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… John 4:27-28a

A “Telling Narrative”

That John would include this recollection in his account of  “The Samaritan Woman at the Well” is quite telling, because he was telling on himself. Lest we suppose that as a young disciple-in-training, John was particularly enlightened, we need to recall the Luke 9:54 depiction of John and brother James recommending the destruction of a Samaritan village, a suggestion which Jesus strongly rebuked.

Jesus’ first disciples clearly reflected the sexism of Jesus’ day when they “were surprised to find him talking with a woman” but somehow knew better than to question his actions. I note with interest that in this passage, her ethnicity seems not the issue as much as her gender.

Clearly the older John who shares his recollections of Jesus’ ministry is drawing a contrast between his former (dare we say) clueless, sexist self and the more mature understanding of Jesus’ life and teachings which later directed his own life.

John clearly remembers details, such as the abandoned water jar which had previously been the focus of much of the conversation between Jesus and the woman. Through John’s account we join the amazed young John who quietly watches as “the woman went back to the town.”

An exercise in reflection and imagination

Now let’s imagine for a moment that there was a not so quiet “thirteenth disciple”, not mentioned in the narrative but who nevertheless shared his society’s tendency to “otherize” women. Let’s imagine that after the woman left both Jesus and water jar at the well, this “thirteenth disciple” took it upon himself to “set her straight” on her proper role in this narrative.

What might he say to her? I can just imagine…

“You know, the teacher is really busy, and doesn’t take a lot of time for himself, and you were interrupting his lunch hour. He hasn’t even eaten yet.” Or even worse…

“You know it’s really not your place to tell others about him. That’s what we’re here for.” Or …

“Besides, you probably don’t know this, being a Samaritan and all, but it is not proper for a woman to speak in the presence of a man in public.” Or even…

“The Teacher probably didn’t know it, but you’ve got quite a reputation in town. What could you offer to his ministry? After all, he chose us.”

She had asked Jesus, “How is it that you a Jewish man are speaking to me, a Samaritan woman?”  And Jesus basically answered, “Because I am the Christ!”

And now our imaginary thirteenth disciple would be asking her, “How is it that you a Samaritan woman were speaking to a male Jewish Rabbi?,”  implying “Who gave you permission to speak to him?”

Now here is my question: Was that imaginary disciple not so imaginary?  Was he in fact the real thirteenth disciple, none other than the apostle Paul, who while not in this narrative, would later have offered similar prohibitions?

Must we conclude that after the event of this Samaritan well encounter and before the seasoned John would put it to writing many years later, that Paul gave universal and for all time restrictions that if previously applied would have altered considerably the rest of John’s account?

How could Paul have done so, other than offer some guidance designed for a particular time, place and culture?  My personal view is that he was not our imaginary thirteenth disciple.

Just what was John saying?

In his presentation of the “woman at the well story” the aged apostle John was making some strong statements about racism and sexism. He clearly believed that Jesus was challenging the desire to otherize those who are not like us, whether in ethnicity or in gender.

With that in mind, let’s take a fresh look at what this woman did after she returned to the village.

• She gathered the men of the city together, somehow, and shared with them her encounter with the Jewish Rabbi who had “told me everything I have ever done.”
• She was apparently experiencing (perhaps modeling?) what Jesus had described as “the living water, bubbling up to life eternal”, as she transparently and courageously embraced her own failings, but also the abuse that a vulnerable survivor of five marriages would have experienced in her male-dominated world.
• She was motivated by the fact that she, yes, a woman, had been speaking with the Christ. (“I, who am speaking to you, am He.”) So she asks the citizens she had assembled, “Could this be the Christ?”
• She clearly was responsible for the faith of many who would say “We believed on Jesus because of her word!,” echoing a similar phrase used by Jesus in John 17:20.
• While Jesus was still at the well, she led the villagers out to him. They saw for themselves the Stranger who had obviously changed her life, and they credited her with their opportunity to meet the Messiah for themselves.

 

With impressive candor, the older John recalled Jesus’comments directed specifically to the disciples (his younger self included) who had been surprised that Jesus had been “speaking with a woman.”

Refusing food, Jesus spoke of sustenance of which they knew nothing. “You just don’t get it,” Jesus seems to say, “and you wonder what value she is to the kingdom of God. So just watch and learn.”

Jesus was postponing his lunch, seemingly in anticipation of something yet unseen by the disciples. “You think we are months away from harvest,” Jesus challenged them, “but I tell you, my fields are ready for harvest.” With that the disciples’ collective gaze was directed toward the city, from which, to their amazement, the inhabitants of the city were coming out to meet Jesus. For Jesus THIS WAS HARVEST-TIME! And leading the way was, you guessed it, the woman they had dismissively viewed as an inconvenience.

But Wait, There’s More!

John’s narrative of this event was not over.

The disciples were undoubtedly annoyed that Jesus would not eat the food they had brought from town. They were ready to move on toward Galilee, only to find that they would return to the town of Sychar at the invitation of the delegation from the city.

There is one sense in which this woman was “the other”. “I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”(John 4:38 NASB) How ironic that Jesus would invite the disciples to join her work of evangelism! It was then that Jesus and his disciples went into the city where even more people would believe on him.

Could she be stopped?

It’s hard to know what prejudices she perceived from these Jewish disciples, yet my experience is that women are much more aware than men would suppose. Yet let’s grant that because of Jesus’ unambiguous affirmation of her value, she expected his disciples to have imbibed more of his heart.

Whatever she might have perceived would have been irrelevant. She was on a mission for Jesus, the Christ.

Years ago I participated in a Bible Studies extension program offered by an out-of-state accredited Christian University which had agreed to send professors to us. The program, designed for Church of Christ ministers who desired to upgrade their formal education, was administered locally by an adjunct professor who was a minister in our area.

Our administrator received a call from someone on behalf of a potential participant. “Is it OK for someone not from the Churches of Christ to take classes? “Of course! All are welcome!”, our administrator responded, only to later discover that our new class member would be an African American woman.

Reflecting my traditionalist background, I later asked her “How do you understand those Pauline passages which seem to be restricting preaching to men?” With an expression and tone that was neither defensive nor aggressive, she kindly replied, “Yes, I am very familiar with all those passages, but I see nothing there that will stop me from carrying out the call of God on my heart.”

I later asked our administrator if this was going to be a problem. With a larger view of the kingdom of God he very wisely replied, “She is undoubtedly going to be a teacher of many. My job is to help her to be the very best teacher she can be.”

She was a dedicated disciple of Jesus, and somehow, in spite of my then traditionalist position which restricted a woman’s role, I was delighted that she was there.  She brought perspective and insight that we were lacking. Clearly she was doing ministry already among male disciples who were rather clueless about the power of an encounter with Jesus.

She, not unlike the woman from Sychar, was an unstoppable force!