Our last message we saw Jesus and the Samaritan woman ending their conversation with Jesus saying to her that the Christ or the Messiah that she was waiting for has arrived and it is he. This was the first time that Jesus had introduced himself as the Messiah.
John 4:27-42 (ESVST)
Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “ What do you seek?” or, “ Why are you talking with her?”
Jewish belief warned men not to talk much with women (some rabbis added, even with one’s own wife!), both because of temptation and because of what others might think. The disciples are amazed yet trust their teacher enough not to ask about this situation is a sign of their respect for him, an attitude considered appropriate for faithful disciples.
28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “ Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him.
After the woman heard Jesus say that he is the Christ, she left her jar and went into the town. She told everyone to come out and see a man who has told her all that she ever did, meaning all that I ever did without knowing. She then says, can this be Christ? The significance of her leaving the jar could be that she is now leaving her past behind. She is leaving her worldly thirst behind now that she had found the living water.
31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “ Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “ I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “ My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
As the Samaritan women was talking to the town people, the disciples on the other hand were urging Jesus to eat. It is safe to assume that he was refusing to eat. Jesus then gives them a reason why he does not want to eat. Jesus tells them that his food, is to do the will of God and to accomplish his work.
35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest ’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘ One sows and another reaps. ’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”
Using a metaphor of harvesting and the crop that is ready for harvest, Jesus refers here to the Samaritans that were on their way to him as the crop that was ready to be harvested. This meant these Samaritans that were on their way to him were ready to be evangelized, that is, they were ready to receive the true word of God. Jesus is simply saying, instead of food for my stomach, I’d rather spread the word of God.
39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman ‘s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
When the woman came to town and told the Samaritans that were there about the fact that Jesus had told her all that she had ever did without knowing, they all believed. Later on, they believed because of Jesus’s word. What is the difference here? The first belief was a false belief which was based only on a miracle that Jesus did, meaning, they only believed because Jesus told this woman about things that Jesus could not have known about. The second belief was true belief which was based on the true word of God. Jesus here used the miracle to at least indicate that at minimum, he was a prophet. So, since he was a prophet, the Samaritans would listen to him and he used that opportunity to spread the word of God and the Samaritans truly repented and believed.
This is unlike what is happening today where false pastors, prophets, bishops and apostles, use “miracles” to draw people to their churches and instead of using the opportunity to teach them the true word of God, they use the opportunity to extract money from the people.
Thank you Father of your wonderful words. In Jesus name, amen