A Study of John 4:1-24

In the fourth chapter of John we read of the familiar story of the Lord Jesus speaking to a Samaritan woman at the well in Sychar. Here was the Lord of glory, the Creator of heaven and earth, talking to an adulterous woman of Samaria, and this discussion eventually led to the salvation of her soul. That is why I chose for the title of this study, “A Delightful Conversation”.

Is this not a lovely story?

Do you not wish you would have been there and listen in on this conversation?

And that is exactly what we are going to do now. We are moving in closer, and for starters let us now read John 4:1-4,



A Woman of Samaria (John 4:1-26, 2 Kings 17:41, Ephesians 1:3-5)

John 4:1
When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,

John 4:2
(Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)

John 4:3
He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.

John 4:4
And he must needs go through Samaria.

What do we read here?

When the Lord Jesus knew that the Pharisees made a big thing out of the water baptism that the disciples of Jesus practiced, the Lord Jesus packed up and left with His disciples. It was as if He said, “Time to go guys; they are gossiping about us as if we are competing with John the Baptist; but I have not been sent to baptize but to preach the Gospel of the kingdom of God.” And so, they packed up and left.

And then we read, “And he must needs go through Samaria.” They could have chosen a different way like all the Jews did who travelled from Judaea to Samaria and back: they crossed the Jordan River, walked through Gentile country, and crossed the Jordan again into Galilee, thereby avoiding Samaria altogether.

Why did the Jews despise the Samaritans so much?

Well, we can read in 2 Kings 17 the inspired account of the unlovely origin of the Samaritans. They were Gentiles who occupied the northern kingdom of Israel, because the king of Assyria had removed the inhabitants of Israel and has put Gentiles in their place. And thus these people were a mixed breed; they pretended to serve the Lord Jehovah, but they worshipped their graven images.

2 Kings 17:41
So these nations feared Jehovah, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children’s children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.

And thus the nation of Judah considered these Samaritans to be infidels, and worse than Gentiles. But the Lord Jesus ignored that and He had to go through Samaria.

Why was that so?

He had to meet this woman of Samaria at the well of Sychar, because by God’s sovereign providence it was determined that she had to become saved.

Do you believe in predestination?

Perhaps you do not believe in predestination, but God speaks about it in the first chapter of Ephesians. It is amazing to me, but here is a chapter that most churches today have failed to tell their congregations. And yet it is imperative that we read this, for here we get to know the God who wrote the Bible. We read in Ephesians 1:3-5,

Ephesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Ephesians 1:4
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Ephesians 1:5
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.

Notice the words “in Christ” and “in Him”. We were placed in Him. In other words, before the foundation of the world the Father chose a certain number of people to become saved through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. These people were predestined to become saved, and the Father appointed them to become adopted children of God through Jesus Christ, and become the Bride of Christ, and all that purely according to the good pleasure of His will. This woman of Samaria was one of those who had been chosen by the Father, and now the Lord Jesus came to bring her the Gospel. Notice the love of God for this adulterous woman. And notice also the love of God for us who also are adulterers and adulteresses.

John 4:5
Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

John 4:6
Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

John 4:7
There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.

John 4:8
(For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)

John 4:9
Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

John 4:10
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

John 4:11
The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?

John 4:12
Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

John 4:13
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:

John 4:14
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

John 4:15
The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

John 4:16
Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.

John 4:17
The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:

John 4:18
For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.

John 4:19
The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

John 4:20
Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

John 4:21
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

John 4:22
Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

John 4:23
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

John 4:24
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

John 4:25
The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.

John 4:26
Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

This was the historical event of Jesus talking to the woman of Samaria at the well of Sychar. But there is also a spiritual side to this story, and that is what I presently want to get into. God has given us this story not just to know what went on a long, long time ago in a land far, far away, for that is the carnal way of reading the Bible, but God has given us this story to apply to our life that we live right now, and to know the mercy and love of God for us sinners. That is the spiritual side of this story.



The Gift of God (John 4:10, Matthew 7:13-14, Ephesians 1:3-5)

Have you noticed that this woman does not have a name?

When you see this in the Bible, remember that God did not give her a name because God intended her to represent a whole bunch of people. This woman represents all of us who have become saved, and she represents us at the time before the moment of our salvation. Yes, this woman represents you and me at a time before we got to know the Lord Jesus Christ. We were like this adulterous woman of Samaria. We were full of sinful thoughts and actions. We had no intention to meet the Lord Jesus or to repent of our sins, but He had plans to meet us where we are, right here in the midst of our daily business, like our daily routine of drawing water for the family.

John 4:10
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

First of all, what did the Lord Jesus mean when He said, “If you knew the gift of God”?

What is this gift of God?

The gift of God is eternal life. The gift of God is being allowed to go to heaven in the life hereafter. God teaches us in the Bible that all mankind, the way we are born in this world, is born wicked and is on the way to hell. We are all born this way. And thus, by nature we all are on a slippery slide going to hell. As a matter of fact, only a small fraction of mankind will enter into heaven. The Lord Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because narrow is the gate, and difficult is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

And thus, many are on the broad way that leads to hell, and few are on the way that leads to heaven. The probability that anyone is on the way to heaven is much smaller than the probability that they are on the way to hell.

Is that not a scary thought?

And indeed, we need to examine ourselves to see where we are going when this body dies. That is an important examination. God also teaches us in the Bible that those who are on the way to heaven have received this as a free gift from God. Here is the gift of God. We must receive it freely, by grace. It cannot be earned or deserved by any set of good works that we do. That is why we looked at Ephesians 1:3-5.

The gift of God is the Gospel of Jesus Christ; it is the Good News that Jesus Christ suffered and died for our sins on the cross in our place. Only if Jesus Christ died for your sins will you receive the gift of God that you may enter into eternal life with Christ in heaven.

This gift of God is not something you can work for, for any work is something that you DO; this is not something for which you can make a decision, for making a decision is also a work that you DO; this is not something that you can earn as a reward for believing on the Lord Jesus as your Savior, for believing on Him is also a work that you DO; this gift of God is not something that you receive as a result of much prayer, for prayer is also something that you DO.

How then do we receive this gift of eternal life?

Well, God said in Ephesians 1:3-5 that God gives it according to the good pleasure of His will. And when God gives it to you, you will know it, for He has made you “Born Again”; He has made you a new creature from the inside. He has made you aware that the Lord Jesus Christ has suffered and died for your sins, and now you are no longer condemned for your sins, and in addition He has lifted you up to the status of a son of God (1 John 3:1).

This is the gift of God. This is the Good News. This is the Gospel.

And so, when you examine yourself you are actually searching if God has changed you at a certain point in your life, if God has made you Born Again. When we speak of God, we are speaking of the God of the Bible and not of the god that some looney preacher tells you about. Do not bark up the wrong tree, for the God of the Bible is the only true God in this universe, and He does not appreciate it if you pray to some idol that comes out of the minds of men. Let us return now to John 4:10.



Living Water (John 4:10, 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, 1 Corinthians 2:7)

Paraphrased the Lord says, “If you knew the gift of God, and if you knew who I am, you would have asked Me a drink of water, and I would have given you living water.” This expression “living water” occurs more often in the Bible. Here in the Gospel of John it appears in chapters 4 and 7. In the Old Testament it appears in the Song of Solomon, in Jeremiah and in Zechariah. Then it also appears in Leviticus and in Numbers as “running water” but literally the Hebrew text says “living water”. It shows that God intended the Bible to be understood as a spiritual Book, rather than an historical book. The “living water” is used as a symbol for the Gospel, the Good News. In fact, those who preach the Gospel speak as if the words of the Gospel pour out of their mouth like water running out of a fountain. This is the symbol for the Gospel that we find in the Bible in many places. That is why the Lord Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “you would have asked Me a drink of water, and I would have given you living water.” In other words, “You would have asked me for a spiritual drink from the Bible, and I would have given you the pure essence of the Gospel.”

What is the pure essence of the Gospel?

The Lord Jesus answers this question with words He gave to the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:2. In this chapter the apostle Paul focusses on the pure essence of the Gospel, and he reminds the Corinthians what the essential points were of his Gospel presentation among them. Especially he stated in 1 Corinthians 2:7 that he spoke “the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained (lit: which God predestined) before the world unto our glory.” And so, when we read these words it must be very clear that the Bible must be understood spiritually, for it is a spiritual Book. The words of the Gospel must be understood spiritually. We read in 1 Corinthians 2:1-2,

1 Corinthians 2:1
And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

1 Corinthians 2:2
For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

What is the apostle saying here?

Is Paul saying that during his entire stay of one and a half years he said nothing else than “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified”?

Of course that cannot be true.

What then did he mean in 1 Corinthians 2:2?

Paul stated that the pure essence of the Gospel is Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and all the rest of the Gospel story revolves around this main theme. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ must stand central to everything else relating to the Good News of the grace and mercy and the love of God. Christ crucified means that the righteousness of God, or the justness of God as the Judge, was satisfied on behalf of the sins of all those whom God had appointed to be the Bride of Christ. Christ crucified means that those of us who were appointed to be in Christ from before the foundation of the world were crucified with Christ, we have died with Christ, we were buried with Christ, and we were raised with Christ when He was raised from the tomb. And therefore God will never send us to hell, for we have been there already when the Lord Jesus Christ our representative endured the equivalent of an eternity in hell during His crucifixion. O yes, Christ did endure the equivalent of an eternity in hell, for He came to pay the payment that we had to pay for our sins. If God is a righteous Judge, then He will require that the payment that Christ made would be equivalent to the payment that we would have to make. This is the gift of God given to us through the cross of Christ. It is an immensely great gift.



Everlasting Life (John 4:14, Romans 10:17, Ephesians 1:3-5, John 6:37, John 6:44)

Now what is the purpose of this “living water”?

What is the purpose of proclaiming the Gospel, or what is the purpose of hearing the Gospel?

God says in Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

What does this mean?

It means that if it pleases God to do so, the faith that accompanies salvation comes by hearing the message of the Gospel with your physical ears, and then the spiritual hearing, or understanding the spiritual message, comes by a spoken word of God. And the hearing with your physical ears should be understood loosely; it can also be in the form of reading the true Gospel in the Bible, which means that the Gospel message comes to you not through the ear-gate but through the eye-gate. But if it pleases God to save you, hearing the Gospel makes you suddenly sit up and listen carefully; it makes you interested and makes you want to know more. The Lord says in John 4:14,

John 4:14
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

In other words, “Whosoever drinks of the Gospel that I shall give him, his spiritual thirst for the Gospel shall be satisfied forever, and the Gospel that I shall give him shall lead him to salvation, and it becomes in him a fountain of Gospel messages flowing from his lips leading many others into everlasting life.”

For example, we can see it here in John chapter 4. The Lord Jesus was sitting alone with this poor outcast of her society, to settle with her the great question of where she would spend eternity. He showed her herself, her sinful self, and then He revealed Himself. This is exactly what He does with every soul that He calls to Himself. He takes us apart from the maddening world, exposes us to our sinful condition, and then makes known to us in whose presence we are, leading us to ask from Him that precious gift which He alone can give. We can see it here. Tenderly and patiently He led this woman, step by step, touching her heart, searching her conscience, awakening her soul to her deep need, and then asking Him to give her this living water so that she too may have everlasting life.

What is everlasting life?

It is life in the presence of God without end. You see, when we are born into this world we are spiritually dead. God calls us “dead in trespasses and sins.” The natural man is not able to do anything that is good in the sight of God. But when Christ gives us faith to believe in Him through the Gospel, this is evidence that we have been “Born Again” and we have come alive before God, and Christ gives us everlasting life. This is not a future promise for our existence after we have died. Everlasting life begins now, in this life, and when we have received it, it is life in the presence of God without end. We can never lose it.

But who will go to the extent of asking the Lord for eternal life?

The woman of Samaria did, and so will everyone who has been chosen by God in Christ from before the foundation of the world.

Who will be made willing, under the influence of God the Holy Spirit, to ask the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and for eternal life?

We already know the answer from Ephesians 1:3-5; it will be all those whom the Father has placed in Christ, for these are the ones who must become saved. We read in John 6:37,

John 6:37
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

And in verse 44 of the same chapter we see how God intends to do that. We read in John 6:44,

John 6:44
No man CAN come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

And so, who are the ones who will receive everlasting life?

They are all those whom the Father has placed in Christ from eternity past, and the Father draws them irresistibly to Christ.

Is there anyone else who becomes saved?

No, because no one else will feel to be drawn to Jesus, because “No man CAN come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.” None of the unsaved will be attracted to Jesus.



A Well of Water (John 4:14, John 4:10, John 6:44, 1 Samuel 2:8)

How does God the Father carry out His plan of drawing people to Jesus?

Let us read again John 4:14.

John 4:14
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

In other words, the ones who have become saved will proclaim the Gospel again to the world, and those whom God intends to save will hear and believe the Gospel. Many are called but few are chosen. Look at the mercy of God for unworthy sinners. And thus the new person who became saved shall be to the rest of the world a new fountain of living water, a new fountain of Gospel messages, which God is going to use to bring the Gospel to those who need to hear it.

And what is it that mankind needs to hear?

We need to hear that all mankind is corrupt through “Adam’s Fall”, and thus that all within mankind, who die without Christ, are on the way to hell. That is the bad news. But God provided a way of escape, and the way of escape begins with “Repent and believe the Gospel.”

But who will believe?

No one will believe unless the Father draws them, according to John 6:44. Perhaps you remember that the Lord Jesus said to the Samaritan woman in John 4:10, “Thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water.”

But asking follows out of knowing and hearing. The Lord Jesus said in John 4:10, “If thou knewest the gift of God,……thou wouldest have asked of Him.”

But O how reluctant we are. God has so much to do for us, and to do within us, before we are really ready to ask, namely, that we must experience divine quickening. Many times, God has to bring calamities in our life to make us even consider to seek for Him. We have to be brought to a realization of our awful condition and terrible danger: We must see ourselves as lost, undone, and bound for the lake of fire, if we die without Christ as our Savior.

We must be made to see our desperate need for a Savior. And God has to show us the utter vanity and worthlessness of everything in this world, so that we experience an acute thirst for the Water of Life.

When God quickens us to life, we our brought to see our own sinfulness and in this process we are to despair, until we are made to wonder whether God can possibly save such a wretch like me. God has to strip us from the filthy rags of our own self-righteousness, and make us willing to come to Christ just as we are, as an empty-handed beggar, ready to receive Divine charity.

You know this is exactly how God describes us when we finally come to Him, for it takes a great deal of drawing by the Father before we are willing to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is a verse that accurately describes the mercy of God for unworthy sinners. We come as beggars, pleading bankrupt beggars. We read in 1 Samuel 2:8,

1 Samuel 2:8
He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, and he hath set the world upon them.

Look at this now. We come as beggars, with nothing in our hands, for we have nothing to offer to God that is of any value. Even our faith is a worthless nothingness. But in His mercy He raises us up out of the dust. He lifts us up from the dunghill, and the dunghill refers to all the riches of this world. And then He lifts us up and sets us among princes in the courts of heaven, for He makes us as sons of God and as the Bride of Christ. And in the life hereafter He makes us inherit the throne of glory.

Do you see that?

That is a singular throne of glory. That is the throne of the Lord Jesus Christ. What a mercy and what a grace. In the life hereafter we have all eternity to think about, and to meditate upon, and to be eternally grateful for the enormous gift that God has bestowed upon us, entirely by His grace. And think of the fountain of living water that was instrumental in giving us this message and this promise from God.



In Spirit and in Truth (John 4:23-24, Proverbs 15:8, Philippians 3:3, Matthew 15:8-9, Psalm 89:7)

The God of the Bible is the true God who created us and who created this universe. Perhaps you realize how great this universe is. God is greater than this universe. This great God is not our buddy like some churches claim. This great God is not our equal, like some religions portray Him, as if this great God enters a contract with us, humans. This great God does not make a contract with us by saying, “If you are obedient to My commandments, if you believe on Me, then I shall reward you with eternal life.” That is not at all the language of the Bible. If we have such an image of God then we believe in an idol, and we are barking up the wrong tree. The God of the Bible is an awesome God; He is a sovereign God; He is a God who delights in mercy and goodness and truth, and at the same time He is a God who demands justice for He will not clear the guilty. He is a God whom we must worship in spirit and in truth. That is what the Lord Jesus said to the Samaritan woman. We read in John 4:23-24,

John 4:23
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

John 4:24
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

What does this mean that we must worship the Father in Spirit and in truth?

Did you notice that verse 23 starts with “But the hour cometh and now is”?

It means that a new order of things was about to be established, and under it God was no longer addressed as Jehovah (the covenant keeping God) but as “the Father”. And in answer to the question of the woman the Lord Jesus spoke about: not Where to worship God but How to worship Him. It really does not matter where you worship the Lord, as long as it is not a place of idolatrous worship.

You do not worship the Father in a synagogue, for present day Jews have another god than the God of the Bible. To worship the Father in spirit and in truth means the opposite of worshiping Him through rituals and ceremonies. Instead we worship Him with an understanding mind and with an affectionate heart. We worship Him not in pretense, but sincerely. Much that passes for worship these days is fleshly rather than spiritual. People are satisfied with external and spectacular rituals, rather than internal and reverential worship.

What are all the ornate decorations in our churches for?

People admire stained glass windows, and costly hangings and fittings. And if we say something about it the people’s reply is usually: God’s house must be beautiful, and we love this artistic paraphernalia. What they really mean is: “We love to have it so, and therefore God should love it too.”

But think now, did God not say that His thoughts are entirely different from man’s thoughts?

And then people remind us of the beauty of Solomon’s temple.

O yes, look at Solomon’s temple, and what do we see?

It’s destruction!

Think of all the pomp and pride of the Vatican, and the magnificent cathedrals and stately churches erected at enormous expense, while half the human race was hastening to the lake of fire without any knowledge of Christ.

Does this destruction of half the human race look as though God esteemed those ornate churches highly?

Of course not!

“The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 15:8).

What is worship?

First it is an action of the new nature of the Born Again believer. God says in Philippians 3:3, “We are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”

Secondly, worship is the activity of a redeemed people. The children of Israel did not worship when they were in Egypt. They only began to worship after they had passed through the Red Sea and they saw their enemies dead on the seashore.

Thirdly, worship proceeds from the heart. The Lord Jesus tells us in Matthew 15:8-9, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

Worship then is the occupation of the heart with a known God; and everything that attracts the flesh and its senses distracts us from real worship. Modern worship is chiefly designed to render it pleasing to the flesh: A bright and attractive service, with beautiful surroundings, and entertaining talks. What a mockery of God and what a blasphemy. It would be better if we remember the words of Psalm 89:7, “God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.”

How different things would be if we fear God. True worship, spiritual worship is to fear God and to worship Him with a peaceful heart and a rejoicing spirit. Rejoicing, because He has made us aware that we are adopted children of God.



Salvation Is of the Jews (John 4:21-22, Romans 2:28-29)

Let us now look at John 4:21-22. The Lord Jesus said here,

John 4:21
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

John 4:22
Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

The Lord Jesus told the woman, and He tells us, that the time had come when public worship of the Lord is not going to be at one particular place. In a few years the temple at Jerusalem and the entire city of Jerusalem was going to be destroyed, and then the question whether the Lord must be worshipped in the temple in Jerusalem will be totally irrelevant.

In fact, in many congregations today God is not worshipped in spirit and in truth, and many saints are discovering that it is more faithful to worship God at home since they cannot find a congregation that is truly serving the Lord. But then the Lord said something remarkable. He said in verse 22, “We know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.” Now, we cannot pass this off as if this statement only applies to the time that Jesus talked with this woman at the well.

We know that the Bible was written for all times and for all people, and not only for the people of those days.

How do we harmonize this verse with other statements in Revelation 2 and 3 where God says that the Jews belong to the synagogue of Satan?

It is true that in Old Testament time the message of salvation was found in the temple and it was found with the Old Testament prophets of God. The descendants of Jacob were entrusted with the oracles of God. They were the keepers of the scrolls. But all that changed after the Lord Jesus went to the cross. After the cross God changed His terminology, because most of the Jews did not believe in Him. We read in Rom 2:28-29

Romans 2:28
For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

Romans 2:29
But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

The name “Jew” is derived from Judah, which means “Praise.” God states here in Romans 2:28-29 that He is no longer praised by the physical descendants of Jacob, but He is praised by those who have been circumcised in their heart, which means He is praised by those who have been “Born Again”, who have been changed from sinners into saints, who have been changed from sinners to sons of God. And this is the first of a long list of changes in terminology that God has made after the cross. It would be to the praise and glory of God if we search through the Bible and find all these changes after the cross. It would be very much to the praise and glory of God when we follow the example of the Savior in speaking to those who have never heard the Gospel. It may be to them also a Delightful Conversation.

AMEN.

By Alfred J. Chompff