John 4:27-41
27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” 28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him. 31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” 34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labour.” 39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers. 42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world.”
Monday 10th October
27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” 28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
The disciples are shocked to find that he is talking to a woman at all let alone a Samaritan woman. This might seem strange to us today, but it was entirely in line with the Jewish teaching of the day. There was a law which said, “One should not talk with a woman on the street, not even with his own wife, and certainly not with somebody else’s wife, because of the gossip of men” (Abot 2). So once again Jesus is going against his own tradition, and that is why the disciples are shocked. Jesus, however, is far more concerned with the welfare of the woman and indeed the world, to be hidebound by custom and law, and to be worried by what people think. Jesus’ compassion for humanity was more than his need to conform to custom and practice. Have you ever been in a situation in which your concern for what others might say has hindered your ability to speak to them or help them? Take some time today to think and pray as to whether there might be any customs and/or laws which might be hindering your service to Jesus.
The woman herself cannot believe what has just happened to her – a Jewish man has been speaking to her and not only that, he is so special that she wonders if he is God’s anointed one. Her natural reaction is to want others to meet him too, and so she becomes the first evangelist to people outside Israel itself! She could have kept it to herself. She could only have told a trusted few, but instead she tells anyone whom she meets. What is it about Jesus that you want to tell others about?
Tuesday 11th October
31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”
Here we have another example of Jesus being less than clear! It is commendable that the disciples want Jesus to look after himself, but Jesus seems still to be in a train of thought from his meeting with the woman, and he wants his disciples to think of things other than food! However, they clearly don’t understand what he is saying to them! They may have walked from darkness into light but they are now on a journey of learning. It can be so easy to think that new life in Christ means that we will understand things immediately – but becoming a follower of Jesus means embarking on a journey. How do you feel about this? Is it frustrating or exciting? Looking back, has there ever been anything that you thought you had understood and then later came to quite a different view? Why did your view change? Pray today for God to help you on your lifelong journey of learning.
Wednesday 12th October
34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.
Jesus is clearly speaking metaphorically – just as he was when he spoke to the woman about living water. It is food that keeps us well and sustains life, so he seems here to be saying that what gives him life and sustains health is to be obedient to God – to do what God wants him to do with his life. But he needs people to help him. The disciples have, rightly, been concerned with every day needs, but Jesus wants them to think about what their mission is all about. He wants them to see that their priorities in life have changed. Does this mean that he is telling them not to look after their physical bodies? I think not, because if we don’t look after ourselves we won’t be able to be obedient at all!
Jesus makes another point here and that seems to be that they should not delay in being obedient. As he was speaking, the people of the town were making their way towards him. A lot of people wanted to see this man for themselves, as a result of the woman’s prompt actions. Think about what you believe God wants you to do in your life. Have you ever been tempted to put it off or find excuses not to do it? It’s so easy to feel called to something but to say that we can do it later in life. But here Jesus says that if where there is a need we should not procrastinate but respond immediately. What priorities are overtaking God’s call in your life at the moment? Is there anything hindering you doing what you know God wants you to do? Take some time to pray about this today.
Thursday 13th October
36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labour.”
What do you think the ideas of reaping and sowing refer to? Jesus seems to be saying that the time of harvest has come. There is a great deal of work to do to bring people into the kingdom of God, and everyone has a role to play. Some sow, some reap. What are the different ways that sowing can be done? Perhaps the most obvious is by word of mouth, but how else do you think people can begin to learn about Jesus and be interested enough to follow it through? Another way to sow is through prayer. I know of several people who have prayed faithfully for someone and years later the person becomes a believer. And how can we reap? Can you think of any way in which the work of someone years before might eventually come to fruition? Those who reap and sow have different roles at different times in the work of bringing people in. However, the one cannot be done without the other. IS there anyone who sowed a seed of knowledge about Jesus into your life? Give thanks for those who work in this way for the kingdom.
39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.
Friday 14th October
42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world.”
And so Jesus has spent time with them, in an area that most Jews would have skirted around. How do you think this would have impacted the Samaritans in the town of Sychar? They were not satisfied with just hearing about Jesus, they wanted to see him for themselves and to be with him. These verses suggest that it is
Saturday 15th October
Psalm 138:1-2
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
before the “gods” I will sing your praise.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple
and will praise your name
for your unfailing love and your faithfulness,
for you have so exalted your solemn decree
that it surpasses your fame.
Sunday 16th October
Psalm 138:3-5
3 When I called, you answered me;
you greatly emboldened me.
4 May all the kings of the earth praise you, Lord,
when they hear what you have decreed.5 May they sing of the ways of the Lord,
for the glory of the Lord is great.
