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Mysteries of John
Chapter 4
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[Mysteries of John]
[Charles Fillmore's Works] [Unity on the Web Home Page]
John: Chapter 4
When therefore the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard
that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than
John 2 (although Jesus himself baptized not, but his
disciples), 3 he left Judaea, and departed again into
Galilee. 4 And he must needs pass through Samaria. 5 So he
cometh to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the
parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph: 6 and
Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with
his journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth
hour.
THE NAME Samaria means "watchtower"; and Samaria represents
that department of the objective consciousness which
functions through the head. The name Sychar means
"drunken," and the place symbolizes a confused state of
mind. Sychar was located near the parcel of ground that
Jacob gave to his son Joseph; physiologically it
corresponds to the forehead, seat of intellectual
perception. Here also is Jacob's well--inspiration through
the intellect alone.
Jesus--I AM--has been compassing the whole man, from within
to without, and the I AM "rests" at the point where the
intellectual and the spiritual meet.
7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus
saith unto her, Give me to drink. 8 For his disciples were
gone away into the city to buy food. 9 The Samaritan woman
therefore saith unto him, How is that thou, being a Jew,
asketh drink of me, who am a Samaritan woman? (For Jews
have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered and
said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and
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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. 11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast
nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: whence then
hast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our
Father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank thereof
himself, and his sons, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered
and said unto her, Every one that drinketh of this water
shall thirst again: 14 but whosoever drinketh of the water
that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water
that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water
springing up unto eternal life. 15 The woman saith unto
him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither
come all the way hither to draw. 16 Jesus saith unto her,
Go, call thy husband, and come hither. 17 The woman
answered and said unto him, I have no husband. Jesus saith
unto her, Thou saidst well, I have no husband: 18 for thou
hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not
thy husband: this hast thou said truly. 19 The woman saith
unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. 20 Our
fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in
Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 21 Jesus
saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when
neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye
worship the Father. 22 Ye worship that which ye know not:
we worship that which we know; for salvation is from the
Jews. 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true
worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth:
for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers. 24 God
is Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit
and truth. 25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah
cometh (he that is called Christ): when he is come, he will
declare unto us all things. 26 Jesus saith unto her, I that
speak unto thee am he.
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27 And upon this came his disciples; and they marvelled
that he was speaking with a woman; yet no man said, What
seekest thou? or, Why speakest thou with her? 28 So the
woman left her waterpot, and went away into the city, and
saith to the people, 29 Come, see a man, who told me all
things that ever I did: can this be the Christ? 30 They
went out of the city, and were coming to him.
Jesus preached one of His greatest sermons to the woman at
the well; she was a Samaritan, a heathen. ("Jews have no
dealings with Samaritans.") Her highest concept of God was
that of a being who had to be worshiped in some temple in
Jerusalem or in a certain mountain. Jesus told her, "God is
Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit
and truth."
To worship God truly we must know where He is and how to
approach Him. If, as many teach, God lives in heaven, and
heaven is located somewhere in the skies, we have a
consciousness of separation from Him, and our approach to
Him is uncertain.
But when we know the truth about God, that He is an
omnipresent Spirit manifesting Himself to our mind when we
think of Him as one with us in Spirit and responding to our
every thought, then we know Him as He is.
This lesson on omnipresence needs constant repeating
because we function mentally and physically, the material
or manifest predominating. Here we are told that Jesus went
from Judea to Galilee. Judea connotes Spirit and Galilee
connotes manifestation. Jesus told the woman that salvation
came from the
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Judeans or spiritual-minded. It is easy to understand God
as Spirit and man as His spiritual offspring.
The "well of water springing up into eternal life" is the
fount of Christ inspiration within man's consciousness.
When the seal of material thought is broken this inner
spiritual life flows forth peacefully, majestically,
vitalizing and renewing mind and body. In the clear light
of Truth we are conscious of life as unchanging, eternal.
The Samaritan woman represents the duality of the soul or
subconsciousness. It is not the true source of wisdom,
although many searchers after Truth fail to distinguish
between its revelations and those of Spirit. In Hindu
metaphysics it is known as the human and animal soul.
The Samaritans claimed to be descendants of Jacob, and they
used portions of the Hebrew Scriptures, but in the eyes of
the Israelites the Samaritans were pretenders, not true
followers of Jehovah. Thus spiritually enlightened people
see in psychic and spiritistic phenomena and the
revelations of that branch of occultism an imitation of
Truth, without a true understanding of its relation to
Spirit.
But the soul must have Truth, and Christ recognizes the
soul as worthy; hence this wonderful lesson of John 4:9-26
given to one auditor. The soul draws its life from both the
earthly side of existence (Jacob's well) and the spiritual
(the Jew), but is destined to draw from a higher fount,
omnipotent Spirit. Jesus asked the woman for a drink, which
indicates the universality of the spiritual life, present
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in the Samaritan woman as well as in Jesus.
"The gift of God" to man is eternal life. The soul informed
of this truth asks the Father for the manifestation of this
life, and there gushes forth a never-failing stream. But
where sense consciousness is dominant the soul is slow to
see the realities of ideas, thoughts, and words; the sight
is fixed on material ways and means: "Thou hast nothing to
draw with ... whence then hast thou that living water?"
This is a fair setting forth of the status of the
questioning ones of this day who ask the explanation of
spiritual things on a material basis.
The Christ is a discerner of thoughts and reads the history
of the soul as an open book. When Jesus displayed this
ability to the woman, she at once had faith in Him and
accepted Him as a prophet, not because she understood His
doctrine, but because He had told her of her past: "Come,
see a man, who told me all things that ever I did."
In its natural state the soul is attached to localities,
forms, and conditions in the world. It believes in the
importance of places of worship and in the observance of
outward forms. The Mind of Spirit puts all such formalities
aside and proclaims the universality of spiritual forces.
"God is Spirit." "Neither in this mountain, nor in
Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father." The soul, by
falling into forms of worship, fails to get the true
understanding, but the Christ-minded know Spirit. They
enter into the consciousness of the formless life and
substance and they are satisfied.
The Jews represent spiritual understanding, inspiration;
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the Gentiles represent material understanding. Salvation
comes only through spiritual inspiration. This is the inner
interpretation of Jesus' words "Salvation is from the Jews."
The "woman of Samaria" is a combination of the intellectual
and emotional side of the soul. Jesus met her beside
Jacob's well (inspiration through the intellect alone) in
the city of Sychar (a confused state of mind). The I AM
(Jesus) has power to harmonize the intellect by the power
of Spirit. But before the I AM can do this, it must get the
intelligent attention of the mixed state of consciousness
symbolized by Sychar and the Samaritans. Being a
combination of both Hebrew and heathen blood, the
Samaritans were a mixed race; the woman at the well
recognized the separation that exists between absolute
Truth and the mixed thoughts of intellect. Jesus is not
afraid of being contaminated by such communion. He is
willing to imbibe the inspiration of this realm of mind,
and in so doing He comes in touch with its interests.
The Jesus consciousness is appealing to intellectual people
to recognize the gift of God, the Spirit of universal love
and brotherhood. It invites their thoughts to receive the
living inspiration, which may be had for the asking. But
man must ask. "Ask, and ye shall receive."
The questioning, analytical attitude taken by the woman at
the well represents the tendency of intellect to argue: "I
see no visible means whereby you can get the everlasting
water of life. Are you greater than all the precedents and
antecedents of intellectual inheritance and experience?"
These assumptions
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of the spiritual-minded that they have a truth higher than
human reason seem to be farfetched and ephemeral. These are
but a few of the many questions and objections of the
intellectually wise.
Nevertheless spiritual perception continues to affirm that
it has the inspiration that will never slacken or prove
wanting. The mortal understands so little that it is
constantly asking for more. It is never satisfied with
itself or with the knowledge that it finds; but whoever
drinks of the true spiritual inspiration will never thirst.
It will prove a "well of water springing up unto eternal
life."
The outer symbol of worship is adoration, homage; but
worship in Spirit and Truth involves absolute union with
the character of the object of worship. Therefore in order
to fulfill the requirements of spiritual worship, a right
understanding of God and a development in oneself of His
Spirit are necessary.
31 In the mean while the disciples prayed him, saying,
Rabbi, eat. 32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat
that ye know not. 33 The disciples therefore said one to
another, Hath any man brought him aught to eat? 34 Jesus
saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent
me, and to accomplish this work. 34 Say not ye, There are
yet four months, and then cometh the harvest? behold, I say
unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that
they are white already unto harvest, 36 He that reapeth
receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal;
that he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice
together. 37 For herein is the saying true, One soweth, and
another reapeth. 38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye have
not labored: others have labored, and ye are entered into
their labor.
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On the divine side of his being man makes contact with
spiritual ideas, which are the source of external substance
or food. The natural man (represented by the disciples)
thinks that the substance necessary for food must be put
through the material process of planting and harvesting,
but in Spirit the pure substance is always at hand ready to
be appropriated by the inner consciousness. In states of
high spiritual realization the desire for material food
vanishes. Jesus fasted for forty days and "afterward
hungered."
39 And from that city many of the Samaritans believed on
him because of the word of the woman, who testified, He
told me all things that ever I did. 40 So when the
Samaritans came unto him, they besought him to abide with
them: and he abode there two days. 41 And many more
believed because of his word; 42 and they said to the
woman, Now we believe, not because of thy speaking: for we
have heard for ourselves, and know that this is indeed the
Saviour of the world.
There are always those at hand who need help, and that is
our chance to administer aid. The woman who received help
from Jesus at the well fled to the city to tell the people
of Him. The result was that many came to Him, and He
ministered to them all, proving that salvation is for all
alike. "God is no respecter of persons." Salvation comes to
everyone who assimilates and appropriates these truths and
lets them find expression in and through him. Jesus healed
and freed those to whom He ministered, and they believed,
not because of what the woman said
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but because they themselves witnessed what Jesus Himself
did.
43 And after the two days he went forth from thence into
Galilee. 44 For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet
hath no honor in his own country. 45 So when he came into
Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all
things that he did in Jerusalem at the feast: for they also
went unto the feast.
Jesus came into Galilee, and the Galileans received Him.
Spiritually interpreted, this means that the indwelling
Christ reaches spiritual consummation, spiritual unity with
the original Spirit, in the measure that it manifests life
and functions in Spirit consciousness. Life activity
(Galilee) is omnipresent, and man needs to apprehend the
laws of Spirit, the laws governing all manifest things and
his relation to all things.
The natural man looks up to what he considers mysterious
and wonderful. He is not impressed by anything he thinks he
knows and understands. Miracles to him are expected to come
forth from some miraculous background. Therefore, Jesus,
the carpenter's son, was of too common origin for His
native companions to have any great faith in His claims of
spiritual inspiration. "No man is a hero to his tailor."
Therefore the Master "did not many mighty works there [in
Nazareth] because of their unbelief."
46 He came therefore again unto Cana of Galilee, where he
made the water wine. And there was
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a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47
When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into
Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would
come down, and heal his son; for he was at the point of
death. 48 Jesus therefore said unto him, Except ye see
signs and wonders, ye will in no wise believe. 49 The
nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.
50 So Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. The
man believed the word that Jesus spake unto him, and he
went his way. 51 And as he was now going down, his servants
met him, saying, that his son lived. 52 So he inquired of
them the hour when he began to amend. They said therefore
unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.
53 So the father knew that it was at that hour in which
Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed,
and his whole house. 54 This is again the second sign that
Jesus did, having come out of Judaea into Galilee.
It is believed by many professing Christians that the
healing of the nobleman's son was a miracle performed only
to furnish proof that Jesus came from God. A Bible
commentator who is counted very wise in Bible
interpretation has said: "Miracles have been wrought only
to authenticate the bearers of supernatural revelation, so
when a revelation is really being given, the dull minds of
men should be compelled to discern, and attend to it by
works so evidently due to divine power as to demonstrate
that the speaker must bring a message directly from God."
Yet Jesus Himself taught that those who believed on Him
should do the works that He did and greater works.
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The fact is that the healing of the nobleman's son is being
duplicated every day of the year by modern followers of
Jesus' methods, followers who have numberless absent
patients, whom they never see yet whom they heal as
effectually as Jesus healed the nobleman's son. Unity has
similar cases every day, and the testimonials that we
receive bear witness to the efficacy of our healing
ministry. The light of Truth is shining more brightly today
than ever before. The same faith that healed the nobleman's
son will heal all persons who open their minds to it and
let go of prejudice and unbelief. This fact is being
demonstrated to all who are willing to believe.
Faith on the part of the patient or of someone connected
with him is found to be an important factor in absent
healing. This nobleman had faith that Jesus could heal his
son, and when Jesus uttered the positive truth "Go thy way;
thy son liveth," he "believed the word."
Spiritual healing is so marvelous and so far beyond the
range of human explanation that it may appear to be
supernatural. We cannot explain it clearly, but this we
know: When we attain oneness with the invisible force that
moves the mind, a new and higher energy sweeps through us;
the thought is ablaze, and even our spoken words seem
alive. When the word or spiritualized thought is sent to a
receptive mind, it is conducted like the oscillations of
the wireless telegraph; there is a universal thought ether
that carries the message.
When the word goes forth from a spiritual center
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(represented by Jesus and His apostles) it becomes a
continuous life-giver to all who believe in the spiritual
as the source of life. Through faith they "tune in" and
catch the message from the living word. "The words that I
have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life." "Heaven and
earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away."
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[Mysteries of John]
[Charles Fillmore's Works] [Unity on the Web Home Page]
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