2026/02/09

234. The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant: The Evangelist John's Insight III

Continuing the theme of John chapter 4. Although contemporaries might have guessed the Samaritan woman’s circumstances for coming to the well to draw water at the deserted hour of midday, Jesus, despite meeting her for the first time, told her, "You have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband" (Jn 4:18). This was because Jesus was God, and precisely as it is written: "He knew all men and needed no one to bear witness of man; for he himself knew what was in man" (2:25). 

Through her dialogue with Jesus, she became aware of the deep, urgent thirst for God within her own heart and asked Jesus for living water of her own accord. Jesus gave it, i.e., the living Word, to her. It was God, Jesus, who guided her, even if only for a short time. Only God can make such an approach appealing to intrinsic motivation in a situation where there is no information. This is the first point. 

At the end of their conversation, when she said, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ); when he comes, he will show us all things" (Jn 4:25), Jesus clearly answered, "I who speak to you am he" (4:26). Nevertheless, she could not fully receive Jesus' words. She was not prepared to do so. Her words spoken to the people when she went to the town show this: "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" (4:29). This is the second point. 

The Gospel inserts here the parable of the harvest that Jesus spoke to his disciples while the Samaritan woman was absent. As we have previously discussed, within this parable too, there is a progression from the theme of eating and drinking to the theme of life, and then to the theme of worship. That was to teach the disciples about the "true worshipers" (Jn 4:23), as Jesus had said, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work" (4:34), and then said, "He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together" (4:36). The "reaper" referes to the disciples, and the "wages" the "reaper" receives refer to the fruit that leads to eternal life—that is, the people gathered around Jesus. 

Then, Jesus continued: "For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.'" (Jn 4:37). In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus says, "The sower sows the word" (Mk 4:14). The Samaritan woman had indeed sown the word. Jesus' words, "You have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband," were the word of God. Furthermore, His words to His disciples, "I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor" (Jn 4:38), were foretelling the theme of worship. The priesthood of the New Covenant consists in partaking of the fruit of others' labour. This is the third point. 

When the disciples, Jews, went into the Samaritan town to buy food, they would have been noticed by the townspeople. In this situation, the shocking experience of the Samaritan woman was recounted. Her experience was accompanied by the word of God. Thus, "they went out of the city and were coming to him [Jesus]" (Jn 4:30). Even if the townspeople had looked down on her in daily life, they were drawn by the account of her experience, relayed immediately after seeing the Jewish disciples, and came to Jesus. This is the fourth point. 

Jesus stayed there for two days at their request, and thus, they received God's formation, while the disciples learned the circumstances. The townspeople told the woman, "It is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world" (Jn 4:42). The townspeople declared that they had accepted Jesus and believed in his name of their own accord. At the heart of this entire sequence, Jesus was always present. This is the fifth point. 

The five points that have emerged here can be summarised as follows. The first point is that only God can employ an approach appealing to intrinsic motivation in a situation where there is no information. The second point is that one cannot fully receive Jesus' words without preparation to do so. The third point is that the priesthood of the New Covenant consists in partaking in the fruit of others' labours. The fourth point is that the Word is present with those who proclaim Jesus. The fifth point is that Jesus is always present in the flow whereby people come to accept and believe in him of their own accord. 

We, possessing the New Testament, can now know both the exchange between Jesus and the Samaritan woman when the disciples were absent, and what Jesus spoke to the disciples while the Samaritan woman was absent. Herein lies the fundamental principle that those who receive the priesthood of the New Covenant, and simultaneously the Church which receives them, must recognise to safeguard and preserve the priesthood of the New Covenant. These principles have been transmitted to us believers today due to the following decision of the Apostles: "But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:4). 

Maria K. M.