"Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, 'How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?' For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans." v9
John 4:1-26. NKJV
Jews and Samaritans, were two groups who didn't have anything to do with each other. Jews believed the Samaritans had been tainted by the pagan nations among them (Deuteronomy 7:1). Furthermore, a Jew would become ceremonially unclean if he used a drinking vessel handled by a Samaritan. In a Jew's eyes, all Samaritans were unclean. In addition to this, men in biblical times did not generally speak to women in public.
And yet, here was Jesus going through Samaria, meeting the woman at the well and asking her for a drink. He was breaking everything that Jews believed. Even His disciples, on their return from buying food (v27), marvelled at Jesus sitting and talking with her.
You see, with God there is no difference in our race; the colour of our skin or where we originate from. With God there is no partiality (Romans 2:11). He loves everyone and by this acount here, shows that He is against racial discrimination.
Jesus, having walked a long way in the midday sun, sat at Jacob's Well in Sychar. It was hot; He was weary and He also had a thirst. All of this demonstrates His humanity. He was God and yet He was a man and He underwent all the things that a human being goes through each day. He noticed the woman drawing from the well and asked her for a drink.
What followed was an amazing account of Jesus telling her all about herself, Himself and His coming Kingdom and the peace and love that she could have. It affected her so much, that she left her water carrier and ran into the city telling them all about the event. She said, 'Come, see a man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?' (v29). Samaritans expected a Messiah, but their rejection of all the inspired writings after the Pentateuch, meant that they knew little about Christ. They thought of Him mainly as a teacher. However, this woman was so affected by Jesus that her excitement was infectious, and she brought the whole city to Jesus. Quite an evangelistic feat.
Jesus' heart breaks over the whole of racial discrimination. In Jesus's opinion, we are all equal and he treats us as such. He has no favourites, we all have a ministry to run. In Jesus' eyes, whatever we do for Him, is equally important.
Sadly, politics can enter into our Christian faith so much, that we can end up making the politician more important than Jesus Himself. Yes, God is interested in how the nations will be run and if the politicians place Jesus in the rightful place of their work, it will be.
One day, God will totally rule in Heaven and on the earth. He will demonstrate how kingdoms should be managed - with Jesus on the Throne. Until then, let us avoid all form of discrimination and keep Jesus firmly in our sights on a daily basis.
Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard
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