"John 4:1-26
Break down divisions of every kind
Every church should be an inclusive church because God’s love is radically inclusive. Jesus came to break down every barrier in our society.
Jesus’ fame was increasing. ‘The Pharisees were keeping count of the baptisms that he and John performed ... They had posted the score that Jesus was ahead, turning him and John into rivals’ (vv.1–2, MSG).
Jesus was not interested in fame, rivalry or competition. ‘When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee’ (v.3). He was very interested in helping one individual Samaritan. He takes time to minister to her. Mother Teresa said, ‘Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you.’
In this encounter Jesus demonstrated that one of the ways in which society will be transformed is by the breaking down of divisions.
End the war between the sexes
Jesus had a prolonged conversation with a woman in public. This flew in the face of the conventions of the time. The strict rabbis forbade a rabbi even to greet a woman in public, let alone have a long conversation. When the disciples returned, they were ‘surprised to find him talking with a woman’ (v.27).
As John Stott writes, ‘Without any fuss or publicity Jesus terminated the curse of the Fall, reinvested woman with her partially lost nobility and reclaimed for his new kingdom community the original creation blessing of sexual equality.’
The sexes should not be at war. As Pope Benedict XVI put it, ‘In Christ the rivalry, enmity and violence which disfigured the relationship between men and women can be overcome and have been overcome.’
End racism, discrimination and apartheid
The division between Jews and Samaritans went back a long way. John explains that ‘Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans’ (v.9, MSG).
Jesus does not compromise on the truth: ‘Salvation is from the Jews’ (v.22). Nevertheless, he reaches out to this Samaritan woman. In doing so he breaks the curse of racial discrimination and apartheid. The transformation of society requires the breaking down of divisions of race and ethnicity.
End class war and social division
God loves you regardless of your previous life or present lifestyle. Thank God, he loves imperfect people.
This woman would have been a social outcast. Not only did Jesus speak to a woman who was a Samaritan, he spoke with a ‘sinner’. This woman had led an immoral life. ‘You have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband’ (v.18). She has been divorced several times and is now living with a man to whom she is not married. Jesus does not compromise on the truth, but he does not reject the Samaritan woman because of her lifestyle or social position (cf. Mark 2:17; John 8:10–11).
The religious did not mix with ‘sinners’. By his interaction with this sexually promiscuous woman, Jesus breaks down yet another barrier. His love reaches to all sections of society – across the barriers of class, lifestyle and social position.
Ultimately it is only the Holy Spirit who can bring about the transformation of society. It is the Holy Spirit who brings unity, breaking down the divisions of gender, race and social position. Those indwelt by the Holy Spirit should be at the forefront of the fight for sexual, racial and social equality.
Jesus’ conversation with this woman was all about the Holy Spirit. He says to her, ‘All who drink this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life’ (v.13–14).
The transformation of society starts with the Holy Spirit transforming our lives. It starts with drinking the water of life, which Jesus gives to everyone who believes in him. When the Holy Spirit comes to live within us he becomes a permanent spring of overflowing water throughout our lives and into eternity.
We are transformed by the Holy Spirit and by our personal relationship with God. The word used for ‘worship’ here means ‘to go down on our knees, to draw close in an intimate relationship of love’ – we ‘must worship in spirit and in truth’ (v.24).
Lord, today I come to you and drink. Please fill me with this spring of water welling up into eternal life. May this water flow out of my heart and transform all my relationships – in my family, with my neighbours and in my community."
1. "When the Holy Spirit comes to live within us he becomes a permanent spring of overflowing water throughout our lives and into eternity." Wow, very refreshing. Hallelujah! Please fill me...
2. Trials have made me change perspective and focus. Thank You for them.
3. Thank You for the energy to have walked almost 8 kilometers that included grocery-shopping.
