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Preamble It was early in Jesus’ ministry... According to the order in how John documented everything, Jesus turned the water into wine at the wedding, celebrated Passover in the Temple at Capernaum, spoke with Nicodemus and then suddenly left Judea to go to Galilee. This was most unusual. Why? It is unusual because Jesus unexpectedly decided to go through Samaria to get to Galilee. All that John said was that Jesus “had to go”. The Samaritan woman is generally portrayed as a woman of ill-repute, supposedly avoiding people because of her immoral life, but something seems wrong with that viewpoint. How could this woman receive an overwhelmingly positive response from her village neighbors, when she called them to drop everything and come with her to meet a Jewish man, she herself had just met? Something does not add up because Jews and Samaritans disliked each other. The land in which this woman lived was sandwiched between Judea and Galilee, within the borders of the land allotted to the sons of Joseph, Ephraim, and Menashe. Today most of Samaria and large parts of Judea constitute the disputed ”occupied territories” located in the Palestinian Authority. This is where much of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict exists. Both groups tried to avoid passing through each other’s territories when traveling. The way around Samaria for Judeans traveling to Galilee took twice as long as the three-day-direct journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. Avoiding Samaria required crossing the river Jordan twice to follow a path running east of the river. Going through Samaria was sometimes dangerous because of the often simmering hostility between the two peoples. Much of this animosity is based on belief structures—on “religion” that exists everywhere—and it’s in the church! Jesus came to make peace between God and man and between man and man. This seems to contradict what He said in Matthew 10:32-42. He can cause rifts between different groups of people—but He qualified that statement by comparing our relationships with each other and with Himself—He has to come first. It is God first, family next and ministry last. Paul told Timothy that if we do not provide for our family we are worse than infidels who have denied the faith. Our men should be priests in their own homes and minister to their wife and family before other “Christian activity”. |
...the news reached the Jewish religious leaders known as the Pharisees that Jesus was drawing greater crowds of followers coming to be baptized than John. (Although Jesus didn’t baptize, but had his disciples baptize the people.) Jesus heard what was being said and abruptly left Judea and returned to the province of Galilee, and he had to pass through Samaritan territory. Jesus arrived at the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son, Joseph, long ago. Wearied by his long journey, he sat on the edge of Jacob’s well. He sent his disciples into the village to buy food, for it was already afternoon. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink of water.” ”Surprised, she said, “Why would a Jewish man ask a Samaritan woman for a drink of water?” Jesus replied, “If you only knew who I am and the gift that God wants to give you—you’d ask me for a drink, and I would give to you living water.” John 4:1-10 |
The Samaritans called themselves “the sons of Israel” and “the keepers”, or Shomrim. Jewish sources refer to the Samaritans as Kutim, possibly relating to a location in Iraq from which the non-Israelite exiles were imported into Samaria in 2 Kings 17:24. If Shomrim means the “keepers” we must ask what they were keeping. It all related to the covenant promises of God, but whilst the Jews and the Samaritans believed in the same God, they expressed themselves differently. It can be easy to read scripture from a “theological viewpoint” and miss the obvious, simple and practical aspect. Scriptures often mention food, clothing, climate or water at the practical level, yet we may try to spiritualize and ritualize everything. Some of God’s laws were very practical, having little to do with spirituality. They did not have refrigeration, so God told them about preparation and keeping of foods. He told them about using the bathroom because they did not have the sewerage systems we do. Certain foods are grown according to the climate, the soils and water supply and this is just as true now as it was then. Water in a desert was essential for everyone’s survival and water rights could be traded for money or other goods. People may have worn certain kinds of clothing for comfort sake alone, not “religion”. |
spacer John said that this was at a place called Sychar, near to Shechem. That was the land Jacob gave to Joseph. Shechem was an ancient and important fortified city, situated between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, approximately forty-one miles or 66 kilometers north of Jerusalem. It was strategically placed at the intersection of major trade routes. This is where Abraham built his first altar. The city played a significant role in Israelite history, being allotted to Ephraim and designated as a city of refuge. It briefly served as the first capital of the northern kingdom of Israel before the capital was moved. Over time, Shechem faced various conflicts and destructions, including an Assyrian attack and later destruction by John Hyrcanus around 108 BC. Due to its strategic importance, perhaps Jesus deliberately took the longer route on His journey to meet one person, this woman, knowing that she would tell everyone about their meeting. We may sometimes have a “chance encounter” with one person, who can later achieve something important. When He wanted to eat the Passover before being arrested, He sent disciples to meet one man and we do not even know that man’s identity. He sent Ananias to lay his hands on Paul and pray for him so that he would receive his sight. I do not know what else Ananias did, but that one simple task helped us receive most of the New Testament epistles. Having mentioned Paul, please do not believe that Paul’s “thorn” was poor eyesight. Jesus healed him. Paul’s thorn was not physical, but a buffeting spirit. You may be asked to do one simple thing that seems insignificant, but it could be extremely important for the plan of God. Shechem had more significance because after the Exodus, this is where the people buried the bones of Joseph as seen in Joshua 24:32. This reveals that simple “bible stories” like this, have more meaning than we think. He suffered at the hands of his own brethren to fulfill God’s plan and we may well think that this woman’s “suffering” was used to bring about God’s plan for these people; for salvation to all Israel.
The sixth hour was supposedly the worst possible time of the day to leave one’s dwelling and venture out into the scorching heat. Midday is not the worst time to be out in the sun. If it was 3 pm (the ninth hour) the traditional theory would make better sense. It is not at all clear that this took place during the summer months, which could make the weather in Samaria altogether irrelevant. |
Is it possible that we are making too much of her going to draw water at “an unusual time?” We all sometimes do regular things during unusual hours. Could it be possible that this is such a case? The woman could simply have run out of water. This does not necessarily mean we are hiding something from someone. Rachel came to the well with her sheep possibly at about the same time in Genesis 29:6-9 and she was not hiding. The popular theory views her as a particularly sinful woman who had fallen into sexual sin and therefore was called to account by Jesus about the multiplicity of husbands in her life. Why did she have so many husbands? Jesus told her, as the popular theory has it, that He knew that she had five previous husbands and that she was living with her current “boyfriend” outside the bonds of marriage. In this view, the reason she avoided the crowd was precisely because of her reputation for short-lived marital commitments. But there are problems with this theory. If a woman had such a bad track record, why would they listen to her, drop everything and go to see Jesus? Why would anyone trust her? At that time He was just another man to them! She thought that He was a prophet, but soon realized who He was. Jesus and the nameless Samaritan woman were from two different and historically adversarial people, each of whom considered the other to have deviated drastically from the ancient faith of Israel. As mentioned before, a modern parallel to the Judeo-Samaritan conflict would be the sharp animosity between Shia and Sunni Muslims. For most of us today Muslims are Muslims, but within Islam, this is not an agreed-upon proposition. Both parties consider each other as the greatest enemy of true Islam. These two warring people groups were Israelites and were both a part of the same faith—but they were bitter enemies. This was not because they were so different, but precisely because they were very much alike. Both Israelite groups considered the other to be imposters. The Babylonian Talmud, referring to the views and practices of the distant past, stated that “Daughters of the Samaritans are menstruants from the cradle”. The Samaritan woman may have recognized that Jesus was Judean by his distinctive Jewish traditional clothing and his accent Jesus would have most certainly worn ritual fringes (tzitzit) in obedience to Numbers 15: 38 and Deuteronomy 22:12, but Samaritan men also observed those commands. The difference between these two groups was not whether the Torah of Moses must be obeyed—but how it should be obeyed. The most likely reason for Jesus’ instructions to Mary not to touch him had to do with the fact that He was determined to enter the heavenly tabernacle in a ready-to-serve, consecrated state. Defilement would not be a sin—but it would have temporarily disqualified Him for from entering God’s presence. Mary may have had a number of reasons for defilement such as a possible menstrual circle, or stepping into the tomb etcetera. Jesus’ priestly mission was too important to allow for any possibility of failure. By the time Jesus met Thomas, His priestly work was done. He had returned from completing His priestly duties and possible defilement was no longer an issue. The reason is veiled from most people because we fail to understand this sort of life. It is not a part of our modern world and thinking. Jesus’ role as a prophet was carried out during His earthly life. His role as king was yet to be realized at the time of the ascension. He duties as Priest in the heavenly tabernacle had to be fulfilled. If we think of those things, the Samaritan woman may have been perplexed, saying something like, “You want to drink from my water vessel? You want to touch something of mine?” Today we have issues with sexuality and gender identification. We often transfer our own ideas about gender proximity into ancient stories like this one, but we do not fully understand the reasons. Relationships between people groups can be very controversial. Outsiders rarely understand what is the reason they dislike each other and why they can’t get along and the reasons may appear trivial to outsiders. Jesus did some things that just do not make sense by natural reasoning. We see a Judean Jesus meeting a Greek women in Mark 7:24-29 and Matthew 15:21-28. This was at Tyre and Sidon that was to be given to the tribe of Asher but was never fully taken over by Israelites. This woman was desperate, but Jesus seemed to be antagonistic. When his Jewish disciples demanded he answer her, he responded: I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. However, the woman was relentless. “She came, knelt before him, and said, “Lord, help me!” He answered her: “It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs” Matthew 15:23-26 That was an offensive statement, as Jesus was comparing Greek Gentiles to dogs. In the modern Western world dogs are thought to be part of the family and often live inside and not outside of the family home. In ancient times in the East, they did not live in the home, but outside. His comparison to dogs was not meant to dehumanize the Greek woman but to emphasize that Jesus’ primary mission was to Israel—to those inside of God’s family, not outside of it. He also said that He had other sheep in another sheepfold,. He ministered first to the “Jewish sheep”. Paul said: For I am not ashamed of the Good News, since it is God’s powerful means of bringing salvation to everyone who keeps on trusting, to the Jew especially, but equally to the Gentile. Romans 1:16 We now know that God wants everyone to be saved and perhaps we can better understand it by thinking that Jesus was starting somewhere—family first. When that women admitted what He said was true, that the dogs eat the crumbs from the masters’ table, He granted her request telling her that she had great faith. |
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Springing up
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Spirit and Truth This brings us to the point of the matter. We have seen that people argue and debate over religious issues, how, when and where we should worship. It is in Jerusalem or on that mountain? Is it in this church or that church? Should it be on Saturday or Sunday? There are endless debates on such matters, but the core of the matter is, “Does that water spring up and gush forth as Jesus said or it is still and often stagnant?” יהושׁע said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you shall neither on this mountain, nor in Yerushalayim, worship the Father. “You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because the deliverance is of the Yehuḏim. It is all about Him. What is this “spirit and truth”? Spirit is spirit. In the Greek it is pneuma, that means breath, life and wind. It often refers to the Holy Spirit, so our worship should have “life in it”. I suggest it should involve the Holy Spirit. Truth! This is interesting, because we can look at several Greek words, alētheia, alētheuō, alēthēs, alēthinos and alēthōs. If we put it all together, it relates to that which is in accord with what really happens, facts that correspond to a reality, speak truth, real, not imaginary, genuine, truly, with certainty, surely and an eternal reality not limited to historical fact. I recently taught on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in an Anglican church in Adelaide after being invited by a dear friend to speak to a group of believers from Sudan. They came from a wide range of different churches and my friend told me that they needed to hear the truth—because there is much confusion in the churches on such matters, even in so-called “pentecostal churches”. A pastor from Melbourne and an Anglican minister came and they both spoke. I met with the rector of the church and she came from India. My wife comes from England and I am an Australian man with Jewish blood. This is unique! This is how things should be and it is happening all over the world in increasing intensity as God is restoring truth, just as He promised. I need not say more, but miracles happened that day. This woman at the well had a Divine encounter that changed her life. This is what it should be. By using a simple natural request for a drink of water, Jesus ministered in the Spirit to her in what I believe was a word of knowledge that is one of the Gifts of the Spirit as seen in 1 Corinthians chapters twelve to fourteen. That got her attention. He had no band, no worship team, no smoke machines or flashing lights, no big screen displays or set forms of service. He did not start with a prayer, a homily, three points and a poem, take communion or receive an offering as we do now. He cut to the chase, spoke into her life and she responded. She became an evangelist on the spot and an entire city was impacted! What could happen if we allowed the Holy Spirit to do what the Lord said He would do? What would happen if we dropped our agendas and programs and got on side with Him? If it happened in the early church and if the Holy Spirit is still the same Holy Spirit, the word of God has not changed and Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, it should happen today. This is the kind of thing that is coming back to the church and we are the church. A friend of mine lives in Phuket and he is the captain of a ship. He spends time traveling in the area, especially tourist spots. He and his wife can enjoy the lifestyle there and to a certain extent, I am slightly envious of them, but what an opportunity to simply allow their light to shine and attract others to the Lord. Others I know work in hospitals and as they go about their duties, they can release an anointing into people and impart a blessing to them without making any outward display at all. They do not have to “be religious” about it. All that they need to do is touch others, knowing that the anointing inside them can be released and give God something to work with. I’ve proved that many times. We need to be wise about this of course for obvious reasons. For example, I am a kind of open and friendly person and like engaging in light-hearted conversations about anything. At the checkout at a supermarket for example, after such a conversation, I like to address them by their name and that is important. I like to thank them and in a friendly non-invasive gesture and if I can, give a little pat on the shoulder. They do not realize it, but I am imparting a blessing and releasing an anointing to them. That’s all we need to do at times and God does what He knows best. In closing You may be like this women, going through all kinds of turmoils and stresses, plagued with guilt and remorse, perhaps shame from things of the past. Jesus does not condemn you. He may not like what you are doing, but wants to fix things up, because he has that “living water” to give you. What do you do? You can take it or reject it. Please take it! Like that women who admitted her status, admit it and do what you need do to and receive His help. You could be like the others in the city, being critical and judging other people for their mistakes. If you qualify to cast the first stone as Jesus said, go ahead and do it, but I suggest that you are not better than those you condemn. They might be innocent victims and suffering for it. Listen to what is being said and look past the externals to see what is in the heart. That’s what the Lord did. No matter where you are at right now, there is always something better that this living water alone can provide. Try it. If this has done something for you, tell someone about it. Robert |
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