What does John 4:27 mean?
Jesus had sent the disciples into town to buy food earlier in the passage (John 4:8). The fact that He was alone was probably the only reason the Samaritan woman had approached the well; in that time and place it would have been unwise for a woman to approach a group of strangers. She might not have even known Jesus was there. While His disciples were gone, Jesus opened the truth to the woman, who responds immediately to what she has learned (John 4:28–30).No matter how a person looks at it, this passage is embarrassing for the disciples. These men are the students of Christ, and they know Him better than anyone else. And yet, they have told no one about Jesus. They didn't bring a single person back to meet Jesus. Several verses from now, many Samaritans from the town will come to see Him. But they will have been brought by a woman with a sinful reputation who has just met Jesus. This makes Jesus' description of the work of God even more stinging (John 4:34–38).
In the disciples' defense, they are still early in their travels with Jesus. Their Jewish culture despised the Samaritans for being half-breeds both in race and religion. And Jesus has not yet given them a command to spread the gospel to others. While being outdone in evangelism by a Gentile woman is awkward, it's not a great moral failure, either.
The verse also shows the immediate impression Jesus has made on His disciples. Even this early in their travels together, they are not openly questioning His actions. Virtually every detail of the prior passage was against cultural norms. Jesus was speaking to a woman, also a Samaritan, in a way that His culture considered inappropriate. But the disciples already know Jesus well enough to trust that He must have a good reason for what He is doing.