And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
Parallel translations
- WEB They said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of your speaking; for we have heard for ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
- BSB They said to the woman, “We now believe not only because of your words; we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man truly is the Savior of the world.”
- NKJV Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
- NASB and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One truly is the Savior of the world.”
- NLT Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Samaritans declared Jesus to be the Savior of the world, having heard him for themselves. Their faith matured from borrowed testimony to firsthand conviction.
Overview
This is one of the great confessions in John's Gospel: Jesus is not merely Israel's Messiah but the Savior of the world. Coming from Samaritans, it underscores the universal scope of his saving work. Mature faith must finally rest on Christ himself, known personally, not merely on the report of others.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- 1 Jn 4:14And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
- 1 Tim 4:10For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
- 1 Jn 5:20And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
- John 1:29The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
- 2 Cor 5:19To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
- Acts 4:12Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
- John 6:68–69Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
- John 3:14–18And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
- Isa 45:22Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
- Isa 52:10The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
- Acts 17:11–12These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
- John 17:8For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
- John 4:29Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
- John 1:45–49Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
- Rom 10:11–13For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
- Luke 2:10–11And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
- Luke 2:32A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
- Matt 1:21And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
- John 11:17Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 4:42 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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