In our last message,the Samaritan woman had just asked Jesus to give here the living waters so that she might no longer be thirsty and no longer have to come to the well.
16 Jesus said to her, “ Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband ’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”
Now that Jesus has drawn the woman’s attention and has given her a better offer of the living gospel. Lesson number 3, Jesus now brings her to realize that she is a sinner. Unless a person realizes that they are sinners, why would they want to repent? Jesus then tells her to get her husband. The woman replies by saying that I have no husband. Then Jesus really makes it clear to her how sinful she is. Jesus says to her, you are correct, you don’t have a husband and the one you have right now, is not your husband. What is worse, you had five husbands already. I am sure at this point the poor woman was completely and untterly shocked. Why is this a sin if divorce was permitted in the Old Testament?
Yes, divorce was permitted in the Old Testament but only a man could divorce. See Deuteronomy 24.
Mark 10:9-12 (ESVST)
What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, “ Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
The verse I just quoted is quoting Jesus talking to his disciples. Clearly here Jesus forbids divorce wether being a woman or man that divorces. So, this woman did not only divorce but, she divorced five times and what worse is that even the man she is staying with, is not her husband! Vat en Sit. If you thought Vat en Sit is ok, now you know its wrong and a sin. So, Jesus is simply saying to this woman you are committing adultery.
19 The woman said to him, “ Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.
It was largely accepted around that time that a person who knows others thoughts and personal things they would normally not know, was considered to be a Prophet. So, when Jesus told her about her life and he was telling the truth, she considered him a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”
Now, unfortunately here the woman now goes back to being racist. Remember that Samaritans were also descendants of Abraham but due to their intermarriages with pagans and adopting their practices, the Jews despised them and the feeling was mutual. So, the woman here by saying our fathers, she refers to both the ancestors of Jews and Samaritans which are infect one. She says our fathers worshiped in this mountain but you Jews say that Jeruslaem is the place where people ought to worship. Where does this come from? Let’s go back to history a little bit.
Both Jews and Samaritans recognized that God had commanded their forefathers to identify a special place for worshiping him (Deut. 12:5). The Jews, recognizing the entire Hebrew canon, chose Jerusalem (2 Sam. 7:5–13; 2 Chron. 6:6). The Samaritans, recognizing only the Pentateuch, noted that the first place Abraham built an altar to God was at Shechem (Gen. 12:6–7), which was overlooked by Mount Gerizim, where the Israelites had shouted the blessings promised by God before they entered the Promised Land (Deut. 11:29–30). As a result, they chose Mount Gerizim for the place of their temple.
Mount Gerizim, the Samaritans’ holy site equivalent to Judaism’s Jerusalem, was in full view of Jacob’s well. She uses the past tense for “worship” precisely because of her continuing consciousness of Jews’ and Samaritans’ racial separation:roughly two centuries before, the Jewish king had obliterated the Samaritan temple on that mountain, and it had remained in ruins ever since. Samaritans mocked the Jewish holy site and once, under cover of night, even sought to defile the Jerusalem temple. Jews similarly ridiculed Mount Gerizim and even built many of their synagogues so worshipers could face Jerusalem.
So, as you can see here, there is a lot of animosity between Jews and Samaritans, more like blacks and whites in our country. So, the moment the woman realized that he is a prophet and a Jew, she immediately switched to racial tensions between the two.
How does Jesus react to this?we will find out next time.
Father we appreciate all these wonderful teachings that you give us and we pray that they may make our lives better and closer to you. In Jesus name, amen
21 Jesus said to her, “ Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “ I who speak to you am he.”