Jesus Defies Culture and Meets You at the Well (Series 1 of 5)

One of my favorite portions of Scripture from the life of Christ is John 4:1-30. This is the account of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the water well. On so many levels this passage strikes me. It teaches how radically God pointedly pursues me and you – all women of every race and region – in His great love for us.
This is the first of five blog entries where I share excerpts from my book, “Who Do You Think You Are?” If you like what you read and want more, as they say, “where that came from,” buy the book for yourself today(click here)! In addition to grounding you in your true identity as God’s image-bearer, it will also help you joyfully uncover and live out your unique purpose in life. You will not be disappointed!

Jesus Defies Culture: The Woman at the Well (excerpt 1 of 5)

"Jesus assigned women new freedom, status, and roles. He began reforming the Jewish patriarchal system as it had been established in the Old Testament. When you read John 4:1-30, you see an account of Jesus’ interaction with a Samaritan woman at the water well, and it reveals just how radically His actions flew in the face of society. He rejected several rabbinical teachings in this passage, and His behavior made no sense to those around him.

Starting with verse 3 we read, “When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.” Galilee is north of Judea with Samaria in between. The Jews wouldn’t step foot in Samaria if they could possibly help it. There was a long-standing hatred between Jews and Samaritans. The Samaritans were a mixed-race people, half Assyrian and half Jewish, and their religion was a mixture of Judaism and other beliefs. Any mixing of the Jewish race or their religion was detested by the Jews. This hatred was so common, a well-known rabbinical ordinance stated, “Let no Israelite eat one mouthful of anything that is a Samaritan’s, for if he eats but a mouthful, he is as if he ate swine’s flesh.”1 Swine was an unclean food, forbidden for Jews to eat. The Jews considered the Samaritans to be unclean, just like pork.

To avoid going through Samaria, Jews would walk an extra seventeen miles to cross the Jordan and go around—basically doubling the length of the journey. Still today, two thousand years later, there are Jews who refuse to go through certain portions of the land. But verse 4 tells us that Jesus “HAD to go through Samaria” (emphasis mine). When any good Jew would not step foot in Samaria but go the extra distance just to avoid doing so, this statement should prompt us to ask, WHY? Apparently, Jesus had a God-ordained appointment with a woman who needed to know Him."

Check back here for the next post with more from “Who Do You Think You Are?”