At that moment his disciples returned, and were amazed that he was talking with a woman, but still no one said, “What are you looking for?” or “Why are you talking with her?” 28 The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, 29 “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Messiah?” 30 They went out of the town and came to him. 31 Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘In four months the harvest will be here’? I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest. 36 The reaper is already receiving his payment and gathering crops for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. 37 For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the work, and you are sharing the fruits of their work.” 39 Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me everything I have done.” 40 When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. 41 Many more began to believe in him because of his word, 42 and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”
The Jews had strict social and cultural customs concerning men speaking with women in public. Men were to speak very little with women even their wives, and the rules were even more strict about men speaking with women in public. When the disciples returned, they were surprised to find Jesus, a Jewish man, speaking with a woman, especially a Samaritan woman, in public. They assumed that it must have been necessary, but they were afraid to ask him anything. The woman in excitement left her water jar and went into the town to tell the people that she might have found the Messiah. She invited them to come and see for themselves and the townspeople came to Jesus. By sharing the good news about her encounter, she became an ‘apostle’, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (Mk. 16:15-16). The disciples encouraged Jesus to eat but Jesus replied metaphorically alluding to spiritual food that the disciples did not yet know about. The disciples did not understand and wondered if the Samaritan woman or someone else had given him something to eat. Jesus told them that his true food was to do his Father’s will and accomplish his Father’s work.
Jesus invited the disciples to observe the spiritual fields that were ripe for harvesting and to be a part of his mission of salvation that was started by others (Mt. 1:21; 9:37-38). The reaper is already receiving payment and gathering crops for eternal life so the sower and reaper can rejoice together. The sower receives eternal life for his work and the reaper brings individuals to faith or participates in the spiritual harvest of souls attaining eternal life through belief in Jesus. The disciples will harvest what the laborers - Moses, the Prophets, and Jesus - have sown. They will gather people who believe in Jesus for the kingdom. The one who sows is not always the one who reaps (Mi. 6:15). Different people will spread the Gospel at different times contributing to the growth of the kingdom.
The townspeople came to see for themselves and invited Jesus to stay with them. Many of the Samaritans at first began to believe in Jesus based on the woman’s word. After listening to Jesus for a couple of days, many more believed in him because of his word and came to believe that Jesus was the Savior of the world.
Almighty God, the word of truth and life spoken by your Son leads those who believe in him to salvation. Strengthen our faith so that we do not look for outward signs but become part of the bountiful spiritual harvest sown by the faithful who went before. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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