John 4:27-30

John 4:27-30

And His disciples came back upon this scene and they were marveling that He was speaking with a woman.  However, nobody said, “What are you seeking” or “Why are you speaking with her?”  Therefore the woman left behind her water jar and went into the city and said to the people, “See here a man who said to me all the things that I have done.  Perhaps this one is the Christ?”  They went out of the city and were coming to Him.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

I love the disciples in these verses.  They are so stereotypically human.  They come to Jesus and marvel that He is speaking to a woman.  The Greek grammar and vocabulary back this point up.  John makes it clear that the thing that they are marveling at is that it is a woman who has Jesus’ attention.  We would think that they would marvel that Jesus was spending time with a Samaritan.  But they aren’t focused on the Samaritan heritage; they are focused on her gender!  Ever since the beginning of the church, leaders have struggled with giving women equal authority in the church.  Even Jesus’ own disciples struggled with this issue and were surprised that Jesus would treat a woman as He treated a man.  He was discipling this woman one-on-one; this was treatment to which they themselves were accustomed.

What does this tell us about Jesus’ relationship with manmade traditions?  What does this tell us about how we as disciples can still get things wrong and Jesus can still surprise us?  What does this tell us about our need to follow Christ rather than think we know it all?

Second Thought:

I’m going to make a big point about a seemingly small and insignificant detail.  She leaves her water jar behind with Jesus.  Now, it could be that she was being hospitable because Jesus still didn’t have anything with which to draw water and His twelve cronies just showed up seemingly equally helpless and dumbfounded.  But I think there is more to the act than hospitality.  By leaving her water jar with Jesus, she is indicating that she knows only He can fill it.  She wants to rely upon His water of life more than He wants to rely upon the water from Jacob’s well.  Here is a profound act of commitment coming from a brand new disciple.  It’s a small point in the story, but I think it is worth considering.

What do you give to Jesus that you used to rely upon instead of Him?  Do you believe that sometimes it is the newest to Christianity that can make the most profound displays of faith?

Third Thought:

The woman goes and tells her whole city about Jesus.  This is why I love this Samaritan woman.  She is a Samaritan.  She is a woman.  Stereotypical human society would say that she has nothing of value from which to share.  But she shows all of us what the proper response to hearing the call of Jesus is all about.  She tells everyone of whom she can think about Jesus.  She doesn’t hide the small flame of faith that Jesus has given to her.  She doesn’t fear rejection and what people might think.  She doesn’t care whether the people around her will judge her based on her culture of her gender.  It is clear that this woman has faith because she boldly goes forth and speaks about the spark of faith that Jesus has given to her.  She invites the people around her into a similar relationship.

Are you inviting people to meet Jesus?  Should you be?  How can you do this?

Passage for Tomorrow: John 4:31-38