Jesus has a great sense of humor. While we have no certain information about Jesus’ actual physical appearance, I think we can be sure that he often had a twinkle in his eyes as he spoke. Sometime his humor was expressed in ordinary conversations where he could be a master of the double entendre. We saw that in his conversation with Nathaniel and we can see it again here in Jesus’ conversation with the woman at the well.
Samaria is a region of land between Jerusalem and the Sea of Galilee. The inhabitants believed they could trace their ancestry all the back to Abraham, just as the Jews did. However, the Samaritans did not practice their religious faith in the same manner as the Jews and since the Jews had returned to Israel from exile in Babylon, several centuries before, there had been enmity between the Jews and Samaritans.
In this encounter in today’s passage Jesus is ignoring many of the social customs shared by the Jews and Samaritans to make the point that God has opened his Kingdom to all people, everywhere. (Devout Jewish men did not have social interactions with women in a public setting, certainly not if they were alone, and most certainly not with a Samaritan.) But, as we will see, while the invitation is delivered to people as they are, to accept the invitation and enter into the Kingdom of God it is necessary to turn your life around and embrace the values of God’s Kingdom; Just as this Samaritan woman did!
At the time of the Gospel of John the phrase ‘living water’ was a common way of referring to running water, as in a stream or river. Such water was considered to be pure and fresh as compared to standing water in a pond or well. Jesus was telling the woman that worshipping God in truth and spirit was not about on which mountain (church) you worshipped. It meant turning away from her present life, which was symbolized as stagnant water, and receiving God’s new life, which Jesus symbolized as living water.
Isn’t it interesting that two millennia later people still grossly misunderstand Jesus’ simple teaching to the Samaritan woman. So many people love their local church or denomination (or non-denomination) more than they love the Kingdom of God. So many people think worshipping God in truth and spirit can be accomplished apart from God’s chosen means to build his Kingdom; The local church. Can you see? It is not either / or. It is both /and.
What word or phrase in these verses
attracts your attention?
Reflect on that word or phrase.
What insights come to you?
How does this passage touch your life today?
8-Mar-12 John 4:27-54
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