ACC ~ John 4 v27 - 42

OVERVIEW:

The disciples were amazed at Jesus’ treatment of this woman, but she was made in the image of God as much as anyone else (ORIGEN) and so Jesus sets an example of how one should regard women with respect (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). She leaves behind the water jar as she now carries in herself (ROMANUS) the living water she had found there (AUGUSTINE). She returns to her own village and becomes an apostle as she speaks of what she has heard at the well (ORIGEN), doing the work of an evangelist as well. She did all of this without any concern about how her former life might be perceived (CHRYSOSTOM).

Her exuberance follows the example of Jesus, who neglected food in his zeal for the church (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). He, however, intimates to his disciples about a food they know nothing about, which provides nourishment to him from his Father (ORIGEN). The disciples understand his words about food, however, about as much as the woman understands his words about the water (AUGUSTINE). He explains to his disciples that his hunger lies in the desire for our salvation, which is what he calls his food (CHRYSOSTOM). God’s will is that we repent and are saved (AMBROSE). The food of the Son is to accomplish this will of the Father, a will that becomes almost indistinguishable from his own. But the work Christ needs to do to accomplish that will is not completed at this point because he has not yet perfected us (ORIGEN, AMBROSE), and the human race has not yet been converted to the saving gospel (THEODORE).

Jesus instructs his disciples to lift up their eyes so that their thoughts may be focused on what God wants to accomplish (ORIGEN). The fields that are white for harvest are the multitudes of souls prepared for receiving the preaching of the gospel (CHRYSOSTOM). Both sowers and reapers rejoice together (ORIGEN) as Moses and the prophets prepared the harvest (CHRYSOSTOM), along with the seeds sown by Christ (THEODORE). The harvest is then reaped by the glittering and sharp word of the apostles, who then bring their harvest to the floor of the church (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). Jesus had done the spadework for the apostles as he cultivated the prophets from the beginning (THEODORE).

The Samaritans ask Jesus to remain with them, which he does, remaining not only for them but for all who ask (ORIGEN). The Evangelist does not relate what Jesus told them while he was with them, which often seems to be the case when the results are positive, as they were here when we are told that practically the whole city was convinced by his words (CHRYSOSTOM). The people then dismiss their first instructor in favor of getting instruction directly from the source (ORIGEN, CHRYSOSTOM).

4:27 | Talking with a Samaritan Woman

JESUS’ TREATMENT OF WOMEN

ORIGEN: We learn that he is meek and lowly in heart [1] and does not disdain to speak of such great matters with a woman carrying water who goes out of the city because of her great poverty and labors to draw water for herself. When the disciples arrive they are amazed, for they previously beheld the greatness of the divinity in him, and they marvel that so great a man was speaking with a woman. We, however, carried away with pride and arrogance, despise those below us and forget that the words “Let us make man according to our image and according to our likeness” [2] apply to each person. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 13.166-67. [3]

[1] Mt 11:29.

[2] Gen 1:26.

[3] FC 89:103-4; SC 222:124-26.

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE GOSPEL

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: He shows here, as the one Creator of all, that he does not give men only this life through faith but imparts this faith to women as well. Let him that teaches in the church follow this pattern and not refuse to help women. [1] For in all things one must not follow one’s own will but the service of preaching. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 2.5. [2]

[1] In Cyril’s day, it was rare for women to receive philosophical training.

[2] LF 43:221**.

4:28 | The Woman Left Her Water Jar

THE WOMAN LEAVES CARRYING OTHER WATER

ROMANUS MELODUS:

But when the Merciful One was near the spring,…

Then the woman of Samaria, coming from her native village, Sichar, arrived, and she had her urn on her shoulders;

And who would not call blessed the arrival and departure of this woman?

For she departed in filth; she entered into the figure of the church as blameless;

She departed, and she drew out life like a sponge.

She departed bearing water; she became a bearer of God;

And who does not bless

This woman; or rather who does not revere her, the type of the nations

As she brings

Exceeding great joy and redemption?

KONTAKION ON THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA 9.5.

BEFORE YOU PREACH, LEAVE YOUR WATER JAR

AUGUSTINE: Having heard, “I that speak with you am he,” and having received Christ the Lord into her heart, what could she do now but leave her water jar and run to preach the gospel? She cast out lust and hurried to proclaim the truth. Let those who would preach the gospel learn: let them throw away their water jar at the well. You remember what I said before of the water jar. [1] It was a vessel with which the water was drawn, called hydria, from its Greek name, because water is hydor in Greek; just as if it were called aquarium, from the Latin. She threw away her water jar then, which was no longer of use but a burden to her, such was her eagerness to be satisfied with that water. Throwing her burden away to make Christ known, “she ran to the city and says to those men, ‘Come, and see a man who told me everything I ever did.’” TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 15.30. [2]

[1] See Augustine’s comment on Jn 4:13 for the symbolism of the water jar.

[2] NPNF 1 7:106*.

THE SAMARITAN WOMAN AN APOSTLE

ORIGEN: He also uses the woman as an apostle, as it were, to those in the city. His words to her are so forceful that she leaves her water jar to go to the city and tells them to her fellow townspeople…. I think there was a definite purpose why the Evangelist recorded that the woman left her water jar and went into the city. At the literal level, then, this shows the tremendous eagerness of the Samaritan woman, who forsakes her water jar and is more concerned for how she may benefit the multitude than for her more humble duty related to material things. For she was very benevolently moved and wished to announce the Christ to her fellow citizens by bearing witness to the one who told her “all I ever did.” And she invites them to behold a man whose speech is greater than man, for his appearance to the eye was human. So must we, too, therefore, forgetting things that are more material in nature and leaving them behind, be eager to impart to others the benefit of which we have been partakers. For by recording the woman’s commendation for those capable of reading with understanding, the Evangelist challenges us to this goal. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 13.169, 173-74. [1]

[1] FC 89:104-5**; SC 222:126-30.

4:29 | Could He Be the Christ?

THE WORK OF AN EVANGELIST

CHRYSOSTOM: As the apostles left their nets on being called, so she leaves her water jar to do the work of an evangelist by calling not one or two people, as Andrew and Philip did, but a whole city. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 34.1. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:118**.

ONE NEED ONLY TASTE OF THAT WELL TO FEEL AS SHE DID

CHRYSOSTOM: She was not prevented by any concern for losing face from spreading around what had been said to her. For the soul, once kindled by the divine flame, does not consider glory or shame or any other earthly consideration: only the flame that consumes it. … She did not want them to trust only her own report but to come and make a judgment about Christ for themselves…. “Come, see a man, she says. She does not say, “Come and believe,” but “Come and see,” which is an easier matter. For she certainly knew that if they only tasted of that well, they would feel as she did. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 34.1. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:118-19**.

4:31 | The Disciples Urge Their Rabbi to Eat

DILIGENCE IN TEACHING THE GOSPEL

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Having initiated the conversion of the Samaritans… Jesus focuses entirely on the salvation of those who are called and has no concern for bodily food, though wearied with his journey. [1] In this way, he encourages the teachers in the churches and persuades them to disregard all fatigue and be more zealous for those who are being saved than caring for their own bodies. For the prophet says, “Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord with slackness.” [2] COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 2.5. [3]

[1] Jn 4:6.

[2] Jer 48:10.

[3] LF 43:224**.

4:32 | Food to Eat That the Disciples Did Not Know

JESUS REPLENISHES HIMSELF FROM THE FATHER

ORIGEN: And it is not out of place to say that not only do people and angels need spiritual food, but so too does the Christ of God. For, if I may put it this way, he is always replenishing himself from the Father, who alone is without need and sufficient in himself. Now the common person who is being taught receives his foods from the disciples of Jesus who are commanded to distribute food to the crowds, [1] and Jesus’ disciples receive their food from Jesus himself…. The Son of God, however, receives his food from the Father alone, without the intervention of any other being. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 13.219-220. [2]

[1] Lk 9:16.

[2] FC 89:113; SC 222:148-50.

4:33 | Who Brought Food?

THE DISCIPLES DO NOT UNDERSTAND

AUGUSTINE: It is no wonder that the woman did not understand what he said about the water when you consider the disciples did not understand about the food either. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 15.31. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 7:107**.

4:34 | Doing the Will of God

CHRIST HUNGRY FOR OUR SALVATION

CHRYSOSTOM: He calls the salvation of men and women his food, showing his great desire that we should be saved. His desire for our salvation is as great as our desire for food. And see how often he does not express himself directly but figuratively. This necessarily makes it difficult for his hearers to comprehend his meaning, but it also gives a greater importance to that meaning once it is understood. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 34.1. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:119**.

THE WILL OF GOD IS REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS

AMBROSE: The food of a priest is the remission of sins. Therefore, the Prince of priests, Christ, says, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me.” What is the will of God but this: “When you turn and groan, [1] then shall you be saved”? [2] LETTER 57 (TO SIMPLICIANUS). [3]

[1] HE WORD IN THE BEGINNING | JOHN 1:1

[2] Is 30:15.

[3] FC 26:315*.

ONE WILL

ORIGEN: It is proper food for the Son of God when he becomes a doer of the Father’s will, that is, when he wills in himself what was also the Father’s will, so that the will of God is in the will of the Son, and the will of the Son has become indistinguishable from the will of the Father, and there are no longer two wills but one. [1] It is because of this one will that the Son said, “I and the Father are one.” [2] And because of this will, he who has seen him has seen the Son, and has seen also the one who sent him. [3] … Only the Son has comprehended the complete will of God and does it. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 13.228, 231. [4]

[1] Origen’s words could be construed as akin to the later teaching known as monothelitism (i.e., Christ had only one will), although that was not yet a burning issue at this stage of theological discussion.

[2] Jn 10:30.

[3] Jn 12:45.

[4] FC 89:115-16; SC 222:154-56.

BEING PERFECTED AND MADE READY FOR SOLID FOOD

ORIGEN: Perhaps the Savior was sent for the following reasons. First, that he might do the will of the one who sent him, having become his worker here, too, and second, that he might perfect the work of God, so that each one who has been perfected might be made fit for solid food and be present with wisdom. “Solid food is for the perfect, the mature, who have their faculties trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.” [1] … And when each of us, a work of God, has been perfected by Jesus, he will say, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. As for the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.” [2] COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 13.241-42. [3]

[1] Heb 5:14.

[2] 2 Tim 4:7-8.

[3] FC 89:118**; SC 222:160. See also Ambrose On the Christian Faith 5.13.170.

THE WORK OF THE FATHER IS NOT YET FINISHED

AMBROSE: But as Christ is not yet made subject [to the Father], so also is the work of God not yet perfected. For the Son of God said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.” How can anyone doubt that the subjection of the Son in me is still in the future when the work of the Father is still unfinished [in me] because I myself am not yet perfect? ON THE CHRISTIAN FAITH 5.13.169. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 10:305**.

THE CONVERSION OF THE WORLD

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: What is this work? It is the conversion of the human race. And quite appropriately, by speaking like a human being, he said that that work was more important than any corporeal food. He also said that he did the will of him who sent him because he had been entrusted with that work. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 2.4.34. [1]

[1] CSCO 4 3:94.

4:35 | Fields White for Harvest

“LIFT UP YOUR EYES”

ORIGEN: “Lift up your eyes” occurs in many places in Scripture when the divine Word admonishes us to exalt and lift up our thoughts, and to elevate the insight that lies below in a rather sickly condition and is stooped and completely incapable of looking up, [1] as is written for instance in Isaiah, “lift up your eyes on high and see. Who has made all these things known?” [2] … No one who indulges his passions and clings to the flesh with a concern for material things has observed the command that says, “Lift up your eyes.” Such a person will not see the fields, even if they are “already white for harvest.” COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 13.274, 278. [3]

[1] See Lk 13:11.

[2] Is 40:26.

[3] FC 89:125-26; SC 222:178-80.

THE FIELDS OF SALVATION

CHRYSOSTOM: What the will of the Father is, he now proceeds to explain: “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes harvest?’”… He leads them, as his custom is, from low things to high. … Fields and harvest here express the great number of souls ready to receive the Word. The eyes are both spiritual and bodily, for they saw a great multitude of Samaritans now approaching. This expectant crowd he calls very suitably white fields. For as the corn, when it grows white, is ready for the harvest, so these were ready for salvation. But why doesn’t he say this in direct language?… Because, by making use in this way of the objects around them, he gave greater vividness and power to his words and brought the truth home to them. He also spoke in this way so that his discourse might be more pleasant and might sink deeper into their memories. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 34.1-2. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:119**. See also Eusebius Proof of the Gospel 9.8 (POG 2:171).

4:36-37 | Both Sowers and Reapers Rejoice

MOSES AS SOWER AND APOSTLES AS THOSE WHO REAP

ORIGEN: It is my opinion that in the case of every art and science of the more important subjects of investigation, the one who discovers the first principle is the sower. Others receive and elaborate on these principles. They then hand on to others of a later time what they have discovered… who then take this up as if it were a harvest of the full fruit of the art or science they have received that has now reached maturity. But if this is true in the case of certain arts and sciences, how much more is it evident in the case of the art of arts and the science of sciences?…

Consider the possibility that those who “sow” are Moses and the prophets, since they wrote “for our admonition on whom the ends of the world have come,” [1] and proclaimed the sojourn of Christ. And consider if those who “reaped” were the apostles who received the Christ and beheld the glory [2] which agreed with the intellectual seeds of the prophets about him. These were reaped by the elaboration and grasping of “the mystery that has been hidden from the ages, but that is manifested in these last times,” [3] and “in other generations was not known to the sons of men, as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets.” [4]

The seed [that is being sown] in this case is the whole plan [5] related to the revelation of the mystery that has been kept silent for eternity and now has been made known through the prophetic Scriptures and the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. At that time the true light made the fields white already for harvest by shining upon them.

According to this explanation [6] then, the fields in which the seeds had been sown are the writings of the law and prophets that were not white to those who had not received the presence of the Word. They became such, however, to those who become disciples of the Son of God—those who obey him when he says, “Lift up your eyes and see the fields, for they are white for harvest.” As genuine disciples of Jesus, therefore, let us also lift up our eyes and see the fields that have been sown by Moses and the prophets, that we may see their whiteness and how it is possible to reap their fruit to eternal life. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 13.302-3, 305-8. [7]

[1] See 1 Cor 10:11.

[2] See Jn 1:14.

[3] See Eph 3:9; 1 Pet 1:20.

[4] Eph 3:5.

[5] Gk logos.

[6] Gk logos.

[7] FC 89:132-33; SC 222:198-202.

PROPHETS AND APOSTLES

CHRYSOSTOM: Who is “he that sows”? Who is “he that reaps”? The prophets sowed, but they did not reap; rather, the apostles are the ones who reaped. Yet, the prophets are not deprived of the pleasure and reward of their labors on this account, but they rejoice and are glad with us, even though they do not reap with us. For harvesting is not the same kind of work as sowing. I therefore have reserved for you what involves less work and greater pleasure, that is, harvesting instead of sowing, because there is a lot more hardship and work involved in sowing. At the harvest, the return is large and the labor not so great. In fact, it is quite easy. By these arguments Jesus here desires to prove that the desire of the prophets is that all people should come to him. The law was also utilized in this, and the prophets sowed the law for this same reason so that they might produce this fruit. Jesus shows, moreover, that he sent those prophets as well, and that there was a very intimate connection between the new covenant and the old. All this he effects by this one parable. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 34.2. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:120**.

JESUS SOWS, AND THE APOSTLES REAP

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Jesus calls himself a sower because he has begun to teach and preach. He calls the apostles reapers because they have taken their start from him and have thus been able to offer men and women as fruits to God. Therefore he adds… “and the reaper is already receiving wages,” that is, not because the impetus and start of the work comes from me or because your labor will be without reward— which is not the case—but because you will also receive your wages according to your labor. So the benefit is held in common: it is mine because I sowed, but it is also yours because you reap. You rejoice in gathering the fruits, and I rejoice in seeing the seed grow. The truth of grace is revealed more clearly in this as well because, through the seeds sown by me, such a great power has been given to you that you will be enabled to lead many to faith because of the help you derive from me. And the fact that, empowered by me, you are able to do these things again confirms the excellence of my virtue. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 2.4.36-37. [1]

[1] CSCO 4 3:94.

THE THRESHING FLOOR IS THE CHURCH

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: The spiritual sowing indicates those who tilled beforehand by the voice of the prophets. The multitude of spiritual ears is those brought to the faith that is shown through Christ. But the harvest is white, in other words, already ripe for faith, and confirmed toward a godly life. But the sickle of the reaper is the glittering and sharp word of the apostle, cutting away the hearers from the worship according to the law and transferring them to the floor, that is, to the church of God. There, they are bruised and pressed by good works and shall be set forth as pure wheat worthy of the divine harvest. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 2.5. [1]

[1] LF 43:228**.

4:38 | Sent to Reap

JESUS CULTIVATED THE PROPHETS FROM THE BEGINNING

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Even though he called himself the sower of the faith, the teaching of the faith nonetheless had its beginning before his coming in the flesh. It is obvious that it had already had a beginning through the prophets and the righteous ones who followed them. He also clearly shows that this beginning had been given by him as well. “I sent you, he says, to reap and enjoy the labor of others.” After they worked hard to enable the seed of faith to remain among men and women, you came, and from this crop you gather them and lead them to faith. I would have not invited you to reap and enjoy the work of others if that cultivation was not mine from the beginning. Some I entrusted with sowing, others with reaping. I did so according to time and the different phases of cultivation. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 2.4.38. [1]

[1] CSCO 4 3:95.

4:40 | The Samaritans Ask Jesus to Remain

JESUS REMAINS WITH THOSE WHO ASK

ORIGEN: John has not written that the Samaritans “asked him” to enter Samaria or to enter the city but “to remain with them.”… In what follows he does not say, “And he remained in that city two days” or “he remained in Samaria” but “he remained there,” that is, with those who asked. For Jesus remains with those who ask, and especially when those who ask him come out of their city and come to Jesus, as if in imitation of Abraham when he obeyed God who said, “Go forth out of your country and from your kindred, and out of your father’s house.” [1] COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 13.345-46. [2]

[1] Gen 12:1.

[2] FC 89:142-43; SC 222:224.

4:41 | Many More Believed Because of Jesus’ Word

WHAT DID JESUS SAY TO THE SAMARITANS?

CHRYSOSTOM: They acknowledge Christ not just as one of the many Christs but as the Savior. And yet, who did they see who had been saved at this point? They had only heard his words, and yet they spoke as though they had seen all these great and wonderful miracles. Why, then, don’t the Evangelists tell us what these words were and how admirably he spoke? By not doing so, they show that they pass over many important matters, and yet, by reporting the event itself, they lead us to understand everything. For he persuaded an entire people and a whole city by his words alone! On the other hand, when the hearers are not convinced, the Evangelists are obliged to provide the words of our Lord so that the failure may be seen as owing to the indifference of the hearers, not to any defect in the preacher. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 35.1. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:123**.

4:42 | We Heard Him Ourselves

DIRECT ACCESS TO THE WORD

ORIGEN: The Samaritans renounce their faith that was based on the speech of the woman when they discover that hearing the Savior himself is better than that faith, so that they, too, know “that this is truly the Savior of the world.” It is better indeed to become an eyewitness of the Word and to hear him [directly]…. And so, there is nothing astonishing in the fact that some are said to walk by faith and not by sight, while others are said to walk by sight, which is greater than walking by faith…. Heracleon says, “People believe in the Savior first by being led by people. But whenever they read his words, they no longer believe because of human testimony alone, but because of the truth itself.” COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 13.353, 362-63. [1]

[1] FC 89:144, 146; SC 222:228, 234.

THE PEOPLE DISMISS THEIR FIRST INSTRUCTOR FOR THE REAL THING

CHRYSOSTOM: “And they said to the woman, ‘Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we have heard him ourselves and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.’” The pupils had gone beyond their first instructor… Notice how soon they arrived at the understanding that he had come for the deliverance of the whole world and could not therefore confine his purposes to the Jews but must sow the Word everywhere…. Their saying too, “The Savior of the world,” implies that they looked on this world as miserable and lost. They saw that whereas prophets and angels had come to save it, this was the only real Savior, the author not only of temporal but eternal salvation…. And notice how the woman had spoken doubtfully, “Is not this the Christ?” But they do not say, “We suspect” but “We know” that this is indeed the Savior of the world. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 35.1. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:122-23**.