After the Evangelist had given Christ’s teaching on living water, he then showed the effect of that teaching, which is most fruitful for believers. Christ’s teaching to the Samaritan woman had one effect upon the woman and another effect upon his disciples. She marveled at His words, but they were surprised that He was speaking with a Samaritan woman. As for the woman, Christ’s teaching bore fruit in her in that she told others in the town what she had seen and heard; and, as a result, many Samaritans came to believe in Him.

Concerning the effect of Christ’s teaching upon His disciples, we read: “Just then his disciples came. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but none said, ‘What do you wish?’ or, ‘Why are you talking with her?’” (Jn 4:27) Here we note three things. First, St. John Chrysostom observed that the disciples had returned just as Christ had revealed His identity to the woman at the conclusion of His teaching. This demonstrates that all events are somehow regulated by divine providence, for God “made both small and great, and he takes thought for all alike” (Wis 6:7). Or, as Qoheleth noted, “every matter has its time and way” (Eccl 8:6). The disciples had returned from town just in time. If they had come earlier, they might have interfered with the teaching; if they had come later, they, and we, would never have known that Christ taught this Gentile about spiritual regeneration. Second, the disciples were surprised to find Him speaking with the Samaritan woman. They marveled at this for two reasons. First, because it manifested Christ’s gentleness and humility, inasmuch as the Lord of all creation stooped to speak with a poor and humble woman. Christ was a living example of the wisdom of Sirach, who advised, “Incline your ear to the poor, and answer him peaceably and gently” (Sir 4:8). It was fortunate that the disciples witnessed this encounter at Jacob’s well, for by it, Christ gave us a most precious gift: a lasting example of what it means to be humble. Second, the disciples were amazed because Christ was speaking with a Samaritan, whom they considered a Gentile, a foreigner. They had not yet come to know that she was a symbol of the Church of the Gentiles. Nor did they know, at that time, that Christ had come to save, not only Jews, but Gentiles as well. On a later occasion, He would make this clear, saying, “the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost” (Lk 19:10); and, because Gentiles worship what they do not know (Jn 4:22), they, more so than the Jews, had lost their way. Third, the disciples’ reverence for their Teacher is proven by their silence, for none of them interrupted Him by asking, “What do you wish?” Nor did any of them question His actions by asking, “Why are you talking with her?” Instead, they followed the advice of the wise man Sirach: “Among the great do not act as their equal; and when another is speaking, do not babble” (Sir 32:9). The disciples were well disciplined, for when they did question the Master, it concerned matters pertaining to themselves; and they questioned Him in order to better understand. But in matters pertaining to others, as when Christ was teaching this Samaritan woman, they did not ask questions or otherwise interfere with His work.

Now that we have seen the effect that Christ’s teaching had upon His disciples, we see the effect it had upon the woman. His teaching on living water bore great fruit in her, for she immediately hurried to town and related to others what she had seen and heard. Her fervent testimony caused many to seek out Christ, and subsequently, to believe in Him. “So the woman left her water jar, and went away into the city” (Jn 4:28a). We see in her the effect of His teaching in two ways. First, she was so affected by the importance of His revelation, and her devotion to Him suddenly became so great, that she completely forgot why she had come to the well in the first place. Instead, she ran to town empty handed, leaving her water jar standing by the side of the well. Her sudden departure is reminiscent of the apostles suddenly laying down their fishing nets to follow Christ: “And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” (Mt 4:20-21) At first she was thirsty and hoped that Christ would give her refreshing natural water to drink. But now she cared not for her bodily comfort, now that Christ had given her living water to refresh her arid soul. The water jar, which she left behind, is a symbol of worldly desires; the well symbolizes a worldly manner of living; and in the murky depths of the well, sensual pleasures are found. Men use their water jars to dredge up sensual pleasures from the darkness of the pit. But those who abandon their jars, abandon worldly desires for the sake of God. Such a man has a single-minded devotion to God and to the pursuit of spiritual goods. He is like a loyal soldier: “No soldier on service gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to satisfy the one who enlisted him” (2 Tm 2:4). Second, the effect of Christ’s teaching can be seen in the great fruit it bore in the woman, in that she led others in the town to Christ. She had already done what Christ would later command His disciples to do: “go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide” (Jn 15:16). She did not return to town with a clay jar full of natural water, but instead, she brought back living water in her heart and in her soul. This Gentile woman carried Christ’s teaching to her fellow Gentiles, as the apostles would later do on a grand scale, according to Christ’s instruction, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19). One could say that she was the first missionary to the Gentiles.

Observe her manner of preaching: “and [she] said to the people, ‘Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?’” (Jn 4:28b-29) We notice three things about her testimony. First, she invited the townsfolk to come out to Jacob’s well to see Christ for themselves. She said, “Come, see a man,” for Christ was “in the likeness of men” (Phil 2:7), like us in all things but sin. Although she heard Him say that He was the Messiah, and although she herself believed it, she did not reveal this to the people at first, lest they scoff at her and dismiss Jesus as a lunatic. Instead, she simply invited them to come and see for themselves, trusting that Christ would teach them, just as He taught her. She did not ask them to believe, for she was confident that, once they had seen and heard Christ, they would come to believe in Him, just as she had. She acted according to the words of the Psalmist: “Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me” (Ps 66:16). She is a true preacher, for she sought to call people, not to herself, but to Christ, as St. Paul said, “what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake (2 Cor 4:5). Second, she alluded to Christ’s divinity when she said, “[He] told me all that I ever did,” for only God can read what is hidden in the depths of one’s heart and locked away in the recesses of one’s memory. Formerly she had been ashamed to reveal her many sins, but now she mentioned them freely in order to demonstrate that Christ had the divine power to know hidden things. St. John Chrysostom explained that her newfound boldness is typical of a soul aflame with God’s love. Such a soul cares neither about glory nor shame, nor does it care to hold onto earthly goods, such as prestige and a good reputation in the eyes of men, but rather, seeks only to draw nearer and nearer to God. Third, she hinted at His greatness, when she suggested, “Can this be the Christ?” The subtlety of her evangelizing is remarkable. She did not assert that He was the Messiah, lest her listeners ridicule a humble woman for arrogantly assuming the role of rabbi. She simply invited them to decide for themselves. She was sure they would see the light, just as she had. She had enormous confidence in Christ’s spiritual magnetism, His ability to draw men and women to Himself. She resembled the apostles in that they came from humble beginnings, like she. For God chose such as these to proclaim the kingdom, as St. Paul observed: “not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world” (1 Cor 1:26-28). Or, as we read in Proverbs: “She,” that is, Wisdom, “has sent out her maids,” the apostles, “to call from the highest places in the town, ‘Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!’” (Prv 9:3)

Her preaching bore fruit at once, for the people, upon hearing her testimony, immediately left the city and went out to see Christ for themselves: “They went out of the city and were coming to him” (Jn 4:30). In order to meet Christ, they had to leave behind the town, just as we have to leave behind all carnal desires and become spiritual.

Next, we read that, in the meantime, Christ’s apostles had returned from town with food, and were preparing to have a noonday meal with Christ: “Meanwhile the disciples besought him, saying, ‘Rabbi, eat’” (Jn 4:31). They thought it a good time to eat before the crowds had arrived from town. Christ was often so occupied with teaching and ministering to the people, that He and the apostles scarcely had the time or opportunity to eat, as we read: “many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat” (Mk 6:31). The meal that Christ and His disciples shared at Jacob’s well became an occasion for Christ to teach them about spiritual food.

As He had used the symbol of water to explain spiritual regeneration to the woman, He used the symbol of food to teach His disciples: “But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat of which you do not know’” (Jn 4:32). Thus, Sirach said of Wisdom: “She will feed him with the bread of understanding, and give him the water of wisdom to drink” (Sir 15:3). Christ’s statement can be interpreted in two ways. First, it can mean that, just as a body needs both water and food, so too does a soul need living water and spiritual food. As water is a symbol for wisdom, food is a symbol for good works. The food that Christ ate was the good He had done for man by saving him from eternal death, which is a just punishment for sin. Just as we desire to eat when we are hungry, Christ desired to save us when we were spiritually empty. The food of which the disciples did not know was the future conversion of the nations. The reason why Christ became man was to save mankind. The Apostle taught that the Savior “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tm 2:4). St. Peter affirmed (2 Pt 3:9) that God does not wish that anyone should perish, but that each one should repent, that they might attain God’s promise of eternal life. Second, according to Origen, spiritual food is like bodily food in that some require less, others require more; and what is good food for one may be harmful to another. St. Peter said, “Like newborn babes, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation” (1 Pr 2:2). St. Paul said to the Corinthians, “I, brethren, could not address you as spiritual men, but as men of the flesh, as babes in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food; for you were not ready for it.” (1 Cor 3:1-2) As Paul’s spiritual children were not yet ready to understand deeper spiritual things, so too were Christ apostles not yet ready to bear the depth of His wisdom. Thus, Christ had more spiritual food for them, but He would have to feed them at a later time, when they were more spiritually mature. He said as much on another occasion: “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” (Jn 16:12-13)

If one has any doubt that the disciples were slow to understand, notice what happened next: “So the disciples said to one another, ‘Has any one brought him food?’” (Jn 4:33) They were still quite carnal. Christ had been talking about spiritual food, but they thought that He was talking about mere bodily food. Perhaps they thought that some benefactor gave Him food in their absence. It is no wonder that the Samaritan woman failed to understand that Christ was talking about spiritual water, for His own disciples did not realize that He was speaking about spiritual food.

Notice that Christ humbly and gratefully accepted the kindness of others; He accepted their hospitality and their food on so many occasions. He did this for two reasons. First, so that those who generously gave in order to meet His bodily needs might acquire merit. Second, He accepted their gifts to teach us that those who are occupied with spiritual matters should not be ashamed of their poverty, nor should they or others regard it a burden to provide for their support. It is fitting that teachers and preachers and the like be free from the burden of providing for their own sustenance, so that they might focus on their important spiritual duties. Their importance is suggested in 1 Tm 5:17, where we read: “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.”