John 4:27-30 27And at this, his disciples came and were astonished that he was talking with a woman. Yet no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 28So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29“Come, see a man who told me all the things I have did. Perhaps this man is the Christ?” 30They went out of the town and were coming to him.
The timing was not advantageous for the disciples to come back from Sychar with provisions. Jesus had reached the high point of his discussion with the Samaritan woman with his revelation as the “I am.” It was her opportunity to respond to him but she did not have the opportunity. The prejudice of the Jews against the Samaritans and against women is hinted at by the disciples’ astonished response to the situation they found. A rabbi like Jesus typically did not talk to Samaritans and especially a woman, and this woman was alone with him.
The situation shocked all their cultural sensitivities. By this point in their travels with Jesus, the disciples should not have been surprised that he would seek out those who needed salvation. But as Mark’s Gospel shows, they were slow to understand and put their full faith in him. John was present at this encounter and knew what was in everyone’s mind, so he could record their thoughts. The disciples needed to realize that the message of salvation Jesus spoke about was for the whole world, not just for Jewish men like them.
The woman did not say anything more to Jesus, perhaps because she did not have a chance with the disciples showing up at that moment. She did not need to because full revelation had come to her with Jesus’ simple response of “I am.” The assumption is that something happened to her between verses 26 and 28. Although faith is not mentioned, clearly she came to believe in Jesus as the Messiah of their conversation. She was so excited that she left her water jar at the well, the very reason she had made the walk out there. She did not need physical water anymore because she now had living water flowing through her.
The next words that come out of her mouth in verse 29 confirm that she indeed had come to believe in Jesus. She did not need a long theological discussion about who the “I am” is. She rushed into Sychar to report what had happened. Her testimony reveals what she thought about Jesus. She exagerates because Jesus did not tell her all she had ever done, but she believed because this man had peered into her heart and found her deepest wounds and healed them. Jesus did not need to tell her all her sins and failures but provided hope for her pain and empty searching. Her question about the identity of Jesus suggests that her faith was in the right direction but needed grounded in the truth. In a way, her response was emotional, and she needed to add knowledge to it.
Her witness had an impact on the townspeople who went out to meet this man who knew all about this woman. They also likely knew about this notorious woman and her reputation. They could sense something different about her, a sparkle in her eyes and a lightness to her step. Their curiosity, planted by this woman’s testimony, would be them to Jesus.
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