Scripture: John
4:5-26 (27-30, 39-42)
As we read through the Gospel lessons in Lent the readings
reveal Jesus to be the Savior. They may refer to him as the Son of God, the Son
of Man, or, as they do today, the Messiah or Christ. In every case we find
Jesus embracing the position of being the one who rescues humanity from sin and
death. In today’s reading Jesus speaks with a woman who is from Samaria, there
is cultural baggage that interferes with this conversation, the end result,
however, is that the woman and the people of the village come to believe in
Jesus as the promised Christ. This reading reminds us that Jesus came to save
all people, and it challenges us to reach across cultural barriers to reach
people with the Gospel.
Teaching
The Samaritans and the Jews had a bitter relationship. The Samaritans
were descendants of the people who occupied the territory north of Judea while
the Israelites were in captivity. Many Samaritans believed in God and
worshipped him, but they did not follow all the traditions of the Jews, and
they were treated as second class (at best). The conversation Jesus has with
the woman is steeped in this bitter ethnic rivalry. On top of that, it was not normal
for men to speak to or deal with women they did not know, but Jesus is
unconcerned about such customary sensibilities which are not rooted in God’s
Word.
It is significant to note that Jesus acknowledges to the
woman that he is the promised Messiah – a word, like Christ, that means anointed one or chosen one. The impact of the statement was not lost on the woman.
Remember that she came to get water, and with this revelation she left her
water jar to return to her town to share the news.
Life
In our time who are the Samaritans? Who are the people that
are looked down upon and seen as second class (at best)? This might be a more
personal issue. Who do you feel a certain discomfort with because of their
race, political views, social status, gender, or even gender dysphoria? Pray
that God would use this account to soften your heart toward others – especially
to those people that you see as different. Pray that they will experience God’s
love and blessings in their lives, and that we might truly love our neighbors
as ourselves.
Can you imagine yourself as a sort of Samaritan in
relationship with God? Samaritans had no right to worship the God of the Jews.
They were outsiders. In our sin we too lack rights and are outsiders of God’s
kingdom. How might recognizing and rejoicing in God’s mercy to us help us, like
the woman, to share the news about what the One-who-knows-everything-we- have-done
has done for us?
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