"The Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast" (John 4:45).
Here we find a stark contrast between Jesus’ ministry in Samaria and His work among the Jews in Galilee. Having stayed two days in Samaria, Jesus returned to His homeland, realizing that He would receive no honor there. The thrust of His ministry, while it would be expanded to all nations, was primarily to the Jewish people. Though Jesus was eventually rejected by them, He was faithful to carry out His Father’s plan to go to the Jews first, then to the Gentiles.
The people of Samaria wanted Him to remain, to teach them because they recognized that He was indeed the Savior of the world. But He had to leave, to resume His duties among a people who wanted Him around merely because He could do some great miracles, but who didn’t really want to listen to the truth and who would eventually turn their backs on Him in great numbers (John 6:66).
While the Samaritans believed in Jesus because of what they had heard, the Galileans received Him because of the things they had seen in Jerusalem. Jesus had performed a number of miracles in Jerusalem as a testimony to His authority. The miracles were a supplement to His teaching, but they were not the basis of faith.
Jesus wanted the Jewish people to believe in Him personally, to listen to His teaching. But they were mainly interested in His powers. As a result, they did not honor Him as the Messiah, they simply welcomed Him to be a part of their community as one would welcome a court magician. Later, we discover how spurious their confession was when, as Jesus’ teaching comes more and more to the forefront of His ministry, they leave Him, unable to accept His difficult teaching concerning judgment, the spiritual nature of His kingdom, and salvation to all nations.
Leon Morris rightly comments, “The enthusiasm of the Galileans was not soundly based. It was dependent on the wonder arising from the sight of the signs, not on a realization that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world. Their very acceptance of Him was thus in its way a rejection. They gave Him honor of a sort, but it was not the honor that was due to Him.” May we honor Christ, not simply for what He can do, but for who He is.
What would you say to someone who said, “I just can’t accept Christianity as true because I see no evidence in my life. I want to see something miraculous, some kind of sign in my own experience to prove that it is indeed true.”
