Jesus Went Out to the People and Preached (Cont'd):
The Samaritan Woman: A typical example of the method of preaching adopted by Jesus may be seen in the case of the Samaritan woman. In conformity with the usual practice of Jesus of leaving a scene of controversy quietly, he left for Galilee from Judea where the Pharisees were seized of a rumor that Jesus had won more disciples than John the Baptist. He had to pass through Samaria and reached Sychar, a Samaritan town. His disciples went to the town to buy bread and Jesus sat at the springs called Jacob's well, being tired of the journey and it was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water from whom Jesus asked for water to drink. The woman was taken by surprise as Jews and Samaritans did not intermingle and never used vessels in common. The woman pointed out this custom as justification for her surprise. "Jesus answered her, 'if only you knew what God gives, and who it is that is asking you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water' " (John, 4: 10). the response of the woman to Jesus was so materialistic and her tendency to invoke her family connection were so wide off the mark that Jesus saw that she was not in a position to understand spiritual matters. She had to be goaded out of her complacency and sense of self-sufficiency by an appropriate dose of information she could not resist. Jesus, therefore,described the nature of the water he would give in contrast to the water she came to draw. For, the water he gives will stop the thirst of the one who drinks, the reason being that it will be an inner spring always welling up for eternal life. The water that the woman is able to give can quench the thirst only for sometime and one has to drink again and again. Suspecting that the woman might misunderstand the nature of this water Jesus was talking about, he had mentioned that it would be welling up for eternal life. But the woman was not in a position to understand anything other than material realities that any reference to eternal life could not make much difference to her!
The hunch Jesus had about her proved right when the woman asked for that water to save her the trouble of coming all the way to draw water everyday. Seeing that indirect hints would not touch her heart, Jesus sent a spiritual arrow through physical words by asking her to go home and come back with her husband. Even then the woman wanted to hide as much as possible from Jesus and tried ti dismiss the requirement of calling her husband by just saying that she had no husband. Jesus immediately agreed with her assessment of the situation of her personal life, although for a reason unforeseen by her. She only wanted to get rid of the unpleasant line the conversation was taking and thought that her categorical denial of having a husband would stump Jesus. The next words uttered by Jesus completely unnerved the woman confident of her ability to ward off unwanted demands. "You are right", said Jesus, "in saying that you have no husband, for, although you have had five husbands, the man with whom you are now living is not your husband; you told me the truth there" (John, 4: 17-18). See how the nature of truth is objective; it does not depend on anyone's thinking one way or other but forces itself upon us. Here is an example of a divine value referred to in our previous Post under the caption "Tolerance" in the context of the saying of Jesus that "he who does not gather with me scatters". No religion, morals, or customs can have authority to deviate from such values.
Under the circumstances, the least the Samaritan woman, who sounds very intelligent, had to admit was her recognition of a prophet in Jesus. At the same time, she dragged Jesus into the religious controversies of the time between the Samaritans and the Jews. Jesus, on his part modestly defended the importance of Jews vis-a-vis the Samaritans inviting, at the same time, all peoples of all Nations to a concept of religion unheard of before. "But the time approaches, indeed it is already here , when those who are real worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Such are the worshipers whom the Father wants. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth" (John, 4: 23-24). Neither Samaria nor Jerusalem is important for worship of God as the Most High does not live in houses made by men (Acts, 7: 4-7). The worldly wisdom and craftiness of the Samaritan woman sought to put an end to the reasoning of Jesus about God by invoking the higher authority of the Messiah (that is Christ) who would teach everything when he comes. The woman was completely stumped when Jesus announced his identity by identifying himself as the Messiah!
The return of the disciples at that moment provided the woman with a much needed respite using which she withdrew from the scene leaving her water-jar there. She went back to her people and announced the arrival of a man who told her everything she ever did, obviously an exaggeration intended to cover up the sore point in her life pointed out by Jesus. She asked them to find out whether the person could be the Messiah. The people who went to Jesus requested him to stay with them and he stayed there for two days. As a result, many more believed in Jesus and told the woman that they believed because of what they heard from his own lips. Although the Samaritan woman was a missionary for some to believe in Jesus and others to approach him, once they heard Jesus they confessed that their belief was no longer on the basis of what she said but on what they themselves heard. Their belief in Jesus progressed to the level of knowledge that he was in truth the savior of the world (See John, 4: 27-42). (To be Contd).
The Samaritan Woman: A typical example of the method of preaching adopted by Jesus may be seen in the case of the Samaritan woman. In conformity with the usual practice of Jesus of leaving a scene of controversy quietly, he left for Galilee from Judea where the Pharisees were seized of a rumor that Jesus had won more disciples than John the Baptist. He had to pass through Samaria and reached Sychar, a Samaritan town. His disciples went to the town to buy bread and Jesus sat at the springs called Jacob's well, being tired of the journey and it was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water from whom Jesus asked for water to drink. The woman was taken by surprise as Jews and Samaritans did not intermingle and never used vessels in common. The woman pointed out this custom as justification for her surprise. "Jesus answered her, 'if only you knew what God gives, and who it is that is asking you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water' " (John, 4: 10). the response of the woman to Jesus was so materialistic and her tendency to invoke her family connection were so wide off the mark that Jesus saw that she was not in a position to understand spiritual matters. She had to be goaded out of her complacency and sense of self-sufficiency by an appropriate dose of information she could not resist. Jesus, therefore,described the nature of the water he would give in contrast to the water she came to draw. For, the water he gives will stop the thirst of the one who drinks, the reason being that it will be an inner spring always welling up for eternal life. The water that the woman is able to give can quench the thirst only for sometime and one has to drink again and again. Suspecting that the woman might misunderstand the nature of this water Jesus was talking about, he had mentioned that it would be welling up for eternal life. But the woman was not in a position to understand anything other than material realities that any reference to eternal life could not make much difference to her!
The hunch Jesus had about her proved right when the woman asked for that water to save her the trouble of coming all the way to draw water everyday. Seeing that indirect hints would not touch her heart, Jesus sent a spiritual arrow through physical words by asking her to go home and come back with her husband. Even then the woman wanted to hide as much as possible from Jesus and tried ti dismiss the requirement of calling her husband by just saying that she had no husband. Jesus immediately agreed with her assessment of the situation of her personal life, although for a reason unforeseen by her. She only wanted to get rid of the unpleasant line the conversation was taking and thought that her categorical denial of having a husband would stump Jesus. The next words uttered by Jesus completely unnerved the woman confident of her ability to ward off unwanted demands. "You are right", said Jesus, "in saying that you have no husband, for, although you have had five husbands, the man with whom you are now living is not your husband; you told me the truth there" (John, 4: 17-18). See how the nature of truth is objective; it does not depend on anyone's thinking one way or other but forces itself upon us. Here is an example of a divine value referred to in our previous Post under the caption "Tolerance" in the context of the saying of Jesus that "he who does not gather with me scatters". No religion, morals, or customs can have authority to deviate from such values.
Under the circumstances, the least the Samaritan woman, who sounds very intelligent, had to admit was her recognition of a prophet in Jesus. At the same time, she dragged Jesus into the religious controversies of the time between the Samaritans and the Jews. Jesus, on his part modestly defended the importance of Jews vis-a-vis the Samaritans inviting, at the same time, all peoples of all Nations to a concept of religion unheard of before. "But the time approaches, indeed it is already here , when those who are real worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Such are the worshipers whom the Father wants. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth" (John, 4: 23-24). Neither Samaria nor Jerusalem is important for worship of God as the Most High does not live in houses made by men (Acts, 7: 4-7). The worldly wisdom and craftiness of the Samaritan woman sought to put an end to the reasoning of Jesus about God by invoking the higher authority of the Messiah (that is Christ) who would teach everything when he comes. The woman was completely stumped when Jesus announced his identity by identifying himself as the Messiah!
The return of the disciples at that moment provided the woman with a much needed respite using which she withdrew from the scene leaving her water-jar there. She went back to her people and announced the arrival of a man who told her everything she ever did, obviously an exaggeration intended to cover up the sore point in her life pointed out by Jesus. She asked them to find out whether the person could be the Messiah. The people who went to Jesus requested him to stay with them and he stayed there for two days. As a result, many more believed in Jesus and told the woman that they believed because of what they heard from his own lips. Although the Samaritan woman was a missionary for some to believe in Jesus and others to approach him, once they heard Jesus they confessed that their belief was no longer on the basis of what she said but on what they themselves heard. Their belief in Jesus progressed to the level of knowledge that he was in truth the savior of the world (See John, 4: 27-42). (To be Contd).
No comments:
Post a Comment