42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
Verse 42 is a summary of the woman’s ministry to the Samaritans.
42 Then they said to the woman,
The crowd from Samaria affirmed the woman for her testimony to them.
“Now we believe,
The Samaritans came to believe in Christ. It is impossible to become a Christian without believing in Christ and His work.
not because of what you said,
The people of Sychar believed in Jesus primarily because of what Jesus said, not what she said.
for we ourselves have heard Him
Every person must decide for himself or herself. Secondhand truth is not as important as firsthand knowledge.
and we know that this is indeed the Christ,
The townspeople emphasized the importance of their own personal contact with Jesus to confirm their salvation.
the Savior of the world [humanity].”
To know Jesus and why He came is to experience what salvation is all about (1 Jn 4:14).
Jesus was not the Savior of Jews only; He was the Savior of the Samaritans as well (Ac 1:8). Jesus was not merely the Savior of the Jews but He was the “Savior of the world.” The gospel was beginning to move beyond the Jews. The title of “Savior” was deliberately chosen by John as a term of sovereign majesty.
PRINCIPLE:
The two conditions for salvation are to admit our need of a Savior and then to believe on Him.
APPLICATION:
What a wonderful thing we see here. The Samaritans came to the Living Water and they drank. The first condition was for them to thirst. We will never know that we thirst until we know that we are sinners (Is 55:1; Jn 7:37). There are only two conditions to become a Christian—thirst and believe.
