Called To Testify

The Christ (John 4 25–30).

The one Truth

In spite of her ignorance, there was one truth this woman did know: the Messiah was coming and would reveal the secrets of hearts. (v.25)

Where did she learn this truth? We do not know, but that seed had lain buried in her heart until that very hour, and now it was going to bear fruit.

I am’’ He

Our Lord’s response to her statement was, literally: “I that speak to thee, I am!” He (v.26) dared to utter the holy name of God!

The Evangelist

At this point, the woman put her faith in Jesus Christ and was converted.

Immediately she wanted to share her faith with others, so she went into the village and told the men she had met the Christ. When you consider how little spiritual truth this woman knew, her zeal and witness put us to shame.

But God used her simple testimony, and many of the people came out to the well to meet Jesus. The rabbis said, “It is better that the words of the Law be burned than be delivered to a woman!” But Jesus did not agree with that narrow prejudice

The Woman left her water pot

Why did she leave her waterpot when she hurried into the city? For one thing, she had the living water within and was now satisfied. Also, she intended to come back; and perhaps in the interim, the disciples and Jesus could use the vessel to satisfy their thirst. Gone were the racial barriers and battles that had existed before! They were all one in faith and love!

This woman did not come to faith in Christ immediately. Jesus was patient with her, and in this, He sets a good example for us in our own personal work. Certainly she was the least likely prospect for salvation, yet God used her to win almost an entire village!

The Disciples (John 4:31-38)

Food for the Flesh or Food for the Soul

When the disciples returned from obtaining food, they were shocked that Jesus was conversing with a woman, and especially a Samaritan; but they did not interrupt. They were learning that their Master knew what He was doing and did not need their counsel. But, after the woman left, they urged Jesus to share the meal with them, because they knew that He was hungry.

“I have food to eat that ye know not of” was His reply and, as usual, they did not understand it. They thought He was speaking of literal food, and they wondered where He got it. Then He explained that doing the Father’s will—in this case, leading the woman to salvation—was true nourishment for His soul. The disciples were satisfied with bread, but He was satisfied with accomplishing the Father’s work.

“Seek your life’s nourishment in your life’s work,” said Phillips Brooks. The will of God ought to be a source of strength and satisfaction to the child of God, just as if he sat down to a sumptuous feast. If what we are doing tears us down instead of builds us up, then we may well question whether it is the will of God for us.

Our Lord did not look on the Father’s will as a heavy burden or a distasteful task. He viewed His work as the very nourishment of His soul. Doing the Father’s will fed Him and satisfied Him inwardly. “I delight to do Thy will, O my God; yea, Thy Law is within my heart” (Ps. 40:8). The Samaritan woman was now doing the Father’s will and finding excitement and enrichment in it.

The Harvest and the Disciples

Jesus then changed the image from that of food to that of the harvest, which is the source of the food. He quoted the familiar Jewish proverb about waiting for the harvest, and then pointed to the villagers even then coming out to the well to meet Him, thanks to the witness of the woman. The disciples went into the village to get food for themselves, but they did no evangelizing. The woman took their place!

The image of the harvest is a familiar one in the Bible and is often applied to the ministry of winning lost souls. Both the Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the Tares (Matt. 13:1–30) relate to this theme, and Paul used it in his letters (Rom. 1:13; 1 Cor. 3:6–9; Gal. 6:9). We plant the seed of God’s Word in the hearts of people who hear it, and we seek to cultivate that seed by our love and prayers. In due time, that seed may bear fruit to the glory of God.

No doubt the disciples had said, as they approached the city of Sychar, “There can be no harvest here! These people despise us Jews and would have no use for our message.” But just the opposite was true: the harvest was ready and only needed faithful workers to claim it. For some reason, when it comes to witnessing for Christ, it is always the wrong time and the wrong place! It takes faith to sow the seed, and we must do it even when the circumstances look discouraging. Read Ecclesiastes 11:4 and take it to heart!

There is no competition in the Lord’s harvest. Each of us has an assigned task and we are all a part of each other’s labors (1 Cor. 3:6–9). One sows, one reaps; but each worker gets his honest reward for the work he has done.

John 4:38 indicates that others had labored in Samaria and had prepared the way for this harvest. We do not know who these faithful workers were, nor do we need to know; for God will reward them. Perhaps some of these people had heard John the Baptist preach, or perhaps some of John’s followers had reached into this difficult field. Some archeologists have located “Aenon near Salim” where John baptized (John 3:23) near the biblical Shechem, which is close to Sychar and Jacob’s well. If this is the case, then John the Baptist prepared the soil and planted the seed, and Jesus and the disciples reaped the harvest. Of course, the woman herself planted some of the seed through her witness to the men.

The disciples were learning a valuable lesson that would encourage them in the years to come. They were not alone in the work of the Lord, and they must never look on any opportunity for witness as wasted time and energy. It takes faith to plow the soil and plant the seed, but God has promised a harvest (Ps. 126:5–6; Gal. 6:9). In a few years, Peter and John would participate in another harvest among the Samaritans (Acts 8:5–25). Those who sow may not see the harvest, but those who reap will see it and give thanks for the faithful labors of the sowers.

The Greek word translated “labor” in John 4:38 is translated “wearied” in John 4:6. Sowing, cultivating, and harvesting are difficult tasks, not only in the physical realm, but also in the spiritual. There is no place in the harvest for lazy people. The work is too difficult and the laborers are too few.

The Samaritans (John 4:39-42)

Many of the Samaritans believed because of the testimony of the woman, and then many more believed when they heard Jesus personally. So excited were they about Him that they begged Him to stay with them; and He stayed for two days. During that short time, His word produced fruit in their lives.

It is important that new converts be grounded in the Word—the Bible. These Samaritans began their spiritual walk by trusting in what the woman said, but they soon learned to trust the Word taught by the Saviour. Theirs was no “secondhand” salvation. They knew that they were saved because they had believed His message. “Now we know!” was their happy testimony.

You would have thought that these Samaritans would have been narrow in their faith, seeing Jesus as the Saviour of the Jews and the Samaritans. But they declared that He was “the Saviour of the world” (John 4:42). They had been converted only a few days, but they already had a missionary vision! In fact, their vision was wider than that of the Apostles!

It is interesting to trace our Lord’s movements that brought Him to Samaria. He was in Jerusalem (John 2:23) and then came into Judea (John 3:22). From Judea He went into Samaria (John 4:4), and the Samaritans declared Him to be “the Saviour of the world.” This is a perfect parallel to Acts 1:8—“And ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Our Lord has set the example. If we follow, He will give us the harvest.

This unnamed Samaritan woman was a fruitful believer: she bore fruit (“many believed”), more fruit (“many more believed”), and today continues to bear “much fruit” to the glory of God (see John 15:1–5). Nobody knows how many lost sinners have come to the Saviour because of the witness of this woman recorded in John 4.1

1 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 300–302). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.