Reading the Bible, particularly the Gospels, is like taking a walk
along a woodland path. The first things we see are the most obvious, and it is
only by taking a closer look that we are able to not only discern the finer
details but also to ponder what they say or mean to us.
In Scripture, those most obvious attributes present themselves in the
form of the specifics that supply the basis for Jesus’ experiences on earth. We
get a clear sense of where he was, who he was with, and what was going on at
the time. Subsequent layers reveal the things he said and did and how those
around him, especially his disciples, reacted. From his first interactions as
his earthly mission began to his death on the cross and his resurrection, the
path that Jesus’ life took is very clearly exposited by the Gospel writers,
leaving little to the imagination.
As with any reading, it’s easy to take what the Bible’s authors wrote
at face value, and just as easy to simply leave it at that. But when exposed to
a single story multiple times or at more receptive and clear-headed moments, we
are sometimes pleasantly surprised to discover new aspects we might have missed
before. And such is the case with the story of the woman at the well.
As told in the Gospel of John, Jesus is traveling through Samaria when
he stops to rest near a well. There, he encounters a woman and asks her for a
drink. She hesitates at first, put off by the fact that a Jew is even talking
to a Samaritan and a woman no less. (John 4:9) According to the mores of the
times, men typically did not sit and carry on long conversations with women at
all. Thus, right from the beginning of this story, Jesus has defied two
conventions. Yet nowhere do we read that he is troubled by this, and the
Samaritan woman apparently picks up on his lack of concern.
The story depicts Jesus asking the woman, “Will you give me a drink?”
He doesn’t say “I’d like a drink,” or “May I have a drink?” He asks her if she
is willing to give him one. (John 4: 7)Not only does this give the woman the
choice of whether or not to cooperate, but it also highlights the concern that
Jesus has for her and that makes giving her this type of choice possible.
Jesus goes on to tell the woman that the water she is giving him from
the well cannot compare to the type of water he is able to give her which is
much more important than that which would only slake her physical thirst. (John
4: 13-14)The basic life-sustaining element that we all take so much for granted
is assigned a much greater meaning when Jesus speaks of it as the source of
eternal life. And all through this exchange, Jesus continues to treat the
Samaritan woman with the utmost respect, seeking to broaden her knowledge of
the water of salvation she should be seeking.
As I read and reread this Biblical tale, I am touched by the humanity
that Jesus exhibits toward a woman he should not even be associating with. He
is patient with her, never insulting or demeaning her. (Titus 2:7)As their
conversation moves into her marital status, Jesus continues to remain calm and
nonjudgmental, which heightens her trust in him to the point where she runs to
her townspeople after he leaves to proclaim his wondrousness.
Not only did Jesus use those moments to plant the seeds of redemption
in the Samaritan woman’s heart and mind, but his very behavior teaches how we
should treat one another. His actions, his demeanor, and his attitude all reflect
how Christians should act toward each other, be it between husbands and wives,
sisters and brothers, friend to friend or employer to employee. That day at the
well in Samaria, Jesus illustrated how the perfect human being should act
toward others in a spirit of fairness and compassion. (Romans 12: 10)
Jesus defied the social customs of his time to share his message of
hope, forgiveness, and the assurance of eternal life with an unlikely
beneficiary unprepared for such a blessing. What to the Samaritan woman was
just another walk to the well that day evolved into an existential experience
that changed her thinking forever. And what might have been an unpleasant exchange,
had Jesus been anyone other than who he was, developed into an occasion when a
woman’s sins were forgiven and her soul redeemed. (Matthew 6: 14)
What an example Jesus set for us all that day, one filled with the
spirit and which demonstrated the basic human values of patience,
understanding, lack of judgment, acceptance, and love. (John 13: 34-35)In
truth, there isn’t an instance anywhere in the Gospel where Jesus does not practice
some, if not all, of those virtues. The Son of God taught, not only with words,
but also with his actions, a fact that the Gospel writers never fail to remind
us of.
Jesus came into
this world to pay the ransom for all our sins and to make it possible for
anyone who believes to one day see the face of God. (Matthew 20:28)That day at
the well, the Samaritan woman did see God's face, in the features of a stranger
who stopped to ask her for a drink. To me, this speaks to all the other
wonderful things Jesus did for us up until the point where he breathed his last
upon a cross. He was, and forever shall be, the embodiment of all that is good
in the world, and treating others in a spirit of love as we hope to be treated
is just one more of his numberless gifts to us. (1 Corinthians 13:13).
Note: All
Scriptural references are taken from the New International Version (NIV).
(Originally created in April, 2018)
Note: All
Scriptural references are taken from the New International Version (NIV).
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