Reading for July 16: John 4:43-47

43 Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee. 44 For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. 45 So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.

   
46 So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.

 

Comments:

Two days after Jesus had revealed Himself to the Samaritan woman, He left to go back to Galilee. While in Samaria something amazing happened, many believed and were saved based on the testimony of a rejected woman. Jesus only had to show the woman her need for a savior (by pointing out her sin) and then telling her who He was and what He can do for her. There were no miraculous signs or any wondrous healings, only the gospel in its purest form. However, the Jews in Galilee were much more stubborn. Jesus says in verse 44, "a prophet has no honor in his own country." Meaning that in Galilee, where He grew up, He would never be accepted based on His testimony alone This show us a sharp contrast between the Samaritans and the Jews. One group, the Samaritans, was willing to have faith that Jesus was who He said He was; the other group, the Jews, will need to see the miracles of Jesus before they will believe. It says that the Galileans received Him, but they received Him only because they had seen what He had done at the feast. Their relationship with Jesus was purely selfish; they only wanted Jesus for what He could give them. The Samaritans wanted Jesus for who He was: the Messiah, the Son of God. And it was through that type of relationship that the Samaritans were saved.

Verses 46 and 47 set up an example of how the Jews initially approached Jesus, as a miracle worker instead of the Messiah. We will see how Jesus uses these signs to show the world, then and now, that He is the Lord Jesus Christ.