While Jesus was talking to the Samaritan woman, the Disciples came back from their errands and they were shocked, but did not say a word. The woman left her water jar and immediately went back to her village, very excited and already fully engaged in what Christ told her. She had found the Messiah and wanted everyone to know it! She told everyone what Jesus told her and exclaimed that Jesus must be the One for whom they had been waiting. So, the people from the village came out to the well to see for themselves and meet Jesus. At the same time, the Disciples wanted Jesus to eat the food they brought back, and Jesus seized this as a teaching point to reveal what was far more important than food—our spiritual formation—and that our real nourishment comes from God; we demonstrate this when we do God’s will. Jesus told them that His sustenance came from God and that He was empowered to do His will. He showed them an illustration of the agriculture around them: just as the crops are ready for harvest, God waits for us to harvest what He has planted in us and also wants us to help others grow, just as this woman was doing. Then, He shares that we all have different gifts and opportunities; some plant, some water, and some harvest. All are important and needed for the harvesting of souls. We can’t rush it but we have to see the immediacy of it. Because of this woman and Jesus’ use of her, many of the Samaritans turned to Christ and put their trust and faith in Him. This woman was an outcast and still God used her to bear His Message of Love, Hope, and Faith, which could not be accomplished by prejudice. Contexts and Background:
Jesus interacted with a race extremely hated and rejected by the Jews. This should cause us to think about our own cultural ideas and bigoted reactions, those we do either unconsciously or deliberately.
This passage continues to tell of the social contempt that the Jews and Samaritans held for one another. Jesus exhibits the importance of acceptance and calls us to remove the prejudice and narrowmindedness and intolerance we have, just as the Jews and Samaritans held for each other. And, in application, to remove all social dislike, scorn, and prejudices we harbor. Jesus looked at the barriers some had to growth and He confronted them so the person could move forward into spiritual maturity with faith and relationship development. To be a true follower of Christ, one must also be a disciple, a learner who can look at what hinders us, reach out to Christ, and grow beyond the barriers that block our spiritual formation and intimacy with Christ. We have to understand Him and His teachings, be deeply convicted, and be willing to grow through our trust and obedient actions. If not, we will stagnate into apathy, disillusionment, depression, dysfunction, or some other kind of abuse to one’s self or others. We have to be convicted; Jesus shows us how by these examples, and He makes the Way for it!
It is interesting that many opponents to the Scriptures, or a conservative view of the Bible, claim that the Bible is anti-Semitic (a view that the teachings of the Bible are hostile toward Jews and/or the Jewish faith) and racial. In fact, the Bible is clearly on the side of anti-discrimination and advocates the abolishment of prejudice in all of its forms. God sees no race; He only wants us to run the race of faith (2 Tim. 4:7).
Devotional Thoughts and Applications:
This woman had a thirst and a longing for something real in a life that was filled with sin and other things meant to fill that hole. She had a desire, perhaps throughout her life, to obtain the living water, but found everything meaningless and chose the lust of sin and rebellion as a coping mechanism. Christ fulfilled her desire, and this transitioned her from sin to Him and translated her lust to the willingness to grow, willingness to strive, and to be challenged in the faith. She was able to do so—crossing her fears and hurts in order to know Him, and to grow in Him. The barriers of fear and past hurts is one most Christians may never cross, but they are possible to overcome with His Hand guiding us. For us, this is a lesson given to shake us from our false thinking and complacency or bad situations to see what is in front of us. Perhaps, we need to be kicked out of our anxieties and concerns so we can embrace faith more and grow to go into the areas where we fear to go. The journey He has for us need not be feared, because Christ will not call us to an area in which He has not gifted us and for which He has not given us a desire. It is when we do not heed His call that we get in trouble, not because the call is too difficult, as He gives us all we need.
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