Equal Opportunity Savior
The only thing more conspicuous than a woman going to get water from a well at high noon would be a Jewish rabbi actually talking to a Samaritan woman who had been married several times and was currently shacked up with a guy. That’s exactly what we find in John 4, and it gets even stranger! Jesus asks her for a drink, but she notices he doesn’t have anything to drink with — no cup, no bucket, nothing. Does he intend to drink from her water jar?
Doesn’t he know how gross that is?! She’s a Samaritan. She’s a woman. She’s living in sin. She’s practically wearing a scarlet “A” on her chest. You couldn’t get any further “outside” for a typical Jewish rabbi.
Ah, but Jesus is far from typical.
The story of the Samaritan woman at the well is remarkable on its own merits. But read alongside the previous chapter — the bit where Jesus has his encounter with Nicodemus — it’s earth-shattering. Here’s a Messiah who comes to the upper-uppers and the lower-lowers, the high and mighty as well as the down and out.
Men and women, wealthy and poor, moral and immoral, proud and ashamed — no matter where you’ve been or what you’ve been up to, Jesus, the Equal Opportunity Savior, comes for you.
August 31st, 2006 at 7:42 am
Hallalujeh!
Like it or not – through our own fault or not – we all experience times of great wealth (maybe not money but some form of wealth) and times of great devestation (in whatever form). Praise God! He knows, and offers us HELP – we just have to have the courage, humility, and initiative to take it…
God is so Great!
September 9th, 2006 at 10:07 am
Equal opportunity ?
I think it is interesting our interpretations vacillate from western to Eastern concepts. The fact is this is a very difficult story to understand. And to imply modern day values on an ancient and oriental culture is to highly distort its meaning. Bad women, shacking up! What did betrothing mean in Jesus time the marriage covenant, love gifts, the “mikveh�
Matt 22: 23-33 explains the many husbands. Yet we ignore this in order to get a more modern meaning. Women could choose their marriage partner in Samaritan culture Jews did not. If the women commit adultery especially 5 times she would have been stoned.
Is it abnormal Jesus was talking to her.. well it was uncommon for some sects of the Jews but not all? Why did the disciples go into a Samaritan town to buy food? Awe now we are uncovering some of the truth of how that culture worked.
Why did Jesus ask for her husband again not to shame her? It was custom 1 Cor. 14: 34, 35 gives us a glimpse of this and adds the Law capital “L†for the Law of Moses says so.
Anyway I believe she was a good women well respected an was capable of drawing a crowd not easy for a women in those days.
Mark H
September 12th, 2006 at 7:56 am
Mark,
Yes: Equal opportunity!
I suppose we’re always going to struggle to gain a true Eastern understanding of this ancient first-century culture. It was clearly not as monolithic as we like to make it. But I don’t know that I’ve imposed too many “modern day values” into this story. Nor do I believe I’ve distorted its meaning in such a way as to do violence to the text.
I’m guessing you’re not a big fan of Midrash.
Now to your specific objections:
Whatever betrothal meant Jesus did not have that in mind when he said, “The man you have now is not your husband.” Nor do I believe that her many husbands were the result of a Levirate marriage. Even if it did, and there was no implication of abandonment on anyone’s part, she would have still be considered accursed. Any woman who had every husband she ever married die on her — five of them in a row? — people would have assumed that there was something wrong with her.
But that doesn’t explain why she doesn’t go get water with the rest of the women. Having a husband die is a great source of pain, but it would not be something to be ashamed of. She’s avoiding the other women in her village.
It is clearly abnormal for Jesus to be talking with her. Otherwise, it would not have come as any kind of surprise to the disciples when they return (v. 27).
I cannot imagine Jesus had 1 Corinthians 14 in mind when he asked her to call her husband. Jesus ministered to and spoke with many women with and without their husbands present.
I believe she was a tarnished woman, but she was still capable of drawing a crowd and still a candidate for receiving the grace and mercy of Jesus. That’s why I stand by idea of Jesus being an “Equal Opportunity Savior”. He did not come just for the wealthy or well-educated men like you and me; he came for the down and out, the poor and oppressed, the wounded people who live on the edges of society. His love extends to all regardless of background or experience.