Why Did Jesus Leave Judea

Lesson #63

After 62 lessons we have finally come to the fourth chapter of John and a transition section defined by John 4:1 – 6. The section opens with the statement of why Jesus decided to leave Judea and travel to Galilee: “Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John” (John 4:1 ESV). Why would that information in the hands of the Pharisees cause Jesus to leave the area? In the sermon titled “You Will Never Be Thirsty Again”, John Piper gives four possibilities that I would like to make note of here.

The first possibility has to do with timing. In John 2:4 when the mother of Jesus informed him about the lack of enough wine, Jesus replied, “My hour has not yet come.” In John 7:30 after Jesus cried out that he knew the Father, and had come from him, and that he had sent him, “they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.” Did Jesus sense such a threat here and decided to avoid the possibility of arrest by the Pharisees by leaving the area?

The second possibility could relate to the growing popularity of Jesus being used by the Pharisees to discredit John. Leaving the area may have been a way to lessen the tension between the Pharisees and John over the call to repent and be baptized.

The third possibility relates to the desire or plans by the Pharisees to discredit both movements. By leaving the area, Jesus would draw their focus on what he was sent to accomplish by his Father.

The fourth possibility has to do with divine appointments. I have experienced this in my life. The call to minister in China, the people I crossed paths with that God wanted me to help in some way, or the need to pray for something that empresses my mind. Did Jesus feel a divine impulse to go to Galilee by way of Samaria because of a diving appointment there? Because of how God has used me in these divine appointments I am convinced that it was necessary for Jesus to go to Samaria to touch a woman there and develop further his mission on earth.

There are probably many possibilities why Jesus decided to move on to Galilee. There are many things God nudges us to do that are according to his purpose. Was there a purpose in this travel? We will see.

Prayer

Father, thank you for the Holy Spirit that is at work producing these diving appointments. Forgive me for the slowness of responding to these opportunities you provide. Thank you for the blessings I have experience when I was obedient to the urge to respond. What a wonderful thing I am finding it is to walk with the Lord in his work.