The Lord came to know that the Pharisees had heard that he was making and baptizing more disciples than John (4:1).1 However, the narrator clarifies that Jesus himself did not baptize, but his disciples did (4:2). As there was a possibility for the Pharisees to kill him (cf. 7:1), Jesus left Judea to go again to Galilee (4:3). It was necessary for Jesus to go through Samaria, the normal route for anyone to go
Page 39