of the world. These Samaritans then believed that Jesus was the true Messias, sent to redeem the world. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Several things may be the occasion of faith, which are neither the principal efficient causes, nor the proper instrumental cause of it. The principal efficient cause of the faith of these Samaritans was, undoubtedly, the finger of God upon their souls, enlightening their minds with the saving knowledge of the gospel, and bowing their wills to the obedience of it. The proper instrumental cause was their hearing the words of Christ; but the occasion of this was what the woman had told them: so as, though they in a sense believed because of what she had said, because that occasioned their coming out to see and hear Christ; yet the proper instrumental cause was their hearing Christ, God upon their hearing him working in their hearts an ability and a willingness to receive and to close with Christ. Thus the church gives us the first occasion of receiving the Scriptures, and believing them to be the word of God: we, having them put into our hands by the church, read them, and find such impresses and stamps of Divinity in them, that we conclude, from our reason very probably, that they are more than human writings; but never firmly and fixedly receive them as such, until persuaded of it by the Holy Spirit. These Samaritans do not only own Christ as a prophet, nor do they only suspect that he must be the Messias, but they profess to know that he was the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

42. We have heard… and know—A preparatory faith comes by testimony, the fullness of faith by experience. These Samaritans did wisely; first they heard the truth, and then they tried it in practice. Taste and see that the Lord is good.

The Saviour of the world—A sublime title, indicating that Jesus not only showed that Jew, Samaritan, and Gentile would come into one common dispensation of the Spirit, but that all alike could be saved by the Saviour and by the salvation that is from the Jews.

Was this beautiful commencement a failure? Did no future church exist in Samaria? Our Saviour did, indeed, for the same reasons as induced him (see note on Mat_10:5) to direct his apostles to avoid (not the way, but) the cities of the Samaritans, pass rapidly on to Galilee. But the wayside seed was, perhaps, not lost. We find that the apostles had rare success there; the harvest, perhaps, of this wonderful sowing. Act_8:5-25. In this town of Sichem arose Justin Martyr, one of the greatest Christian writers of the second century. Samaria became early the seat of an episcopate.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

"The Saviour of the world.

This witness was a glorious close to our Lord"s brief ministry among the Samaritans.

I THE MARVEL OF THIS WITNESS TO CHRIST. Nothing in the gospel narrative can be to the thoughtful reader more surprising than that this view of our Lord"s office should have been taken and expressed by persons in the position of these Samaritans in the village of Sychar, and especially at this early stage of our Lord"s ministry. This is the more marvellous when we remember that neither the Jews generally, nor even Christ"s own disciples, had attained to such a conception of Jesus, and when we remember also that the Samaritans occupied a position of inferior privilege, for "salvation was from the Jews.

II THE MEANS WHICH LED TO THIS WITNESS TO CHRIST.

1. The testimony of the woman who had been favoured with a long and intimate conversation with the Divine Prophet, and whose conscience had testified to his acquaintance with her character and moral life.

2. Their own acquaintance with his religious doctrines, gained during the two days" residence among them.

3. The impression which his presence and demeanour had made upon their minds; for they could not but perceive his superiority to all others whom they had known.

III THE FULNESS OF THIS WITNESS TO CHRIST. It is remarkable that none, however advanced in religious knowledge, can go beyond this testimony. That Jesus was a Saviour, and not a mere Teacher, this was a truth which it was creditable to the Samaritans" discernment to attain. But that he was the Saviour of the world, this was a truth which only the truest insight, the fullest sympathy, of a spiritual kind could reveal. There was in this profession an anticipation of our Lord"s own words, "I will draw all men unto myself," and a justification for the most admiring reverence of Christ, and for the most extensive and glorious prospect for mankind. T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

We know that this is the saviour of the world - And not of the Jews only.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Saviour (See Scofield "Rom 1:16")

world kosmos = mankind. (See Scofield "Mat 4:8")

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

42. Know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. To the woman Jesus had said that he was the Christ. Now, by his teachings, many months before Peter's confession, the Samaritans pronounce him the Christ, the Savior, not of Jews only, or Jews and Samaritans, but of the world.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

42. Omit ὁ Χριστός after κόσμον, with אBC1 and most versions and Fathers against Acts 3D.

42. οὐκέτι κ.τ.λ. Note the order: No longer is it because of thy speech that we believe (see on Joh 1:7). Λαλιά and λόγος should be distinguished in translation. In classical Greek λαλιά has a slightly uncomplimentary turn, ‘gossip, chatter.’ But this shade of meaning is lost in later Greek, though there is perhaps a tinge of it here, ‘not because of thy talk;’ but this being doubtful, ‘speech’ will be safer. S. John uses λόγος both for her word (Joh 4:39) and Christ’s (Joh 4:41). See on Joh 8:43, where Christ uses λαλιά of His own teaching.

αὐτοὶ γ. ἀκ. For we have heard for ourselves.

ἀληθῶς ὁ σ. τ. κ. See on Joh 1:48; Joh 1:10. It is not improbable that such ready hearers should arrive at this great truth so rapidly. They had the Pentateuch (comp. Gen 12:3; Gen 18:18; Gen 22:18; Gen 26:4), and not being in the trammels of Jewish exclusiveness would believe that the Messiah was not for the Jew alone. The Samaritan gave up less than the Jew when he accepted Christ. It is therefore unnecessary to suppose that S. John is unconsciously giving his own expression (1Jn 4:14) for theirs.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Said [ελεγον] . The imperfect tense : said to the woman as they successively met her.

Saying [λαλιαν] . Another word is designedly substituted for logon, word (vv. 39, 41). In ver. 39 logov, word, is used of the woman, from the Evangelist 's standpoint, as being a testimony to Christ. Here the Samaritans distinguish between the more authoritative and dignified word of Jesus, and the talk of the woman. Rev., speaking. Compare the kindred verb lalew, in vv. 26, 27; also Joh 8:43; Mt 26:73.

The Christ. The best texts omit.

The Savior [ο σωτηρ] . John uses the word only here and 1Jo 4:14. See on Jesus, Mt 1:21. It is significant that this conception of Christ should have been first expressed by a Samaritan.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.