Day 14 | John 4:1-42
The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) John 4:9 (NIV)
For Reflection:
This is now the second passage we have explored which involves a Samaritan. As a child, the pastor of my church would often say, “Everything in the Bible is important. But if the Bible says something twice, then it must be quite important, and if it says it three times, then it is extremely important.” Here we find the Samaritans have reached the level of quite important, so let’s try to see what it is about them.
Samaritans and Jews do not get along. But why? It is difficult for us in 2025 to grasp the depth of this animosity, but it is crucial for our understanding. By the time of Jesus’s ministry, the twelve tribes of Israel had become quite fractured, and like any family, have their share of infighting. But the Jews and Samaritans have it the worst. An intractable divide. An ironclad grudge. A rift so deep, that those involved have even forgotten what it is about. Notice how the parenthetical–for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans–gives us no concrete reasons why, nor any exclusions. It is abstract, yet absolute. And it is across this yawning chasm that Jesus reaches.
The Jewish people cannot get past the categorical hatred they have cultivated for the Samaritans. It’s a dangerous thing to hate someone categorically, because it’s a trap. When you hate someone for what they have done, they may well repent and be reconciled. When you hate someone for who they are, they have no chance. What can they do? It is a dead end, a black hole. Jesus chooses not to see the Samaritan woman through the lens of her heritage (real or alleged) or what the world says about her. Instead he sees her as God does, created in His image, with a story all her own. And because of this, not only did she come to faith herself, but so did many others on account of her testimony.
Here is an exercise which frequently proves useful for me: when I am angry at or critical of someone, I say to myself, out loud if possible, “<name> is created in the image of God.” It is such a powerful statement. It is simply not possible to both believe that someone is created in the image of God, and to harbor hatred or anger toward them. When the cognitive tension finally snaps, more often than not I find myself in a place of compassion and love, better able to seek understanding and reconciliation.
Let us Pray:
Lord, you are the Great Redeemer. You delight in bringing people to yourself. I confess that I am quick to cast aside people as “Other” purely out of convenience, selfishness, and pride. Thank you for the example of Jesus in this story. Help me to see each person as you see them: a child of your own. Help me to move towards others in a spirit of healing and reconciliation. Amen.
Questions:
I wonder who might be a Samaritan in my life? I wonder what it looks like to view them as created in the image of God? I wonder what new things I might discover about God when I view people in this way?