Year of the Bible: Part Eight of TwelveSample

A Totally Planned, Yet Unexpected Meeting

The Samaritans were a group of people who lived in an area north of Jerusalem. They were half-Jewish and half-Gentile. At the time of Jesus, the Jews and the Samaritans did not interact. Jesus, however, ministered to the people of Samaria, preaching the good news to them.

In John's Gospel, the Samaritan woman at the well is the first person to whom Jesus openly reveals himself as Messiah. His conversation with her is the longest private conversation Jesus had with anyone in the New Testament.

During their interaction, Jesus did something culturally taboo: he spoke to a woman in public—not just any woman, but a Samaritan woman. She was twice an outcast in Jewish thought. Jesus asked her for a drink of water. She was understandably shocked: a Jewish man was speaking to her, a Samaritan woman? He also should not have wanted to share a water vessel with her since it would be considered unclean. She was appropriately confused. However, Jesus chose to reveal the following truths to this woman specifically, regardless of how she was perceived by the culture and even her own community:

• Jesus is the living water that wells up to eternal life.
• Jesus is a prophet.
• Worship doesn't depend on a location, but the Father is searching for those who worship Him in Spirit and truth.
• Jesus is the Messiah.

Question: Is there an opportunity you can take this week to honor someone our society normally dishonors?

Prayer: Ask God to show you the value of the people who are considered outcasts, different, or marginalized in our society. Pray that they would receive a revelation of God's love.