John 4 22

John 4:22 kjv

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

John 4:22 nkjv

You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.

John 4:22 niv

You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.

John 4:22 esv

You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.

John 4:22 nlt

You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews.

John 4 verses

John 4 22 Meaning

John 4:22 asserts that while Samaritans worship a God they do not fully comprehend in light of God's complete revelation, Jews worship God with understanding, informed by the entirety of the Old Testament scriptures which point to the Messiah. The pivotal truth presented is that salvation, in its divine plan and unfolding, originates "from the Jews" through whom God brought forth the Messiah and the full knowledge of His saving will.

John 4 22 Context

John 4:22 occurs in the midst of Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well in Sychar. The immediate context (John 4:20) is the woman's question regarding the correct place of worship: Mount Gerizim (Samaritan belief) or Jerusalem (Jewish belief). Jesus, rather than merely stating one place is superior, shifts the focus to the nature of true worship, moving beyond geographic location. Historically, Samaritans, stemming from a mix of Israelite and Assyrian populations after the fall of the Northern Kingdom, developed a distinct religious tradition, accepting only the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament) and establishing their temple on Mount Gerizim as a rival to the Jerusalem Temple. This created deep-seated animosity between Jews and Samaritans. Jesus' statement, while affirming the Jewish line of revelation, subtly prepares the woman and others for a worship not tied to a physical location, but to Spirit and Truth.

John 4 22 Word analysis

• You (Ὑμεῖς - Hymeis): A plural pronoun directly addressing the Samaritan woman and, by extension, her people. It signifies the collective understanding and practices of Samaritans.
• Worship (προσκυνεῖτε - proskyneite): Implies reverence, adoration, and prostration before God. The form here suggests their ongoing practice of worship.
• What you do not know (ὃ οὐκ οἴδατε - ho ouk oidate): This is a key phrase. "Do not know" does not mean they worshipped no god, or were totally godless. Rather, their knowledge of God was incomplete and misguided due to their rejection of God's fuller revelation beyond the Pentateuch (especially the Prophets), which elucidated His true nature, plans, and the coming Messiah. Their worship lacked the divine imprimatur and full truth revealed through God's covenant with Israel.
• We (ἡμεῖς - hēmeis): Refers to Jesus and the Jews, embodying the divinely sanctioned covenant people entrusted with God's complete revelation.
• Worship (προσκυνοῦμεν - proskynoumen): Again, devotion and adoration. This signifies worship that is informed, understood, and aligned with God's progressive self-disclosure.
• What we know (ὃ οἴδαμεν - ho oidamen): This refers to the Jews' possession of the full Old Testament scriptures, covenants, and prophetic promises concerning God's identity, His purposes, and the Messiah, all leading to Jesus Christ. This knowledge was foundational and authoritative.
• For (ὅτι - hoti): A causal conjunction, meaning "because" or "for this reason." It introduces the fundamental theological basis for Jesus' preceding declaration.
• Salvation (σωτηρία - sōtēria): Refers to divine deliverance, rescue, and preservation. In the New Testament, it profoundly encompasses spiritual, eternal redemption from sin and death, through reconciliation with God.
• Is from (ἐκ - ek): Literally "out of" or "from." This preposition signifies origin, source, or derivation. It points to the pathway and means God chose.
• The Jews (τῶν Ἰουδαίων - tōn Ioudaiōn): This signifies the people Israel. Salvation proceeds through their lineage (the Messiah being Jewish), their covenants (God's promises made to them), their scriptures (the revealed word of God preserved by them), and their historical experience, all of which prepare the way for Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of salvation.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "You worship what you do not know": This statement highlights the fundamental error in Samaritan worship—it was misinformed or deficient because it was based on an incomplete understanding of God's character and plan of redemption, rejecting much of God's established revelation. They lacked the true covenant context that the Jews possessed.
• "We worship what we know": This contrasts Jewish worship as being grounded in an informed and authentic understanding of God, given through His extensive and progressive revelation found in the Law, Prophets, and Writings. This "knowledge" anticipated the coming of the Messiah.
• "for salvation is from the Jews": This is the explanatory basis for the preceding assertion. It reveals the divinely appointed means through which salvation would be actualized. It is not an ethnic claim of exclusive salvation for Jews, but a theological truth about the means by which salvation would come to the world—namely, through the covenants, promises, and the lineage of the Jewish people, culminating in Jesus Christ.

John 4 22 Bonus section

• The phrase "from the Jews" anticipates Jesus' own self-identification as the long-awaited Jewish Messiah who would bring the universal offer of salvation. His identity is intertwined with this historical and theological lineage.
• While the Jewish understanding was more complete than the Samaritan, even Jewish leaders struggled to fully grasp Jesus' Messiahship. True knowledge requires recognizing and accepting Jesus as the Christ.
• The tension between Samaritan and Jewish worship traditions ultimately fades in Jesus' teaching here, as the focus shifts from where to how to whom one worships (John 4:23-24). The emphasis is placed on the Spirit's guidance and truth (revealed in Christ), not on ethnic or geographical affiliation.

John 4 22 Commentary

John 4:22 delivers a profound theological statement within a pastoral encounter, addressing a deeply rooted religious and ethnic conflict. Jesus affirms the validity of the Jewish theological tradition as the conduit of divine revelation, clarifying that salvation is intrinsically tied to God's dealings with the Jewish people. This is not about declaring superiority of race but identifying the specific, divinely appointed pathway for redemption.

The Samaritans, having a limited canon and alternative worship site, had an incomplete picture of God's redemptive plan. Their worship, though earnest, lacked the full, true understanding of God's nature and will, particularly regarding the Messianic prophecies that foretold the one through whom salvation would come. Jesus, being a Jew and the Christ, here validates the long history of God's interaction with Israel as the necessary and proper context for understanding the true path to God.

"Salvation is from the Jews" fundamentally points to Jesus Christ Himself. He is the Jewish Messiah, born of Jewish lineage (through David), fulfilling Jewish prophecies, and embodying the full revelation of God anticipated in the Jewish Scriptures. He is the salvation that comes from the Jews, offered universally. This pivotal declaration corrected the Samaritan woman's geographical query by redirecting her attention to the historical and theological foundation of salvation that transcended physical locations, setting the stage for the worship in "Spirit and Truth" (John 4:23-24) that follows. It shows God's faithfulness to His covenants with Israel, while simultaneously laying the groundwork for a salvation accessible to all who believe, regardless of their ethnic background, through this Jewish Messiah.