Commentary by John Calvin
John 4:16-21
16. Jesus saith to her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. 17. The
woman answered, and said to him, I have not a husband. Jesus said to
her, Thou hast well said, I have not a husband; 18. For thou hast had
five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband; in this
thou hast told the truth. 19. The woman saith to him, Sir, I see that
thou art a Prophet. 20. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and
you say that Jerusalem is the place where we ought to worship. 21.
Jesus saith to her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when you shall
not worship the Father either in this mountain or in Jerusalem.
16. Call thy husband. This appears to have no connection with the
subject; and, indeed, one might suppose that Christ, annoyed and put to
shame by the impudence of the woman, changes the discourse. But this is
not the case; for when he perceived that jeers and scoffs were her only
reply to what he had said, he applied an appropriate remedy to this
disease, by striking the woman's conscience with a conviction of her
sin. And it is also a remarkable proof of his compassion that, when the
woman was unwilling of her own accord to come to him, he draws her, as
it were, against her will. But we ought chiefly to observe what I have
mentioned, that they who are utterly careless and almost stupid must be
deeply wounded by a conviction of sin; for such persons will regard the
doctrine of Christ as a fable, until, being summoned to the
judgment-seat of God, they are compelled to dread as a Judge him whom
they formerly despised. All who do not scruple to rise against the
doctrine of Christ with their scoffing jests must be treated in this
manner, that they may be made to feel that they will not pass
unpunished. Such too is the obstinacy of many, that they will never
listen to Christ until they have been subdued by violence. Whenever
then we perceive that the oil of Christ has no flavour, it ought to be
mixed with wine, that its taste may begin to be felt. Nay more, this is
necessary for all of us; for we are not seriously affected by Christ
speaking, unless we have been aroused by repentance. So then, in order
that any one may profit in the school of Christ, his hardness must be
subdued by the demonstration of his misery, as the earth, in order that
it may become fruitful, is prepared and softened by the ploughshare,
[76] for this knowledge alone shakes off all our flatteries, so that we
no longer dare to mock God. Whenever, therefore, a neglect of the word
of God steals upon us, no remedy will be more appropriate than that
each of us should arouse himself to the consideration of his sins, that
he may be ashamed of himself, and, trembling before the judgment-seat
of God, may be humbled to obey Him whom he had wantonly despised.
17. I have not a husband. We do not yet fully perceive the fruit of
this advice, by which Christ intended to pierce the heart of this
woman, to lead her to repentance. And, indeed, we are so intoxicated,
or rather stupified, by our self-love, that we are not at all moved by
the first wounds that are inflicted. But Christ applies an appropriate
cure for this sluggishness, by pressing the ulcer more sharply, for he
openly reproaches her with her wickedness; though I do not think that
it is a single case of fornication that is here pointed out, for when
he says that she has had five husbands, the reason of this probably
was, that, being a froward and disobedient wife, she constrained her
husbands to divorce her. I interpret the words thus: "Though God joined
thee to lawful husbands, thou didst not cease to sin, until, rendered
infamous by numerous divorces, thou prostitutedst thyself to
fornication."
19. Sir, I perceive that thou art a Prophet. The fruit of the reproof
now becomes evident; for not only does the woman modestly acknowledge
her fault, but, being ready and prepared to listen to the doctrine of
Christ, which she had formerly disdained, she now desires and requests
it of her own accord. Repentance, therefore, is the commencement of
true docility, as I have already said, and opens the gate for entering
into the school of Christ. Again, the woman teaches us by her example,
that when we meet with any teacher, we ought to avail ourselves of this
opportunity, that we may not be ungrateful to God, who never sends
Prophets to us without, as it were, stretching out the hand to invite
us to himself. But we must remember what Paul teaches, that they who
have grace given to them to teach well [77] are sent to us by God; for
how shall they preach unless they are sent? (Romans 10:15.)
20. Our fathers. It is a mistaken opinion which some hold, that the
woman, finding the reproof to be disagreeable and hateful, cunningly
changes the subject. On the contrary, she passes from what is
particular to what is general, and, having been informed of her sin,
wishes to be generally instructed concerning the pure worship of God.
She takes a proper and regular course, when she consults a Prophet,
that she may not fall into a mistake in the worship of God. It is as if
she inquired at God himself in what manner he chooses to be worshipped;
for nothing is more wicked than to contrive various modes of worship
without the authority of the word of God.
It is well known that there was a constant dispute between the Jews and
the Samaritans about the true rule of worshipping God. Although the
Cutheans and other foreigners, who had been brought into Samaria, when
the ten tribes were led into captivity, were constrained by the plagues
and punishments of God [78] to adopt the ceremonies of the Law, and to
profess the worship of the God of Israel, (as we read, 2 Kings 17:27;)
yet the religion which they had was imperfect and corrupted in many
ways; which the Jews could not all endure. But the dispute was still
more inflamed after that Manasseh, son of the high priest John, and
brother of Jaddus, had built the temple on mount Gerizzim, when Darius,
the last king of the Persians, held the government of Judea by the hand
of Sanballat, whom he had placed there as his lieutenant. For Manasseh,
having married a daughter of the governor, that he might not be
inferior to his brother, made himself a priest there, and procured for
himself by bribes as many apostles as he could, as Josephus relates,
(Ant. 11:7:2, and 8:2.)
Our fathers worshipped in this mountain. The Samaritans at that time
did, as we learn from the words of the woman, what is customary with
those who have revolted from true godliness, to seek to shield
themselves by the examples of the Fathers. It is certain that this was
not the reason which induced them to offer sacrifices there, but after
that they had framed a false and perverse worship, obstinacy followed,
which was ingenious in contriving excuses. I acknowledge, indeed, that
unsteady and thoughtless men are sometimes excited by foolish zeal, as
if they had been bitten by a gad-fly, so that when they learn that any
thing has been done by the Saints, they instantly seize on the example
without any exercise of judgment.
A second fault is still more common, that they borrow the deeds of the
Fathers as a cloak to their errors, -- and this may be easily seen in
Popery. But as this passage is a remarkable proof how absurdly they act
who, disregarding the command of God, conform to the examples of the
Fathers, we ought to observe in how many ways the world commonly sins
in this respect. For it frequently happens that the majority, without
discrimination, follow those persons as Fathers who are least of all
entitled to be accounted Fathers. Thus in the present day we perceive
that the Papists, while with open mouth they declaim about the Fathers,
allow no place for Prophets and Apostles, but, when they have mentioned
a few persons who deserve to be honored, collect a vast group of men
like themselves, or at least come down to more corrupt ages in which,
though there did not yet prevail so gross a barbarism as now exists,
yet religion and the purity of doctrine had greatly declined. We ought,
therefore, carefully to attend to the distinction, that none may be
reckoned Fathers but those who were manifestly the sons of God; and who
also, by the eminence of their piety, were entitled to this honorable
rank. Frequently, too, we err in this respect, that by the actions of
the Fathers we rashly lay down a common law; for the multitude do not
imagine that they confer sufficient honor on the Fathers, if they do
not exclude them from the ordinary rank of men. Thus, when we do not
remember that they were fallible men, we indiscriminately mingle their
vices with their virtues. Hence arises the worst confusion in the
conduct of life; for while all the actions of men ought to be tried by
the rule of the Law, we subject the balance to those things which ought
to be weighed by it; and, in short, where so much importance is
attached to the imitation of the Fathers, the world thinks that there
can be no danger in sinning after their example.
A third fault is -- a false, and ill-regulated, or thoughtless
imitation; [79] that is, when we, though not endued with the same
spirit, or authorized by the same command, plead as our example what
any of the Fathers did; as for instance, if any private individual
resolved to revenge the injuries done to brethren, because Moses did
this, (Exodus 2:12;) or if any one were to put fornicators to death,
because this was done by Phinehas, (Numbers 25:7.) That savage fury in
slaying their own children originated, as many think, in the wish of
the Jews to be like their father Abraham, as if the command, Offer up
thy son Isaac, (Genesis 22:2,) were a general command, and not rather a
remarkable trial of a single man. Such a false imitation (kakozelia) is
generally produced by pride and excessive confidence, when men claim
more for themselves than they have a right to do; and when each person
does not measure himself by his own standard. Yet none of these are
true imitators of the Fathers, most of them are apes. That a
considerable portion of ancient monachism flowed from the same source
will be acknowledged by those who shall carefully examine the writings
of the ancients. And, therefore, unless we choose to err of our own
accord, we ought always to see what spirit each person has received,
what his calling requires, what is suitable to his condition, and what
he is commanded to do.
Closely allied to this third fault is another, namely, the confounding
of times, when men, devoting their whole attention to the examples of
the Fathers, do not consider that the Lord has since enjoined a
different rule of conduct, which they ought to follow. [80] To this
ignorance ought to be ascribed that huge mass of ceremonies by which
the Church has been buried under Popery. Immediately after the
commencement of the Christian Church, it began to err in this respect,
because a foolish affectation of copying Jewish ceremonies had an undue
influence. The Jews had their sacrifices; and that Christians might not
be inferior to them in splendor, the ceremony of sacrificing Christ was
invented: as if the condition of the Christian Church would be worse
when there would be an end of all those shadows by which the brightness
of Christ might be obscured. But afterwards this fury broke out more
forcibly, and spread beyond all bounds.
That we may not fall into this error, we ought always to be attentive
to the present rule. Formerly incense, candles, holy garments, an
altar, vessels, and ceremonies of this nature, pleased God; and the
reason was, that nothing is more precious or acceptable to Him than
obedience. Now, since the coming of Christ, matters are entirely
changed. We ought, therefore, to consider what he enjoins on us under
the Gospel, that we may not follow at random what the Fathers observed
under the Law; for what was at that time a holy observation of the
worship of God would now be a shocking sacrilege.
The Samaritans were led astray by not considering, in the example of
Jacob, how widely it differed from the condition of their own time. The
Patriarchs were permitted to erect altars everywhere, because the place
had not yet been fixed which the Lord afterwards selected; but from the
time that God ordered the temple to be built on mount Zion, the freedom
which they formerly enjoyed ceased. For this reason Moses said,
Hereafter you shall not do every one what appears right in his own
eyes, but only what I command you,
(Deuteronomy 12:8, 14;)
for, from the time that the Lord gave the Law, he restricted the true
worship of himself to the requirements of that Law, though formerly a
greater degree of liberty was enjoyed. A similar pretense was offered
by those who worshipped in Bethel; for there Jacob had offered a solemn
sacrifice to God, but after that the Lord had fixed the place of
sacrifice at Jerusalem, it was no longer Bethel, the house of God, but
Bethaven, the house of wickedness.
We now see what was the state of the question. The Samaritans had the
example of the Fathers for their rule: the Jews rested on the
commandment of God. This woman, though hitherto she had followed the
custom of her nation, was not altogether satisfied with it. By worship
we are to understand here not any kind of worship, (for daily prayers
might be offered in any place,) but that which was joined with
sacrifices, and which constituted a public and solemn profession of
religion.
21. Woman, believe me. In the first part of this reply, he briefly sets
aside the ceremonial worship which had been appointed under the Law;
for when he says that the hour is at hand when there shall be no
peculiar and fixed place for worship, he means that what Moses
delivered was only for a time, and that the time was now approaching
when the partition-wall (Ephesians 2:14) should be thrown down. In this
manner he extends the worship of God far beyond its former narrow
limits, that the Samaritans might become partakers of it.
The hour cometh. He uses the present tense instead of the future; but
the meaning is, that the repeal of the Law is already at hand, so far
as relates to the Temple, and Priesthood, and other outward ceremonies.
By calling God Father, he seems indirectly to contrast Him with the
Fathers whom the woman had mentioned, and to convey this instruction,
that God will be a common Father to all, so that he will be generally
worshipped without distinction of places or nations.
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Footnotes
[76] "Tout ainsi que la terre, pour apporter fruict, sera menuisee et
amollie par le soc de la charrue."
[77] "Qui ont la grace de bien enseigner."
[78] "Par les playes et punitions de Dieu."
[79] "Une fausse imitation, et mal reiglee, ou inconsideree."
[80] "A depuis ordonne et commande une autre conduite et maniere de
faire, qu'ils ont a suyvre."
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