Friday 09 January 2015

Psalm: Psalm 27

Background

Jesus' encounter with the woman of Samaria is one of a number ofoccasions in the Gospels where Jesus spends time with those whowere not Jewish. While the Samaritans accepted some of the samescriptures as the Jews, they worshipped at a different mountain -Mount Gerazim - and there was a long history of hostility betweenthe two groups. By spending time with a Samaritan, Jesus would haveshocked his followers. They would have been further concerned byhis encounter with a Samaritan woman alone at a well (John4:27). And this was a woman with a past - a woman with multipledivorces now living with a man who was not her husband (verses17-18).

Jesus began the exchange by asking the Samaritan woman for adrink of water, and this begins a dialogue in which Jesus offers'living water', water that springs up into eternal life. The livingwater is that which ends all thirst, although verse 15 shows thatthe Samaritan woman has misunderstood Jesus. (Such misunderstandingof Jesus' message - which leads to further teaching - is a commontheme within John's Gospel.)

In the second part of the dialogue, Jesus reveals his knowledgeof the woman's situation - and so his status as a prophet sent fromGod. In response to her query about the proper place to worship,Jesus acknowledges that "salvation is from the Jews" (v. 22), butpoints to a future time in which believers will worship God "inSpirit and truth" (v. 23). The exchange ends with Jesus confessingthat he is the Messiah that the Samaritan too hopes for - a furtherindication that the salvation Jesus brings is for all, even forthose in seemingly hopeless situations.

To Ponder

• In what ways have you experienced the 'living water' that Jesusspeaks about?
• Who are the marginalised in today's society that the Churchmight reach out to?
• What do you think it means to worship "in Spirit and truth" (v.23, 24)?