A portion of the story found in John 4 is presented here, {verses 3-10 (NKJV)}:
3 He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.
4 But He needed to go through Samaria.
5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”
8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
{the blue line on the map indicates Jesus's journey, the red line indicates the socially acceptable route to travel between Judea and Galilee...across the Jordan River twice, 17 miles out of the way}
The Encounter
Jesus broke 3 main social rules:
1. He spoke to the woman. Women were considered inferior and Middle Eastern men did not speak to women in public, wife mother, sister…no one.
2. A Jew spoke to a Samaritan. Jews were not to speak to Samaritans because the Jews felt like the Samaritan’s betrayed their faith by intermarrying.
3. A teacher, respectable man spoke to a woman of ill-repute. Men didn’t speak to women and especially those of his stature and she was considered a social outcast.
Why did Jesus ignore all those customs? Because He’s God and can do whatever He pleases and because the woman needed to hear a word of hope as did the city she came from. He went to Galilee by way of Samaria which was strictly taboo due to the hatred between the Jews and Samaritans (sound familiar?).
This mirrors the barriers and social issues of today: race, religion, sex, character, and social position, which are all so prevalent? Have times really changed? The clock is moving and we keep flipping the calendar but the same issues remain ever present and even more prevalent perhaps because we have news reporters and social media to help broadcast everything.
The Revelation
2. A Jew spoke to a Samaritan. Jews were not to speak to Samaritans because the Jews felt like the Samaritan’s betrayed their faith by intermarrying.
3. A teacher, respectable man spoke to a woman of ill-repute. Men didn’t speak to women and especially those of his stature and she was considered a social outcast.
Why did Jesus ignore all those customs? Because He’s God and can do whatever He pleases and because the woman needed to hear a word of hope as did the city she came from. He went to Galilee by way of Samaria which was strictly taboo due to the hatred between the Jews and Samaritans (sound familiar?).
This mirrors the barriers and social issues of today: race, religion, sex, character, and social position, which are all so prevalent? Have times really changed? The clock is moving and we keep flipping the calendar but the same issues remain ever present and even more prevalent perhaps because we have news reporters and social media to help broadcast everything.
The Revelation
Later in their encounter, the woman says, I know the Messiah is coming. Jesus tells her, "I who speak to you am He."
His offer of living water was not conditional upon what she could give him or who she was. Regardless of the sinful state, regardless of your housing situations, economic or social status, everyone is deserving of God’s grace, mercy, and justice.
The Transformation
During the entire encounter with Jesus, the Samaritan woman was slowly undergoing a transformation. She came to realize that JESUS IS THE WATER! He is the Living Water that this world needs.
How many times have we avoided a certain route, saw someone and decided not to go that way. Or perhaps we saw someone and listening to the spirit of God went directly into that person’s path to offer a word of hope. That person may have thought like the Samaritan woman, what are you doing coming over here by me?
The Good News is that Jesus is the Water and it’s for all of us. Let’s be like the Samaritan woman and run and tell somebody.
The Good News is that Jesus is the Water and it’s for all of us. Let’s be like the Samaritan woman and run and tell somebody.
With the turmoil this world is in, the daily events, we must realize our source, and spread the world of who the source is. Drink of the Living Water and YOU WILL THIRST NO MORE!
DELIVERANCE IS IN THE WATER
SALVATION IS IN THE WATER
JOY IS IN THE WATER
PEACE IS IN THE WATER
LOVE IS IN THE WATER.
Can’t just talk about it. Can’t just tweet about it. Do something, reach out to someone needing hope, encourage someone to take action. Take action in your corner of the world, be a light, be a change agent.
Help take the scaffolding down of the barriers holding us back.
Peace,
SharB~TTSD
