Samaritan Woman by the Well
April 10th 2008 02:26
Last post, I said that I had two favourite gospel stories. They both involved Samaritans. They both included revolutionary ideas. I have already addressed one of those stories, the parable of the Good Samaritan. Now I turn my attention to the other revolutionary Samaritan story, the Samaritan woman by the well.
As mentioned previously, Jews did not like Samaritan. Jews would not talk to Samaritans if they could help it. Another thing we have to know about Jews in Jesus’ day is that they would rarely talk to women they didn’t know. If the woman was alone, talking to her was virtually unheard of.
So here’s Jesus, by the well. The disciples have gone off and left him, so he’s alone. Here’s the Samaritan woman. She’s also alone. That in itself was unusual. Why would she come to the well alone? Most women came with a group of other women. Although it’s not stated, it undoubtedly had something to do with the long line of husbands she had had and the fact that she was living with a man without being married to her. It appeared the other women shunned her.
What would Jesus do in this situation? Any well-respected teacher of the law would tell him the best thing he could do was hightail it out of there. But Jesus doesn’t leave. Jesus does something revolutionary. Jesus speaks to her – and not only speaks to her, but asks her for water. It was disgraceful behaviour. But because it was Jesus doing it, we also know it was the right behaviour.
Thankfully, here in the Western world, we don’t have nearly as many unwritten regulations and customs as the Jews in Jesus’ day did. But some churches and Christians make their own set of unwritten laws. Some more so than others. Don’t be alone with a woman. Stay away from women of ill repute. Don’t ask people of other religions for help. Condemn sin whenever and wherever possible.
See, that was the other revolutionary thing that Jesus did. As soon as he saw the Samaritan woman, he would have known of her past and current living arrangements. But he didn’t condemn her. Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to suggest that he approved of her many husbands. He didn’t tell her that was she was doing was fine. But nor did he spend any time making her feel guilty.
Instead he offers her living water. What? Why on earth would he do that? I think he did it because he recognised that her past marriages and partners had little to do with willful disobedience with God’s commands and more to do with an inner pain. It reflected a deep spiritual thirst. Until that thirst was satisfied, she would never change. He didn’t just care about changing her behaviour. He wanted to help and love her.
Jesus said that the two most important commandments were loving God and loving others. This story reflects this attitude. Loving people is more important than rules or regulations. Loving people is more important than condemning sin. Loving people should come first. It was revolutionary then. Unfortunately, in some Christian circles, it’s still a pretty revolutionary idea now.
As mentioned previously, Jews did not like Samaritan. Jews would not talk to Samaritans if they could help it. Another thing we have to know about Jews in Jesus’ day is that they would rarely talk to women they didn’t know. If the woman was alone, talking to her was virtually unheard of.
So here’s Jesus, by the well. The disciples have gone off and left him, so he’s alone. Here’s the Samaritan woman. She’s also alone. That in itself was unusual. Why would she come to the well alone? Most women came with a group of other women. Although it’s not stated, it undoubtedly had something to do with the long line of husbands she had had and the fact that she was living with a man without being married to her. It appeared the other women shunned her.
What would Jesus do in this situation? Any well-respected teacher of the law would tell him the best thing he could do was hightail it out of there. But Jesus doesn’t leave. Jesus does something revolutionary. Jesus speaks to her – and not only speaks to her, but asks her for water. It was disgraceful behaviour. But because it was Jesus doing it, we also know it was the right behaviour.
Thankfully, here in the Western world, we don’t have nearly as many unwritten regulations and customs as the Jews in Jesus’ day did. But some churches and Christians make their own set of unwritten laws. Some more so than others. Don’t be alone with a woman. Stay away from women of ill repute. Don’t ask people of other religions for help. Condemn sin whenever and wherever possible.
See, that was the other revolutionary thing that Jesus did. As soon as he saw the Samaritan woman, he would have known of her past and current living arrangements. But he didn’t condemn her. Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to suggest that he approved of her many husbands. He didn’t tell her that was she was doing was fine. But nor did he spend any time making her feel guilty.
Instead he offers her living water. What? Why on earth would he do that? I think he did it because he recognised that her past marriages and partners had little to do with willful disobedience with God’s commands and more to do with an inner pain. It reflected a deep spiritual thirst. Until that thirst was satisfied, she would never change. He didn’t just care about changing her behaviour. He wanted to help and love her.
Jesus said that the two most important commandments were loving God and loving others. This story reflects this attitude. Loving people is more important than rules or regulations. Loving people is more important than condemning sin. Loving people should come first. It was revolutionary then. Unfortunately, in some Christian circles, it’s still a pretty revolutionary idea now.
| 89 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
Subscribe to this blog
Comment by S. L. Bradish
Comment by samaritan
Fringe Faith
Samaritan's Stories