John 4:39-42 39Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the word of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41And many more believed because of his word. 42They said to the woman, “No longer because of what you said we believe, for we ourselves have heard and know that this man is truly the Savior of the world.”
The lonely, searching Samaritan woman made a big impact in her community when she went back and told them about her encounter with Jesus. Sychar, like many towns of Judea and Samaria, was likely not big. It would not have taken much time for word to get around about what had happened to this woman. There are aspects of this story that cannot be known, and if they were known, it would help us understand better this woman’s influence. What she said sparked the imagination and faith of the villagers. Could this man indeed be the longed-for Messiah? The harvest was ripe right at that moment. The people believed in him, which is the goal of this Gospel. The sequence is significant: encounter leads to witness and results in faith.
When the Samaritan villagers saw Jesus in person, their faith increased and more people believed. The seeds sown by the woman had grown quickly and bore a harvest. Jesus crossed the ethnic and religious barrier and stayed in Sychar for two days. Those days must have been a wonderful time of teaching and faith building. It would have been unusual or even unheard of to ask a Jewish rabbi to stay in town, but this rabbi was different. His words contained life and hope. Everything the woman said was true. What they saw confirmed the truth of her testimony.
Verse 41 is one of the many timeless truths tucked into the narratives of John. When people heard the teachings of Jesus, they believed in him. This same response is what John hoped his readers would have when they heard or read the words of his book. The verse also reflects on John’s purpose stated in 20:30-31. The Samaritan outcasts gave the type of response that everyone of the world should have. The woman had planted the seed of faith in them, but when they experienced Jesus themselves, this faith bore the fruit of eternal life. Their confession of faith that Jesus was the Savior of the world is the hoped-for response of all who hear the gospel. John later wrote the same idea in 1 John 4:14: “We have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world.” Jesus is what the world desperately needs but so often fails to find because they look for salvation in the wrong place or find other “saviors” who promise health, wealth, and prosperity.
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