And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did"

 

Manuel Panselinos, St. Photini speaking with Christ at Jacob's Well, c. 1290-1310; Protaton Church, Karyes, Mt. Athos, Greece

 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do you seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"  

 

The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.  

 

In the meantime, His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.  

 

"Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!  

 

"And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this the saying is true:  'One sows and another reaps.'  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."

 

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word.  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." 

 

- John 4:27-42 

 

Yesterday we read that when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.  But He needed to go through Samaria.  So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Now Jacob's well was there.  Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well.  It was about the sixth hour.  A woman of Samaria came to draw water.  Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."  For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.  Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?"  For Jews have no dealing with Samaritans.  Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.  Where then do You get that living water?  Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"  Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.  But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."  Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ).  "When He comes, He will tell us all things."  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

 

 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do you seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"  My study Bible comments that they marveled not only because Jesus spoke with a Samaritan, but that He was speaking with a woman who was unaccompanied, and this could be potentially scandalous.  For more instances of Christ's dealings with women, see John 7:53-8:11; 11:20-33; 20:11-18; also Luke 8:1-3.

 

 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.  This Samaritan woman (known in the Church as St. Photini) becomes an early evangelist, my study Bible says; she testifies to the advent of Christ and brings others to Him (see also the final verse in today's reading).  According to an early tradition, my study Bible tells us, after the Resurrection she was baptized with the name Photini, meaning "the enlightened one."  (The root of this name, φῶς/phos, means "light."  She is "illumined" or "enlightened" through Christ. See also Matthew 5:14-16.)  Together with her two sons and five daughters, her story goes, she went to Carthage to spread the gospel.  She was later martyred with her family under the emperor Nero by being thrown into a well. 

 

In the meantime, His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work."  Here is another example of the "misunderstandings" found in St. John's Gospel, in which Jesus uses such to elevate an understanding from an earthly to heavenly one.  Jesus fulfills His role as Messiah, my study Bible says, by doing the will of the Father; therefore this is His food.   My study Bible adds that this also teaches us we are to perform the will of God in our lives without being distracted by earthly cares (John 6:27; see also Matthew 4:4; 5:25-33).

 

 "Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!"  St. John Chrysostom has several homilies on this story of the Samaritan woman.  According to him, as cited by my study Bible, this command by Christ to look was given because the townspeople were approaching, ready and eager to believe in Jesus.  Christ compares these foreigners (relative to the Jews, that is) to fields which are ready for harvest.  (To this day there are surviving Samaritan communities who dress in all white traditional clothing to symbolize purity especially on holy days.)  My study Bible adds that this command is also to all believers to look to those around us and to share the gospel with anyone wanting to hear it, regardless of race or ethnicity.  

 

 "And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this the saying is true:  'One sows and another reaps.'  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."  St. John Chrysostom teaches that those who sow and those who reap are the prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles, respectively.  My study Bible explains that the prophets sowed in preparation for the coming of the Messiah, but did not see His coming and therefore did not reap.  The apostles did not do the preparation, but would draw thousands to Christ in their own lifetimes.

 

 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word.  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."  That these foreigners are among the first to recognize Jesus as the Savior of the world shows that the gospel is for all people in every nation, my study Bible tells us.

 

 This story means many things to us, and we can derive much wisdom and insights from it.  Among such insights is the point made by my study Bible, that these foreigners who accept Christ as the Savior of the world show that the gospel is for all people in every nation.  But the woman herself, St. Photini, is also a microcosm of that understanding.  She has so many seeming strikes against her.  She has had five husbands, and the man with whom she was currently living was not her husband (see yesterday's reading, above).  Now we do not necessarily know the full explanation for her circumstances.  It's possible that this history unfolded because of tragedies and loss in her life, including a prohibition from remarrying.  However, what is very clear from the text is how the heart of this woman is fully open to Christ.  She is a little bit like Nathanael in this reading from St. John's Gospel.  She is straightforward enough that she does not deny her whole history when Christ reveals that He knows it.  On the contrary, she goes and tells the rest of her townspeople it is so.  This is something remarked upon by St. John Chrysostom in his commentary on this passage, for it reveals her character; she is also humble before Christ, and continually seeks His truth.  She eagerly hears all that He has to say, and desires for herself the things He offers, without guile or pretense (again, see yesterday's reading, above, and the discussion of "living water").  As Jesus Christ is the Person who is the truth (John 14:6), so those who have a love for truth will respond to Him, just as St. John repeatedly tells us in His Gospel and Epistles.  Perhaps most clearly we read this in the words of Jesus to Nicodemus from our previous chapter.  Jesus taught, "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God" (John 3:18-21; see this reading).  As Jesus is also the light of the world (John 8:12), we see that truth and light are intertwined in the concepts of Jesus Christ and in our understanding of this spiritual language.  Indeed, the name given to this saint, St. Photini, is a reflection of her deep desire for truth and her willingness to spread that light to others, just as we are taught by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.  But St. Photini bears out the truth we find in the Gospel, that one "who does the truth comes to the light."  We should note the word "does" in that phrase, signifying action.  This is not simply a description of assent to a belief, but one that describes how we live our lives, and live our faith.  Again, we don't know the reasons behind her history, but we do know full well that Christ has come to her alone, and -- even risking scandal -- has revealed Himself to her in as straightforward a manner as He has to His disciples.  He is the Christ, the Messiah, the Lord, the I AM, who speaks to her alone at this well outside of the town under the noonday sun.  He is the Knower-of-Hearts, and knows her and her life through and through.  He chose her to become one of His own.