The Beginning of Jesus Ministry | An Ordinary Man (John 4:1-6)

Topic: The Beginning of Jesus Ministry | An Ordinary Man

Reading: John 4:1-6

1 Now when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again to Galilee. 4 He had to pass through Samar’ia. 5 So he came to a city of Samar’ia, called Sy’char, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and so Jesus, wearied as he was with his journey, sat down beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

Introduction and Overview

The beginning of Jesus’ ministry had already begun. We had seen a number of signs and wonders and people were beginning to come to Him. In these scriptures we see several things. First, the people were beginning to come to Jesus in greater numbers. He was converting more people and in greater numbers than John the Baptist who was still teaching and preaching his message of repentance. This time was a time of transition. The beginning of Jesus’ ministry was referred to in the last chapter of John’s gospel by John the Baptist saying, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30) This handover was taking place and the beginning of Jesus’ ministry was starting to grow. The Pharisees had also noticed this change and Jesus, being aware of their malice and opposition, needed to continue travelling to spread the gospel and the Good News of salvation.

A very important point is shown in the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It began with His disciples baptising people as new converts. When people would come to Jesus and believed in Him and His word, they were baptised. Baptism is an essential and important part of the journey every Christian should take. It is a starting point. Recall also that when Jesus commissioned and sent His disciples out to build the church after His death and resurrection, His instructions were to baptise the new converts. The Great Commission says,

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20)

The first step any Christian should take after coming to Christ as a new disciple is to be baptised. And we saw this happen after Pentecost when three thousand people were converted in a single day. All were baptised that day and then the disciples began teaching them the words of Jesus. This pattern of baptism was also noted when Christ was first preached to the Gentiles by Peter in Acts 10:44-48, and also when the church at Ephesus first received the gospel through Paul in Acts 19:1-6.

Finally we see at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry that He did not stand out from the crowd. He was not an exceptional looking man. Jesus was an ordinary man who did not look remarkable. He felt all of the things we all feel, and in these verses we see that He was wearied from travelling by foot on His journey. His disciples went into the town of Sychar to buy food, but in His weariness, Jesus stayed by the well outside the town, which was Jacob’s well, and rested. No doubt He knew there would be ministry to be done, but despite that, He showed weariness from His journey. Too often people look at Jesus as if He were some kind of “superman.” And there is no doubt that His message was extraordinary as it promises eternal life to those who believe. He did some extraordinary miracles, signs, and wonders through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within Him. But Jesus Himself suffered all of the weariness, aches, and pains we all feel from work. He got tired and needed rest and sleep, just as we all do. He felt pain and sorrow, hunger and thirst as we all do. Scriptures like this show us His humanity and that He lived in the flesh just like the rest of us. He can sympathise with the burdens we carry because He went through it all too. So, we must remember that He is the Son of God, He is the one through whom the Creation was made, but He was also a man of flesh and blood. He was an ordinary man to all on the outside, despite His extraordinary beginnings and work done for us.

Key points from reading:

• Jesus’ ministry was quickly growing and outstripping the work of John the Baptist
• The ministry of Jesus began with the disciples baptising new converts
• Jesus did not stand out but was perceived as an ordinary man

Discussion:

Scripture: John 4:1-3 – Baptism – The Beginning of Jesus’ Ministry

• In these words we see the roll out of the ministry and teachings of Jesus. The beginning of Jesus’ ministry was in the act of baptism. People would come to Jesus, hear His preaching, and be baptised as new disciples and converts. As mentioned already, this was the process in all of the places where the gospel was preached. It is also the process that should happen today.
• Baptism is extremely important. Too often it is not accurately taught these days, but when we properly understand it, it becomes one of the greatest teachings of Christianity. I have discussed baptism in some depth in other places, including in my free eBook The Six Foundation Teachings of Jesus Christ which you can get for free by clicking on the link.
• To give a brief accounting of the importance of baptism we must understand these things. Baptism is the way that we receive the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as our own, which we receive by faith. We die and are raised with Him through the process of baptism. It is by this that we are born again, or born from above as new creations in Jesus Christ. It is because we receive and believe we have died with Christ and been raised with Him through baptism that we are set free from all sins, past, present and future. Furthermore, we are set free from the law of Moses through dying with Christ in baptism. Finally, through baptism we enter the kingdom of God in this time. Since we die to this world when we put on the death of Christ Jesus through baptism, we are raised as new creations, born again into the kingdom of God. We cease to be citizens of the kingdom of the world and become citizens of the kingdom of God.
• All of this and more occurs because of and through baptism. This is why it is so important, and why Jesus taught His disciples to baptise the new converts as part of the first stage of conversion to Christianity. All of these things are discussed, with scriptures to back it all up, in the free eBook at the link above. If you want to know more, including how and why this works and matters, along with what comes after baptism, then I highly recommend you grab a copy of the eBook.

Scripture: John 4:4-5 – The Beginning of Jesus’ Ministry to the Samaritans

• In these words we see that Jesus was travelling from Judea back into Galilee. The route that He took was taking Him through the regions of Samaria. This was actually quite a brave decision. The route through Samaria was a treacherous route. The Samaritans and the Jews hated one another for many reasons. One of the most significant is that the Jews under the rule of John Hyrcanus destroyed the Samaritan Temple on Mt. Gerizim in about 111-112 BCE. These things are mentioned in the next section of John chapter 4 when we look at the conversation between Jesus and the woman at the well, which will be covered in the next few posts.
• What is important to note in these words is who the Samaritans were. They are often looked down upon as Gentiles, but they were not. Recall that initially Jesus would not help the Canaanite woman who came seeking healing for her daughter. However, she showed her great faith when she spoke the words that even the dogs lick up the crumbs from their master’s table. (See Matthew 15:22-28). Seeing her faith, Jesus healed the woman’s daughter. But prior to this He made the point that, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24) Understanding this, we will find that Jesus had no issues or concerns speaking and preaching to the woman at the well or the Samaritans who came to Him out of the city of Sychar nearby.
• The reason why Jesus acted so differently with the Canaanite woman and the Samaritan woman at the well is this. The Canaanite woman was a Gentile. She was not a member of one of the “lost sheep of Israel.” The Canaanites were originally a pagan people who worshipped false gods and idols. They were the peoples that Joshua was instructed to remove from the Promised Land when the Israelites first arrived. But the Samaritans were members of the tribes of Israel, and were some of the “lost sheep” Jesus was sent to save. The people of Samaria were descended from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, who were the two half tribes of Joseph. They were direct descendants from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and they were part of the lost sheep of Israel.

Scripture: John 4:6 – An Ordinary Man

• The final verse in this section we are looking at brings home the fact that Jesus was an ordinary man. He walked the earth as the Son of God and He had worked in the Creation of the universe with the Father. But in His appearance on the earth to bring the good news of salvation, He appeared as an ordinary man. He looked ordinary and was no different in most respects to the rest of the people of His time. He ate, slept, drank, wept, worked, and walked from town to town as His ministry unfolded. And in these words here we see that He became tired and needed rest while the disciples went into the city of Sychar to buy food.
• Jesus was like you and I in all respects. He came not as a God, but as a man. Too often we see depictions of Jesus in art where He appears different from those around Him. He is shown with long hair that is a soft brown or almost blonde, blue eyes, fair skin, and a beautiful countenance. And nothing could be further from the truth.
• Think about it for a moment. He could easily travel and often seem invisible among crowds. If He looked as extraordinary as is often depicted, that would be impossible. He was a Jew by birth and would have the attributes, complexion and colouring of Jews. The people of the middle east were typically swarthy skinned with dark hair and brown eyes. His skin would probably be heavily tanned given that He worked initially outdoors as a carpenter, and when He began His ministry He preached and travelled outdoors in the sun. It was considered an abomination for a man to have long shoulder length hair under Jewish customs, so it is almost certain Jesus would have had quite short, dark hair. And apart from these suppositions, recall these words that spoke of Jesus and showed He was an ordinary man to look at.
  
  1 Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:1-3)
  
  Further evidence of His appearance as an ordinary man can be seen in other places. He did not stand out, as is apparent from the fact that Judas Iscariot had to identify Him and betrayed Him with a kiss. The soldiers with Judas needed him to identify Jesus because He did not stand out from the others with Him.
• We would do well to remember that Jesus was an ordinary man like the rest of us. He felt what we felt. He suffered what we suffer. And because of these things He can empathise with the problems we all face, having been there Himself. He understands us more deeply than we even understand ourselves because He was there in the Creation of man, and He lived as an ordinary man when He walked the earth.

Prayer Points:

• Take some time to pray and thank God for the fact that Jesus was an ordinary man who went through all of the things you and I go through today. He felt the highs and lows of the human condition, and because of that He can understand our situation and help us in our times of need.
• If you do not fully understand the importance and power of baptism that was a critical part of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, ask the Lord God to show you the fullness of this truth and the freedom it provides.