Jesus and the Woman of Samaria:
4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 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.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” 11 "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living? 12 Are you greater than our farther Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?" |
In the sacred text, 1
John 4:4-12 from the New Testament God is represented in many ways as this
writing has many meanings and representations. 9 The
Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can
you ask me for a drink?” The
woman was confused as this was not normal for a Jew and Samaritan to speak
which is why God is
represented as an acceptor. Since he is not suppose to be talking to the
Samaritan woman because of her stereotype but instead he accepts who she is and
engages in conversation. God is also represented as a teacher as the Woman of
Samaria has no idea who Jesus is or the living water he refers to but instead
of questioning she sits there and listens. As Jesus continues to teach the
message of the Gospel the woman is changed. As a result of this she comes to
believe in Jesus and tells others about the Messiah. By God being represented as
a teacher it changes numerous people’s lives as he made such an impact in his
ways of teaching others. God is also represented through the disciples as they
were the ones who were astonished at the fact that he was speaking to a woman.
This can be related to others opinions and thoughts in the world but
remembering that your thought, in this case God’s is good as long as you
believe in yourself and actions.
The inspired author of the sacred text of John was a member of a Christian community possibly founded by the Beloved Disciple and the audience was for a Jewish Christian community that may have admitted Gentiles and Samaritans. It was most likely written from CE (Common Era) 90 to 100. The gospel of John begins with describing Jesus as the World, who was with God in the beginning of Creation and who became flesh to live among us but in symbolic language. Jesus was described as the light (the one who overcomes darkness) therefore those who believed in Jesus walking in light it gave their lives meaning as well as direction. But those who didn’t believe staggered in the darkness of sin and confusion. John is clear that Jesus is the divine Son of God therefore to belong to God we have to follow in Jesus’s pathway, walking through the light he leaves us. John’s story of Jesus climaxes with the coming of Jesus’ “hour”, a symbol for Jesus’ death and execution. But through the gospel of John, his death isn’t tragic it’s his glorious return to the Father. The gospel assures as that our trust in God will pay off in the end no matter what. In the sacred text when the disciples found out that Jesus was speaking to a Samaritan woman they were astonished. This was firstly because, in first century Israel men did not speak to woman, especially strangers in public places. Secondly, Jews didn’t speak to Samaritans who weren’t considered real Jews. Also, the Woman who Jesus was speaking to was known and accused of having had five husbands. Many scholars believe that “five husbands” is symbolic of the five books of Torah that Samaritans respected. But finally, most first-century women weren’t given the right to divorce. But at the end of the day she was either extremely unlucky to have been widowed/dismissed many times that she had to become a servant in someone’s household. John has used the Woman of Samaria as a role model for those who believe. This stage is one on many examples in the Gospel of John that shows Jesus isn’t bound by stereotypes when the message of the Gospel is at stake. The gospel of John can be related to people as we can often use analogies when describing a close relationship. The author of the Gospel of John does this throughout the Gospel as its evident he uses symbolic imagery in describing Christian believer’s relationship with Jesus. The Gospel of John also gives a clear image of Jesus’ unique, strong and powerful relationship with God the Father. In this image Jesus is sitting on the side of the well and the Woman of Samaria is sitting on the ground, leaning on the well. This image represents the sacred text, 1 John 4:4-12 as it’s about the deeper meaning of Jesus speaking to this woman and the water in the well. |