Jesus Defies Culture: The Woman at the Well (excerpt 4 of 5)

You are joining in the middle of a series of posts with excerpts from my book, “Who Do You Think You Are?” focusing on Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the water well (John 4:1-30).

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We also know that Jewish leaders of the day considered a woman incapable of a religious education. Jesus engaged her on a deep spiritual level of conversation almost immediately, challenging her understanding of religious teachings. She tried to keep the conversation at the surface, asking about the proper place for worship. Jesus let her ask, then gently guided her back to a level where He could engage her heart. He taught her that what was really important was not where you worship, but whether you worship in spirit and in truth. That was pretty deep for a conversation at a well.

Not only did Jewish leaders consider a woman incapable of a religious education, they saw her as UNWORTHY. Jesus deemed her capable AND worthy of learning … worthy enough to offer her salvation. He tells her that if she knew the gift of God and who it was asking her for a drink, she would have asked Him and He would have given her living water. Jesus invited her into God’s eternal plan.

Finally, women were not considered reliable witnesses in Israel. If Jesus had wanted to spread His Good News through a “respectable” method, He would have had such an encounter with a man. Instead, He chose a Samaritan woman who so changed by their interaction that the first thing she does is witness to her community. She runs and shouts throughout the village, “Come, and see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” (verse 29). The Samaritan woman goes from avoiding people in the morning to seeking them out in the afternoon! What happened to her? Do you think her view of herself was changed? What happened to the shame she surely must have felt earlier that same day?

On so many levels Jesus defied tradition and culture in this encounter. Before they met this woman felt alienated, used, and abused. But in this one brief conversation she is given a profound message about her true value—one she had likely never heard in all her years. Through their encounter she became both a member and a messenger of God’s Kingdom. Jesus changed her life! She was liberated, His redeemed image-bearer. She received and responded to His unconditional acceptance of her. This is how Jesus Christ wants to change you today.Stay tuned for the next post with more from "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Jesus Defies Culture: The Woman at the Well (excerpt 3 of 5)

You are joining in the middle of a series of posts with excerpts from my book, “Who Do You Think You Are?” focusing on Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the water well (John 4:1-30).

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Read the second post >> Entry #2

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The culture came head-to-head with Christ’s behavior. Consider the ways this encounter was so radical, and how many man-made rules He broke. Most striking, rabbinical law stated that Samaritan women were considered unclean. Jesus rejected this Jewish teaching by reaching out to a mixed-race female (that’s two strikes against her), AND whose morality was in question. It would never cross the mind of any “good Jew” to treat this person as a fellow human being.

Secondly, a godly Jewish man, let alone a rabbi (teacher), was not to speak to a woman in public. Men simply did not speak to women in public. In fact, a husband would not even address his wife if he saw her on the street! Yet Jesus, a revered rabbi, willingly initiates conversation with this down-and-out, mixed-race female at one of the village’s social hot spots.

Thirdly, religious segregation was standard for both women and Samaritans. Not only would a Jewish man never drink from a woman’s cup, a rabbi would never even associate with a “sinner.” Think now about how Jesus opened his conversation with the Samaritan woman by asking to have a drink from her cup! This surely alarmed her. He asked to drink from the cup of a woman viewed by the culture to be in a constant state of uncleanness. That’s radical! His request would have been like a white man drinking from a fountain marked “colored only” in Alabama in the 1950s. But here, Jesus Christ Himself not only asks for a drink, He engages in a lengthy conversation with, a woman “sinner” … in public.

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Jesus Defies Culture: The Woman at the Well (excerpt 2 of 5)

You are joining in the middle of a series of posts with excerpts from my book, “Who Do You Think You Are?” focusing on Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the water well (John 4:1-30).

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"Now consider the Samaritan woman. Today she would be called a loser. She was seen as such by her community because she had been married five times and was considered immoral. To the Jews she was inferior because she was of mixed race, the wrong religion, a female, and to top it off, she was living an immoral life. She was “defective goods.” While she had been married many times, we do not know whether the immorality was her fault. Divorce law weighed heavily in favor of men, and some of her husbands may have just put her out of the house. Or maybe they were killed in battles. We do not know.
Regardless, the culture defined her as an outcast to be ignored and shunned. Consider her self-image. Who did she think she was? She must have felt pretty low. On a scale ranging from one to ten, she possibly felt a zero. She was used, abused, and alienated—just as so many women have been through the ages and still are around the world are today. Perhaps you identify closely with this woman.
The woman came to the well alone in the middle of the day, which was an unusual time to collect water. The well was a gathering place, a social hub. The women of the village would gather there in the mornings to retrieve their water for the day. But this Samaritan likely felt rejected by her peers and was trying to make do with life on the bottom rung of the social ladder by becoming invisible. So she went to the well when she was sure no one else would be there."

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