John 4:27-36 (ESV)

²⁷ Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” ²⁸ So 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 that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” ³⁰ They went out of the town and were coming to him. ³¹ Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” ³² But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” ³³ So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” ³⁴ Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. ³⁵ Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.

After Jesus revealed to the Samaritan woman that he was the Messiah, his disciples returned. The disciples were in shock. They wondered why Jesus wasted his time talking to a woman, and a Samaritan woman at that! Many rabbis of the day taught that it was not only useless, but also wrong to teach the Scripture to women. Some believed it was better for a man to instruct his daughters to be sinners than to dialogue with them about the word of God. And others even went so far as to say that speaking to his wife was not a wise use of a man’s time. Jesus made it clear that both men and women have equal value before God, and both should be students of his word. The woman went back to town and bore witness to the people who lived there about her encounter with Jesus. She asked them to consider, “Can this be the Christ?” The people of the town decided to check it out for themselves. Something had clearly changed in this woman who was known for her sin. She wasn’t hiding in shame anymore. As the townspeople were coming out to see Jesus, he told his disciples to look up. The “fields were white for harvest.”

In verse 28, John mentions that the woman left her water jar and went back to town. Why did she leave her water jar? Did she allow it to remain there so Jesus and his disciples could drink? It has been suggested that John included this phrase as a symbol of what happened in this woman’s soul. She had come face to face with and honestly trusted in the claim Jesus made about himself. She was now one of his followers, and the “old” water was no longer important. The woman went back to town, having experienced the living water. She would never thirst in the same way again. The natural result of a transformation like this is a desire to tell others. Those who have experienced living water don’t want to keep it to themselves. Even though the world may not be interested, the joy of salvation is one that followers of Jesus have a hard time keeping undercover. Pray for an opportunity to tell someone about Jesus today. Let that person know how trusting Jesus transferred you from the realm of guilt and shame to a life of confidence and satisfaction in the Lord.