24/3/12
S: John 4:9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
O: The enmity between Samaritans and Jews date back many centuries. It started with the splitting of Israel into Israel and Judah, back during Rehoboam's time (10ᵗʰ century B.C.) and really solidified during the time of Nehemiah (5ᵗʰ century B.C.) due to their opposition to the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple.
The Jews considered the Samaritans to be heretics, having deviated from the Mosaic law, while the Samaritans also hated the Jews. To this day, the Samaritan Pentateuch (Genesis - Deuteronomy) says that the Temple should be on Mt. Gerizim instead of Mt. Zion.
Furthermore, women in Jesus' culture had a very low position. So these two factors explain the Samaritan woman's surprise at Jesus talking to her.
A: Jesus did not allow racial, religious and cultural prejudice to stop him from reaching out to the Samaritan woman. Elsewhere, we saw him use a Samaritan as the hero of his parable, The Good Samaritan.
Galatians 3:28 also talks about how the Gospel transcends racial, social and gender boundaries.
As Malaysians, racism is quite ingrained to us, and we often unconsciously bring these prejudices into the church. We must follow our Lord Jesus and transcend these boundaries.
P: Father, help us to root out all our prejudices and love all people as You have loved them. In Jesus' name, amen.
Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)
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