John 4:29-42 (NKJV) The Woman at the Well, Part 3

29  "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" 30  Then they went out of the city and came to Him. 31  In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." 32  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." 33  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?" 34  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. 35  Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! 36  And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37  For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.' 38  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors." 39  And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did." 40  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41  And many more believed because of His own word. 42  Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world." ​

​Questions to Consider:

1. ​What are you currently doing to reach your sphere of influence with the Gospel Message?  (How can you expand your sphere of influence with people who are not believers in Christ?)​
2. Although theological understanding can be helpful--the Samaritan woman simply shared her personal testimony.  In terms of evangelism, why is a personal testimony so compelling?
3. What are some effective methods for planting seeds of the Gospel?​

Often times, when it comes to evangelism, entire families or groups of people come to believe in Jesus as a unit.  This is generally caused when a person, who has an existing relationship with the people in question, comes to believe in Jesus and uses their sphere of influence to "tell" others.  They generally share three things: 1) They share what they have come to believe.  2) They share about the life changes they have experienced since believing.  3) They have an unspoken change in their character which undeniable.
The Samaritan woman, after leaving her conversation with Jesus, immediately began to share her experience.  "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  This communication was compelling.  
v.31-38.  The disciples turn their concerns to the matter of food.  "We went into town to buy food; did anyone save any for Jesus?"  Jesus uses the opportunity to talk about a spiritual harvest.  (Which was already brewing in the city where the Samaritan woman was sharing)  The disciples were focusing their attention on food; which is necessary in order to sustain life; but, Jesus was focused in on the spiritual seeds that were being planted in Samaria.
In the 8th chapter of Acts, there was a great revival that broke out in Samaria.  Philip "preached Jesus" and the Samaritans believed and were baptized.  Peter and John joined the revival and the Samaritans were baptized in the Holy Spirit.  This was an example of what Jesus was talking about when He said, "One sows and another reaps."  In this particular case, Jesus planted the seeds and Philip reaped the harvest.
As the Samaritan woman continued to share her encounter with Jesus many believed in Him after hearing her testimony.  They wanted to hear more from Jesus and urged Him to stay.  As Jesus began to teach this group (That the Jews viewed as social outcasts) many started believing in Jesus based on what He shared.
After spending two days with Jesus, listening to His teaching, the Samaritans came to the place where they believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Savior of the world.  There is no question that later, as recorded in Acts, Philip's teaching about Jesus put a spark to the spiritual kindling that had been established by Jesus.  That kindling ignited into a full-blown revival.  The harvest came in!