4:1 When {1} therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,
(1) This balance is to be kept in doing our duty, that neither by fear are we terrified from going forward, and neither by rashness procure or bring dangers upon ourselves.
4:1-3 Jesus at Sychar
SUMMARY OF JOHN 4:
At Jacob's Well. The Woman of Samaria. The Question of Scared Places. God to Be Worshiped in Spirit. The Samaritans Hear the Lord. Jesus Departs to Galilee. The Nobleman's Son Healed.
When therefore the Lord knew, etc. These verses tell why Jesus ended his ministry in Judea, for the present, and departed into Galilee. The Pharisees were becoming jealous of his increasing influence and the time had not come for an open conflict.
4:1 The Lord knew - Though none informed him of it.
4:1-3 Jesus applied himself more to preaching, which was the more excellent, 1Co 1:17, than to baptism. He would put honour upon his disciples, by employing them to baptize. He teaches us that the benefit of sacraments depends not on the hand that administers them.
