They were Invited to Come and See and They Embraced the Truth of Jesus for Themselves

April 15, 2021             John 4: 39-41

³⁵Do you not say, “Four months more, then comes the harvest”? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. ³⁶The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. ³⁷For here the saying holds true, “One sows and another reaps.” ³⁸I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.’

39 Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I have ever done.’ ⁴⁰So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there for two days. ⁴¹And many more believed because of his word. ⁴²They 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 truly the Savior of the world.’

43 When the two days were over, he went from that place to Galilee ⁴⁴(for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in the prophet’s own country). ⁴⁵When he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the festival; for they too had gone to the festival.

            We turn back from the training of the disciples to see the practical benefits of what Jesus has accomplished.  Why did the Samaritans believe?  It is not because of ‘right faith system’.  It has nothing to do with the opposing religious systems of Jew and Samaritan.  It seems odd at first, because Jesus ‘told me everything I have ever done.’  It is not like a séance where the ‘possessed’ person reveals secrets that only the individual could know to somehow establish their credibility.

             Jesus also does not use key phrasing like “Your sins are forgiven.”  Rather, he spoke the truth in love.  He spoke the truth in the context of the provision of living water, so she would never go thirsty again.  What is her thirst?  Being married five times and living with a sixth man hints at something that was unfulfilled in her life.  When Jesus told her everything she had ever done, is he giving her the living water?  Her reaction feels like healing.  Like Jesus has broken her out of a destructive pattern of living and opened up new possibilities.  Like her previous life was opened up but without shame and the rolling of eyes.  Like Jesus accepted her in a way that no one else had, especially those people in the City whose pressure made her draw water in the heat of the day instead of the cool of the morning.  In such was the joy of the living waters.

            The Samaritans were engaged to find Jesus by what she had said.  Jesus stayed with them two more days, teaching and sharing and offering God’s Word from the Messiah.  It says many came to believe.  In the end, it was not because of what Jesus had done for the Woman at the Well, it was not because of her words that they believed but because they accepted Jesus as the Savior of the world for themselves.

            As I was reflecting on this, I was struck by what happened in John 1, at the call of the disciples.  On two occasions, at the call of Peter and Nathanial, the words used were ‘Come and See’.  I think that is what we are seeing repeated at Sychar.  The Woman went into her city and made the same offer, “come and see”, which they did.  Once the Samaritans had, they came to believe for themselves.  Having seen this pattern repeat itself, it is something to consider as we continue our reading of the Gospel.  How does the pattern of ‘come and see’ play out?

            I must also address my pet peeve.  Why does this Woman remain unnamed in the text?  To my eyes today, it is misogyny on display.  At the time, it was the norm.  How do I reconcile that?  By recognizing in Scripture that there is the immediate and there is the eternal.  The gift of living water, offered by Jesus, this is an eternal promise to all people, from that woman to our very selves today.  What is immediate-to that moment in time?  A Woman relegated to anonymity by the withholding of her name.  In Jesus’ direct interaction with her, we have the seeds of the eternal laid for the reversal of this kind of activity.

            More tomorrow.

Peace, Pastor Peter