And many more believed
This phrase highlights the growing faith among the Samaritans, a group traditionally at odds with the Jews. The context of this passage is Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, which led to her testimony about Him. The Samaritans' belief signifies a breaking of cultural and religious barriers, as they were considered heretical by the Jews. This event foreshadows the later spread of the Gospel to the Gentiles, as seen in Acts 1:8, where Jesus commands His disciples to be witnesses "in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

because of His message.
The term "message" refers to the words and teachings of Jesus, which were powerful enough to inspire faith. Unlike the initial belief of the Samaritans, which was based on the woman's testimony, this belief was directly due to Jesus' own words. This underscores the authority and truth of Jesus' teachings, as seen in John 6:63, where He states, "The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life." The emphasis on His message also points to the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies about the coming of a prophet like Moses, as mentioned in Deuteronomy 18:15, who would speak God's words to the people.

1. Jesus Christ
The central figure in this passage, whose words lead many to believe. His interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well is the catalyst for the events in this chapter.

2. Samaritans
The people of the town of Sychar in Samaria, who come to believe in Jesus through His words and the testimony of the Samaritan woman.

3. The Samaritan Woman
Initially encounters Jesus at the well and becomes a witness to her townspeople, leading them to seek Jesus themselves.

4. Sychar
A town in Samaria where Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman and where many come to believe in Him.

5. The Disciples
Followers of Jesus who witness the events and learn from His interactions with the Samaritans.The Power of the Word
Jesus' words have the power to transform lives and lead to belief. We should prioritize reading and meditating on Scripture to strengthen our faith.

The Role of Personal Testimony
The Samaritan woman's testimony led others to seek Jesus. Our personal accounts of faith can be powerful tools for evangelism.

Breaking Cultural Barriers
Jesus' interaction with the Samaritans shows that the Gospel transcends cultural and ethnic boundaries. We should be open to sharing the Gospel with all people.

Faith Beyond Sight
The Samaritans believed because of Jesus' word, not just His miracles. True faith often requires trusting in God's word even when we cannot see.

Community Impact
The belief of many Samaritans demonstrates the potential for community transformation when individuals encounter Christ. We should pray for and work towards the spiritual renewal of our communities.(41) And many more believed.--The veil is left upon those two days, as upon so many days in the life of Christ. We know how much was said at the well in a few minutes, and that many believed on Him in a few hours. What questions they must have asked! What truths He must have taught during this sojourn! How that central truth of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man must have burned in the hearts of this mixed and despised people! Salvation was of the Jews, and they were from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim. But Fatherhood is a truth for every heart of man, and He who thus linked heaven and earth was the Saviour of the world. We know not what words passed from them to Him, from Him to them; but we know that the result was that many more believed, and that those who before believed on testimony passed to the higher faith of personal conviction.

Verses 41, 42. - And very many more believed, during that visit, by reason of his word - Christ's own word. We know not what the word was, but the specimens which John has recorded make us certain that torrents of living water flowed from his lips. He was moving in the full power of the Spirit. He was unveiling the nature of that "salvation" which was, as he said, "from the Jews;" but a salvation which affected and was adapted to the whole world. And they (repeatedly) said to the woman (the play of aorist and imperfect tenses throughout this passage is very noteworthy), No longer do we believe by reason of thy speaking. The word λαλιά does not generally connote so serious a meaning as λόγος. The first word is used for "utterance" pure and simple (Matthew 26:73), and for the inarticulate voices of lower creatures as well, while λόγος and λέγειν never have the latter meaning; but still λαλιά is used in classical Greek for "discourse," and in John 8:43 is used by Christ of his own "utterance." Meyer says the term is purposely chosen from the standpoint of the speaker, while in ver. 39 λόγος is used of the same λαλιά by St. John as narrator. The above are the only times the term is found in the New Testament. For we have ourselves heard, and we know - fully, by personal intuition (we might have expected ἐγνῶμεν here) - that this is indeed the Saviour of the world. This sublime description only occurs in one other place in the New Testament (viz. 1 John 4:14), and here it falls from the lips of a Samaritan. There is no improbability that it should have expressed the thought of Samaritans, for they entertained wider and less nationalized views than did the Jews. Baur's notion, that the author wished to contrast heathen or Gentile susceptibility with Jewish narrowness and reserve, is out of keeping with the facts. A genuine heathen would have been as easy to invent as a susceptible Samaritan. "The Saviour of the world" is one of the noblest and most accurate terms in all the Bible to denote the work of Christ. It is the outcome of a discourse and of teaching which led men to the idea of spiritual and sincere worship of the Father, which searched for moral conditions rather than orthodox ritual, which demanded purity of life more than outward observance, and treated doing the will and work of the Father as more indispensable than necessary food. We need not be surprised (Acts 8.) to find the outcome of this sojourn of the Divine Lord among the misunderstood and hated Samaritans. The effort of the Tubingen school to find in this narrative an idealization of the synoptic tradition of Christ's special beneficence towards the Samaritans is very unfortunate, because, in Matthew 10:5, the "twelve" were forbidden to enter into cities of the Samaritans, and advised to occupy all their energies in evangelizing the cities of Israel. The record of Acts 8. affords very slender basis for a corresponding enlargement. The narrative before us shows that, in answer to the receptivity of the Samaritans, the Lord made the richest and fullest and most explicit and immediate revelation of himself. The extension of the kingdom of grace to Samaritans, and their incorporation into the body of Christ, was arrested by the need of the visit of the apostles, by the magic and hypocrisy of Simon; of which there is not here the slightest trace.

Parallel Commentaries ...


And
Καὶ (Kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

many
πολλῷ (pollō)
Adjective - Dative Neuter Singular
Strong's 4183: Much, many; often.

more
πλείους (pleious)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural - Comparative
Strong's 4119: Or neuter pleion, or pleon comparative of polus; more in quantity, number, or quality; also the major portion.

believed
ἐπίστευσαν (episteusan)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 4100: From pistis; to have faith, i.e. Credit; by implication, to entrust.

because of
διὰ (dia)
Preposition
Strong's 1223: A primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; through.

His
αὐτοῦ (autou)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

message.
λόγον (logon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3056: From lego; something said; by implication, a topic, also reasoning or motive; by extension, a computation; specially, the Divine Expression.


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NT Gospels: John 4:41 Many more believed because of his word (Jhn Jo Jn)