The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
At Jacob's well the Samaritan woman left her jar behind and hurried into the city to tell the men about Jesus, forgetting even the errand that had brought her and the drink she had meant to draw for Him. Her haste showed she was convinced she had found the Messiah, filled with almost overpowering joy and earnest desire for the living water He had offered. She at once published what He had told her about her own life and urged the people to come and see whether He was the Christ. Through that personal testimony a whole city came out to hear Him, believed on Him as Saviour, and gathered a harvest where sowing was followed at once by reaping. Her prompt going proves that everyone who truly receives Christ becomes a missionary, for he who drinks of the living water becomes a fountain of life to others.
Meeting at Jacob's Well
John 4:28 belongs to Jesus' personal meeting with the woman of Samaria at Jacob's well in Sychar, where His talk with this one soul is the setting for His teaching about living water and about fields white for harvest. His work was largely made up of personal interviews with faithful regard for the one-soul audience, and His talk with the Samaritan woman is the pattern of giving individual attention even to one despised person. From that one soul the truth received was carried to thousands, showing that people regarded as outsiders may hunger for the truth and are included in the salvation Christ offers to all mankind.
Jews and Samaritans were bitter enemies who avoided social intercourse, and a Jew would not borrow from a Samaritan nor receive bread or water. Yet Jesus crossed that barrier and preached the gospel to the people of Sychar despite Jewish customs that shunned them, showing His love and grace are not limited by race or nation. Though a Jew, He mingled freely with the Samaritans, setting at naught Pharisaic customs and meeting prejudice head-on, treating them with kindness and courtesy and with the utmost kindness and courtesy. He accepted their hospitality, slept with them under their roofs, ate with them at their tables partaking of food prepared and served by their hands, and taught in their streets. While He drew their hearts to Him by the tie of human sympathy, His divine grace brought to them the salvation which the Jews rejected.
At noontide after a long journey since morning Jesus sat by the well faint from hunger and thirst, with the cool water near yet inaccessible because the well was deep and He had no rope nor water-jar. He who made the ocean and controls the waters of the great deep and opened the springs and channels of the earth rested weary there, sharing the lot of humanity and waiting for someone to come to draw. The woman came as an outcast soul, and hatred kept her from offering kindness, but with tact born of divine love He asked her for a drink rather than offering a kindness, because trust awakens trust. He thus made Himself dependent on a stranger's kindness even for a drink, seeking the key to her heart, since in the East water was called the gift of God and to give drink to the thirsty traveler was a sacred duty.
He recognized in her, though despised and a sinner with a broken life, an open mind and receptive spirit, and shared with her His richest instruction. His words about living water answered her questions and revealed His mission to her, with earnest and eloquent words about living water, eternal life and the kingdom. He revealed His knowledge of the sins of her broken life, yet showed her He was her friend who loved and pitied her and that God would receive her as His child if she was willing to forsake her sins. Thus He found a place for His truth in her heart, making her a new bottle into which He could put the new wine of His kingdom.
Leaving Pot to Witness
The leaving of the waterpot unmistakably showed the effect of His words upon her, for she was deeply impressed that He was the Christ and convinced she had found the Messiah. She was absorbed by meeting Him, filled with joy that was almost overpowering, and filled with earnest desire of soul to obtain the living water. In that gladness she forgot her errand to the well, and even forgot the Saviour's thirst which she had purposed to supply. It was joyful, immediate reception of great truths about eternal life and the kingdom, showing readiness to accept the Saviour, for the seed sown bore fruit without waiting time between sowing and reaping. Convinced she had found the Messiah, she immediately went to work for Him and magnified His name.
With heart overflowing with gladness she at once hastened into the city to the men and to the people. She told what He had revealed about her, published the good news, urged them to come and see whether He was the Christ, and magnified His name. Forgetting her errand, she eagerly told her townspeople about Him, and her testimony became a means of bringing others to the Saviour. Her prompt witness carried the light at once to her countrymen, brought people out to meet Him, and through her a whole city came to hear Jesus, hear His teaching, believe, and receive help in what had been unclear. One soul reached by Jesus thus became a means of bringing others to Him, an example of sharing the truth with others.
She believed His word and accepted Christ without any miracle, coming with a teachable spirit ready to learn, with heart emptied of prejudice and glad for the light, and she went and published it to her neighbors. She bore personal testimony from what she herself knew that she had found the Messiah, rather than presenting truth as another mind's product, and her witness sent others flocking out to see Him and hear Him for themselves and know that this is the Christ. Though a sinner, she became a new bottle into which He could put the new wine of His kingdom, just as when He called Matthew the publican and when He called the fishermen, while the scribes and Pharisees who would not receive His precious lessons were like old dried skin bottles that could not hold it. Her faith stands opposite the Jews, who saw His majesty and grace in mighty healings and the mighty outpouring of His Spirit yet would not recognize Him because prejudice reigned, so that even the mightiest miracles had no effect. Those who have never heard the truth can thus be more susceptible in heart than those who have long been in the truth and had evidences of God's work yet hold to unbelief.
The verse pictures the working of a practical faith in Christ, in which every true disciple is born into the kingdom as a missionary. He who drinks of the living water becomes a fountain of life, the receiver becomes a giver and a channel of life to others, and the grace of Christ in the soul is like a spring in the desert welling up to refresh all and making those ready to perish eager to drink of the water of life. No sooner had she found the Saviour than she brought others to Him, carrying the light at once to her countrymen, so that truth received by that one soul was carried to thousands. She proved a more effective missionary than His own disciples, who saw nothing in Samaria to indicate an encouraging field and fixed their thoughts on a great work to be done in the future, failing to see the harvest to be gathered right around them, while the woman they despised did the present work. Christ's work was largely made up of personal interviews with faithful regard for the one-soul audience, and His talk with her is the pattern of how one soul receives truth alone and then carries it into the city.
Harvest and Lasting Fruit
Her witness carried the light at once to her countrymen and brought them out to meet Him, so that through her a whole city came to hear Jesus. They came to His teaching, received help in what had been unclear to them, believed on Him as Saviour, repented of sins, and asked Him to stay. He remained two days teaching them where she had called them to the well. By giving the truth to the people she began a harvest in which her sowing of the message was followed at once by an ingathering, as people were converted and came to see the truth in Him. The Samaritans were like grain ready for harvest, and the seed sown in her mind bore fruit without waiting time between sowing and reaping.
She received the word spoken and at once went into the city to tell her story and impart what she had learned, bringing those who listened to her report to Christ to hear for themselves. That talk is the setting for His words that the fields are white already for harvest, and the eager attentive crowds who gather to hear the truth are those white fields ready for harvest that lead others to true faith. That visit showed His love for the Samaritans unchanged despite their earlier rejection of Him. It helped prepare His disciples to preach in Samaria and helped make the people receptive to their later message.
The Samaritans later welcomed His messengers and provided the disciples with a safe refuge during persecution. The influence of her testimony for the saving of souls has continued through all the years since then. Her prompt action upon finding the Saviour is the example of immediate missionary work and of sharing the truth with others. Forgetting her errand at the well, she hastened to tell others about Him, and her personal witness and testimony became a means of bringing others to the Saviour to see and hear for themselves.
At Jacob's well the Samaritan woman left her jar behind and hurried into the city to tell the men about Jesus, forgetting even the errand that had brought her and the drink she had meant to draw for Him. Her haste showed she was convinced she had found the Messiah, filled with almost overpowering joy and earnest desire for the living water He had offered. She at once published what He had told her about her own life and urged the people to come and see whether He was the Christ. Through that personal testimony a whole city came out to hear Him, believed on Him as Saviour, and gathered a harvest where sowing was followed at once by reaping. Her prompt going proves that everyone who truly receives Christ becomes a missionary, for he who drinks of the living water becomes a fountain of life to others.
Meeting at Jacob's Well
John 4:28 belongs to Jesus' personal meeting with the woman of Samaria at Jacob's well in Sychar, where His talk with this one soul is the setting for His teaching about living water and about fields white for harvest. His work was largely made up of personal interviews with faithful regard for the one-soul audience, and His talk with the Samaritan woman is the pattern of giving individual attention even to one despised person. From that one soul the truth received was carried to thousands, showing that people regarded as outsiders may hunger for the truth and are included in the salvation Christ offers to all mankind.
Jews and Samaritans were bitter enemies who avoided social intercourse, and a Jew would not borrow from a Samaritan nor receive bread or water. Yet Jesus crossed that barrier and preached the gospel to the people of Sychar despite Jewish customs that shunned them, showing His love and grace are not limited by race or nation. Though a Jew, He mingled freely with the Samaritans, setting at naught Pharisaic customs and meeting prejudice head-on, treating them with kindness and courtesy and with the utmost kindness and courtesy. He accepted their hospitality, slept with them under their roofs, ate with them at their tables partaking of food prepared and served by their hands, and taught in their streets. While He drew their hearts to Him by the tie of human sympathy, His divine grace brought to them the salvation which the Jews rejected.
At noontide after a long journey since morning Jesus sat by the well faint from hunger and thirst, with the cool water near yet inaccessible because the well was deep and He had no rope nor water-jar. He who made the ocean and controls the waters of the great deep and opened the springs and channels of the earth rested weary there, sharing the lot of humanity and waiting for someone to come to draw. The woman came as an outcast soul, and hatred kept her from offering kindness, but with tact born of divine love He asked her for a drink rather than offering a kindness, because trust awakens trust. He thus made Himself dependent on a stranger's kindness even for a drink, seeking the key to her heart, since in the East water was called the gift of God and to give drink to the thirsty traveler was a sacred duty.
He recognized in her, though despised and a sinner with a broken life, an open mind and receptive spirit, and shared with her His richest instruction. His words about living water answered her questions and revealed His mission to her, with earnest and eloquent words about living water, eternal life and the kingdom. He revealed His knowledge of the sins of her broken life, yet showed her He was her friend who loved and pitied her and that God would receive her as His child if she was willing to forsake her sins. Thus He found a place for His truth in her heart, making her a new bottle into which He could put the new wine of His kingdom.
Leaving Pot to Witness
The leaving of the waterpot unmistakably showed the effect of His words upon her, for she was deeply impressed that He was the Christ and convinced she had found the Messiah. She was absorbed by meeting Him, filled with joy that was almost overpowering, and filled with earnest desire of soul to obtain the living water. In that gladness she forgot her errand to the well, and even forgot the Saviour's thirst which she had purposed to supply. It was joyful, immediate reception of great truths about eternal life and the kingdom, showing readiness to accept the Saviour, for the seed sown bore fruit without waiting time between sowing and reaping. Convinced she had found the Messiah, she immediately went to work for Him and magnified His name.
With heart overflowing with gladness she at once hastened into the city to the men and to the people. She told what He had revealed about her, published the good news, urged them to come and see whether He was the Christ, and magnified His name. Forgetting her errand, she eagerly told her townspeople about Him, and her testimony became a means of bringing others to the Saviour. Her prompt witness carried the light at once to her countrymen, brought people out to meet Him, and through her a whole city came to hear Jesus, hear His teaching, believe, and receive help in what had been unclear. One soul reached by Jesus thus became a means of bringing others to Him, an example of sharing the truth with others.
She believed His word and accepted Christ without any miracle, coming with a teachable spirit ready to learn, with heart emptied of prejudice and glad for the light, and she went and published it to her neighbors. She bore personal testimony from what she herself knew that she had found the Messiah, rather than presenting truth as another mind's product, and her witness sent others flocking out to see Him and hear Him for themselves and know that this is the Christ. Though a sinner, she became a new bottle into which He could put the new wine of His kingdom, just as when He called Matthew the publican and when He called the fishermen, while the scribes and Pharisees who would not receive His precious lessons were like old dried skin bottles that could not hold it. Her faith stands opposite the Jews, who saw His majesty and grace in mighty healings and the mighty outpouring of His Spirit yet would not recognize Him because prejudice reigned, so that even the mightiest miracles had no effect. Those who have never heard the truth can thus be more susceptible in heart than those who have long been in the truth and had evidences of God's work yet hold to unbelief.
The verse pictures the working of a practical faith in Christ, in which every true disciple is born into the kingdom as a missionary. He who drinks of the living water becomes a fountain of life, the receiver becomes a giver and a channel of life to others, and the grace of Christ in the soul is like a spring in the desert welling up to refresh all and making those ready to perish eager to drink of the water of life. No sooner had she found the Saviour than she brought others to Him, carrying the light at once to her countrymen, so that truth received by that one soul was carried to thousands. She proved a more effective missionary than His own disciples, who saw nothing in Samaria to indicate an encouraging field and fixed their thoughts on a great work to be done in the future, failing to see the harvest to be gathered right around them, while the woman they despised did the present work. Christ's work was largely made up of personal interviews with faithful regard for the one-soul audience, and His talk with her is the pattern of how one soul receives truth alone and then carries it into the city.
Harvest and Lasting Fruit
Her witness carried the light at once to her countrymen and brought them out to meet Him, so that through her a whole city came to hear Jesus. They came to His teaching, received help in what had been unclear to them, believed on Him as Saviour, repented of sins, and asked Him to stay. He remained two days teaching them where she had called them to the well. By giving the truth to the people she began a harvest in which her sowing of the message was followed at once by an ingathering, as people were converted and came to see the truth in Him. The Samaritans were like grain ready for harvest, and the seed sown in her mind bore fruit without waiting time between sowing and reaping.
She received the word spoken and at once went into the city to tell her story and impart what she had learned, bringing those who listened to her report to Christ to hear for themselves. That talk is the setting for His words that the fields are white already for harvest, and the eager attentive crowds who gather to hear the truth are those white fields ready for harvest that lead others to true faith. That visit showed His love for the Samaritans unchanged despite their earlier rejection of Him. It helped prepare His disciples to preach in Samaria and helped make the people receptive to their later message.
The Samaritans later welcomed His messengers and provided the disciples with a safe refuge during persecution. The influence of her testimony for the saving of souls has continued through all the years since then. Her prompt action upon finding the Saviour is the example of immediate missionary work and of sharing the truth with others. Forgetting her errand at the well, she hastened to tell others about Him, and her personal witness and testimony became a means of bringing others to the Saviour to see and hear for themselves.