²⁷ Just then his followers came back from town. They were surprised because they saw Jesus talking with a woman. But none of them asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

²⁸ Then the woman left her water jar and went back to town. She said to the people, ²⁹ “A man told me everything I have ever done. Come see him. Maybe he is the Christ!” ³⁰ So the people left the town and went to see Jesus.

³¹ While the woman was away, the followers were begging him, “Teacher, eat something!”

³² But Jesus answered, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

³³ So the followers asked themselves, “Did somebody already bring Jesus some food?”

³⁴ Jesus said, “My food is to do what the One who sent me wants me to do. My food is to finish the work that he gave me to do. ³⁵ You say, ‘Four more months to wait before we gather the grain.’ But I tell you, open your eyes. Look at the fields that are ready for harvesting now. ³⁶ Even now, the one who harvests the crop is being paid. He is gathering crops for eternal life. So now the one who plants can be happy along with the one who harvests. ³⁷ It is true when we say, ‘One person plants, but another harvests the crop.’ ³⁸ I sent you to harvest a crop that you did not work for. Others did the work, and you get the profit from their work.”^[a]

³⁹ Many of the Samaritans in that town believed in Jesus. They believed because of what the woman said: “He told me everything I have ever done.” ⁴⁰ The Samaritans came to Jesus and begged him to stay with them. So he stayed there two days. ⁴¹ Many more believed because of the things he said.

⁴² They said to the woman, “First we believed in Jesus because of what you told us. But now we believe because we heard him ourselves. We know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”