As I write this, the country where I live is trying to grapple with the injustice of more black individuals brutalized and killed by white police officers. Protests seeking justice are being held across the country. Some of the white majority are awakening to the problem of racism. But would it surprise you to learn that racism isn’t just a modern day construct? Let’s look at how Jesus deals with people who are not like Him (which is everyone, by the way…but here Jesus deals specifically with someone who has been marginalized and minimized by her nation and community)
Read John 4:3-42.
What can you observe about Jesus’ behavior towards the woman he meets at Jacob’s well?
Jesus travels through Samaria in today’s passage. That’s significant. Most respectable Jews wouldn’t be caught dead in Samaria! What is God doing?
To answer that question we need a bit of a history lesson.
Samaritans
The Samaritans to this day might not have been known had it not been for Jesus’ visit to this nameless woman at Jacob’s well or a story He told to demonstrate who constitutes a neighbor. (Luke 10:25-37, John 4:3-42) But I get ahead of myself…
To understand how The Samaritans came to be, we need to look at the Old Testament book of 2 Kings. “In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried Israel away into exile to Assyria.” (2 Kings 17:6, emphasis mine) In other words, all the nobility, religious leadership (i.e. priests) and men were carried away into exile. Likely the Assyrians didn’t bother to take most of the women, the elderly or the infirmed. If that wasn’t bad enough for Israel, the king of Assyria decided to use a diabolical tactic to ensure submission.
The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon and from Cuthah and from Avva and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. So they possessed Samaria and lived in its cities. (2 Kings 17:24)
The result of this maneuver was the Samaritans, a “half breed” people that resulted from the union between the Jewish women left behind and the foreign men who had been brought in to subdue them*. Even as their physical union brought about a divergent ethnicity, their “spiritual” union brought about a wrong understanding of the Mosaic Law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). By the time the exiles were allowed to return, the Samaritans had become enmeshed in a very different cultural experience than their kin who had been taken away. Instead of treating them with grace and understanding, the returning religious elite ostracized the culture of the Samaritans which resulted in great animosity and an “enemy” perspective of each other.**
Have you ever felt ostracized, misunderstood or rejected? If so, how did that affect the way you see yourself?
Engaging with the Marginalized
What can we observe about the way Jesus engages this woman that might be applicable as we deal with the marginalized today?
Choose to Meet Them Where They Are – John 4:3-4
Take a look again at verse 4. “And He had to pass through Samaria.” (emphasis mine) Because of the way this is written in the Greek, the language implies that Jesus needed to go through Samaria; His activity was not optional for Him. It was, specifically, a God appointment. Let me say it again, the interaction He had with the woman at the well was a God ordained meeting. Jesus purposefully made His way through Samaria to Sychar. He is making a point to his disciples, one that has not been lost on John, and thus John records the interaction in his gospel. He did not skirt the territory that had been given to Joseph’s son Manasseh as Jews with an unobjectionable posture would have normally done to ensure their purity. Instead, He leads His disciples directly through “enemy” territory, arriving at just the “right” time to have his encounter with the Samaritan woman. That encounter changes her perspective and the life of her community as we will see.
What point did Jesus make to His disciples by choosing to travel through a region and to a community considered taboo by the Jewish majority? How might this apply to you?
Identify Their Need – John 4:5-18
Need is common to humankind. Psychologists identify eight different levels of human need. These eight different levels can be divided into two broader categories, deficiency and growth. Jesus speaks to both broader categories in His interaction with the Samaritan woman.
First He identifies his own need, speaking also to a need they have in common…water to quench thirst. This is one of humankind’s most basic needs.
She responds with skepticism. No Jew in his right mind would ask her for a drink. “Good” Jews would consider themselves unclean by receiving water from a Samaritan. Jesus is not concerned about this. He goes on to identify her greatest need, that of the need for connection to God in a meaningful way. She, not understanding, continues with skepticism. “You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?” (John 4:12) Jesus, undaunted, continues to draw her in until He is able to identify her wound. She has had five husbands and is now living with one who is not her husband.
This woman had likely been divorced or been widowed five times. It seems more likely that she has been divorced, however, because she has chosen to come alone in the heat of the day to draw water. She would have encountered severe judgment from others in her community for this and so she is practicing avoidance out of her shame. Jesus will remedy this, but He needs to practice another way of engaging for her to move beyond this shame.
Look at the community around you. Consider:
What are some shared needs we all have?
What unmet needs do you see in the lives of those around you? Is shame a barrier for them in having their needs met?
Do you need to cross a social boundary or two?
How can you tangibly and practically help?
Create a Safe Space – John 4:19-24
The woman has become understandably uncomfortable with the direction the conversation is headed. So she changes the topic. And Jesus lets her. He doesn’t push an agenda; He doesn’t call out her shame. He lets her avoid it a little longer for the sake of grace. Recognizing His authority, calling Him a prophet, she actually reveals another area that has bothered her… worship. “…you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” (John 4:20) Jesus is nonplussed. He lets her engage. He lets her know that she doesn’t need to worry any longer about being banished from the temple in Jerusalem. She is free to worship right where she is right now. The Passion Translation translates it beautifully…
From here on, worshiping the Father will not be a matter of the right place but with the right heart. (John 4:23)
Jesus’ comments fly in the face of the conventional religion of the day. While the religious Jews had the “right truth,” they didn’t engage that truth with the “right heart.” Sadly, the same is sometimes true today.
What are some specific ways you can create safe spaces for those with whom you engage?
Reveal Christ – John 4:25-26
This woman has been ostracized by both the religious Jews and her own community. Jesus has shown her through His actions and words that she has value. It is very likely that words of grace have not dripped so generously over her in a very long time. She is ripe to pour out her deepest need…that of a Savior. And Jesus doesn’t disappoint. This is the first time in any of the gospels that we see Jesus openly admit He is the Messiah, the Christ. His disciples have supposed it and Jesus hasn’t denied it, but neither has He openly spoken of it. The first time Jesus openly reveals Himself is to the least likely candidate from a typical human perspective…a woman, a divorced woman, no less…and a Samaritan to boot! She recognizes the significance of what He is doing by revealing Himself to her and runs back to her village proclaiming the good news, “Come and meet a man at the well who told me everything I’ve ever done! He could be the Anointed One we’ve been waiting for.” (John 4:29, TPT) Jesus’ revelation to this marginalized Samaritan woman winds up changing her life and the lives of her entire community!
Where have you developed relationships where you can readily share of your experiences with Jesus?
Are you willing to engage with people who aren’t like you?
I’d like to leave you with a video of a Matthew West song called “Do Something.” It illustrates some ways that you can engage the needs of those around you. Some will be more like you. Some will be less. But all are made in the image of God and therefore deserving of the type of value that Jesus places on the nameless Samaritan woman in our passage through his actions and engagement.
*To read more on the DNA behind this check out the 23AndMeBlog.
**You may wish to read Ezra 4:1-24 for more about this. The story is complex. The “enemies” are likely the Samaritan people. When Jesus shows up on the scene, He takes a different approach.