S: John 4:1-42
O: This passage recounts how, when Jesus and His disciples set out from Judea to Galilee, He deliberately chose to travel through Samaria. This was unusual because of the deep-rooted enmity between Jews and Samaritans, which had existed since the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, about five centuries earlier. Due to these longstanding hostilities, Jews typically avoided Samaria when traveling between Judea and Galilee. They would often cross the Jordan River, bypassing Samaria by traveling along the eastern side, and then cross back over the Jordan to enter Galilee, avoiding any contact with Samaritans.
Given this historical prejudice, it’s likely that the disciples were surprised by Jesus’ decision to take this route. But, as the story unfolds, we see that Jesus had a very specific purpose in mind.
First, He encountered a Samaritan woman at the well, a woman with a morally questionable past, and changed her life. When she attempted to shift the conversation to theological disputes between Jews and Samaritans—specifically about whether the proper place of worship was Mount Gerizim (the Samaritan holy site) or Mount Zion in Jerusalem—Jesus didn’t allow the conversation to be derailed. Instead, He transcended the debate by saying, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming—and has now come—when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
When His disciples returned, they were shocked to find Jesus speaking to a Samaritan woman, breaking both cultural taboos: Jewish-Samaritan enmity and gender biases. Yet, Jesus had a higher purpose. After the woman ran off to tell the people in her village about Him, Jesus used the moment to teach His disciples. He urged them to “open their eyes”, pointing out that the fields were ripe for harvest—meaning the Samaritans were ready to receive the Messiah. And indeed, many of them did. Through this encounter, a significant number of Samaritans came to believe in Him, demonstrating that God’s plan extended beyond the boundaries of Jewish prejudice and cultural barriers.
A: Like the Samaritan woman, we too must receive Jesus’ love and salvation, no matter how broken or imperfect our lives may be. Though she initially tried to shift the conversation from her personal sin to theological debates, Jesus gently refocused her attention on the heart of true worship: worshiping God in Spirit and in Truth.
Similarly, we, like the disciples, can often be blinded by our own prejudices. The very people groups we harbor biases against are also the ones Jesus loves and died for. Unfortunately, many Christians today display an unloving attitude of xenophobia, fueling prejudices against other ethnic groups or "illegal immigrants." But this is far from the calling of Jesus. Every foreign worker, every refugee, and every person—regardless of status or background—is made in the image of God and is deeply loved by Him.
P: Father,thank You for the lessons You teach us through the story of the Samaritan woman. Like her, I am often broken, sinful, and lost. Yet, Your love meets me right where I am, offering living water—salvation, healing, and transformation. Help us, Lord, to be open to Your love and grace, no matter how far I wander.
So often, we, like the disciples, are blinded by prejudice. Open our eyes to see people the way You see them—not as outsiders, strangers, or those to be avoided, but as precious souls created in Your image and deeply loved by You. Tear down any prejudice in our hearts.
Lord, I lift up the marginalised, the foreign workers, the refugees, and all those who are often seen as “other” in our society. Remind us that You died for them just as You died for us. Give us the courage to extend love, kindness, and compassion to everyone, regardless of race, nationality, or background.
Teach us to worship You in Spirit and in Truth, setting aside distractions, divisions, and arguments that pull us away from the essence of true worship. Fill us with Your Spirit, that we might reflect Your heart of love, unity, and grace to the world around us.
Help us live out the lessons from this passage, that we might be instruments of Your peace and reconciliation in a divided world. Thank You for loving us without conditions, and help us to extend that same love to others.
In Jesus’ name, we pray,
Amen.
Incidentally, I just read this article when I was reading the news earlier today:
Statistics and studies show rhetoric about immigrants and crime is often exaggerated or false. Let’s do our part to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.
This article is specifically debunking some of the falsehoods being said about “illegal immigrants” in USA, but the general idea also applies to us here in Malaysia where people often scapegoat “illegal immigrants” as well as legal “foreign workers.” These people are also made in the image of God.
What's behind recent false claims about immigrants and crime in the US?
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