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Jesus crosses cultural boundaries (2)

“A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink.’” (John 4:7)

Having crossed the borders of culture and religion by going to Samaria, Jesus was sitting beside a well in the heat of the afternoon. This well was very deep and Jesus had nothing to draw water with. So, when a woman came there to draw water, He asked her to give him some.

The woman was surprised by his request: “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?”. Her surprise is explained by John: “for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans”. Moreover, men usually didn’t talk with women. But Jesus did.

Luke 5 records a similar story, where Jesus was eating with “tax collectors and sinners”. Both groups were despised in Jewish society. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were shocked by Jesus’ inappropriate behavior and even complained about it to his disciples. Self-respecting Jews would never pollute themselves like that! Being in such bad company would harm their reputation. But Jesus did not care about his reputation. His mission was to save everybody who needed salvation.

And this still holds true. Jesus is not only for people from a certain nation or social position. “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith” (Galatians 3:26).