The Messiah’s Secret  – The  Samaritan  Woman at the Well 

Over Christmas we celebrated the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus. Isaiah prophesied the Incarnation in Chapter 49. God called Jesus, the second person of the Trinity to be born into this world, to be born of a woman into a Jewish family who were descendants of King David. The angel giving his parents the knowledge of his identity ‘the Son of God’ and his name ‘Jesus’ revealing that he was the Messiah. Jesus meaning Saviour, the ‘Redeemer of Israel’and the world.

Today we celebrate the Epiphany of Jesus ‘Epiphany’ means ‘showing’. Isaiah prophesied the light showing the good news of the Saviour reaching out to the nations of the world.

Jesus’ ministry reflected the healing of nations. We see this when he sought to heal the division between the Jews and the Samaritans. The Samaritan portrait by Jesus in his parable as the good Samaritan who helped the injured man whereas the pious Jews wouldn't help. The Samaritan village that turned him away as he reached out with the good news of the coming kingdom of God and the Samaritan man that was healed of his leprosy who came back to thank Jesus. 

Tom Wright in his book ‘Paul for Everyone’ writes about getting the true perspective on a situation by this illustration. ”When I was a first year physics teacher the question was asked in an examination: What was the advantage of having two eyes?

The correct answer, of course, was that with two eyes you can see things in three dimensions, and learn to judge distances, speeds and so on. One boy, however, wrote as his answer: ‘Having two eyes means that you can twice as far; and if one eye stops working you’ve always got the other one to fall back on!’

The teacher enjoyed this so much that he read it out to the class as a fine example of ingenuity for what you lack in information. But of course the true answer remains important: with only one eye you don’t get things in their proper perspective. You need two if you’re to see them with all three dimensions.”

Looking at our Gospel reading John’s account of Jesus in conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well through this three dimensional view of Jesus  : the height, the depth and the width.

a)The height of Jesus being the Messiah.

b) The depth his suffering and death on the cross.

c) The width he heals in his embrace of the nations of the world.

The woman like the boy showed her ingenuity, in regard to the water from Jacob’s well.

Jesus went from Judea to Galilee, but John wrote that he had to through Samaria where he came to a city of the Samaritans, Sychar. The division between Jews and Samaritans was so acute that the Jews would not set foot into the region of the Samaritans, but instead would take a roundabout route going east of the Jordan.

Just outside Sychar he rested at Jacob’s Well, his disciples had left him to go and buy some food in the city.

While Jesus stood at the well he did the unthinkable he spoke to the Samaritan woman. He was reaching out breaking down the barriers of division between them by asking her to give him a drink of water to satisfy his need.

Her guard was up, disturbed by his request she pointed out that she was a Samaritan and the Jews had no dealings with them. Maybe she considered that he had no bucket so would a Jewish man want to drink from her bucket, which she knew he would have considered unclean.

Then Jesus spoke of giving to her ‘living water’. Jesus said that those who drink the water from this well would thirst again, but the water that he would give would become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

As his words resonated with her spirit, she inquired in her ingenuity as to where he would get this living water from? She thought in a logical way, not wanting to keep going to the well for water to quench her thirst.

Jesus continued the conversation by showing her that he had the gift of knowledge, he shed his light and revealed her personal life revealing her 5 marriages and her current relationship. This knowledge she associated with a prophet. 

This lady was beginning to see the three dimensional view of Jesus as she was aware of the expectation of the coming of the Messiah and she declared that he would explain everything.

The words from Jesus  the height  of understanding and knowledge that identified him as the Messiah as well as Jesus telling her that he was the Messiah. This news opening up to her a new true perspective the living waters of salvation coming from  him.

The division between Jew and Samaritans was brought out by the discussion between Jesus and the woman over the site of the temple.

“The Samaritans were the descendants of the pagans that settled in the land of Judea during the time of the Babylonian captivity, along with the few Jews who remained in the land. (2 Kings 17: 24-34.)They formed their own religion, a mixture of Judaism and paganism. They adopted the Pentateuch as the sole sacred book and erected a temple on Mt Gerizim near Shechem. 331 BC. The returning Jews from exiles rejected their help in rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple situated there. (Ezra 4. Nehmiah 1. 4. 6.) The breach between the returning Jews became permanent and so acute that the Jews would not pass through Samaria to go into Galilee, but had a circuitous(round about) route east of Jordan.”(John 4: 9. 8: 48) Dake’s  Annotated Reference Bible.

History also records that the Samaritan Temple was destroyed by John Hyrcanus in 128 BC and was never rebuilt. At the time of Jesus, the Samaritans worshipped at the base of Mt Gerizim except for the annual Passover which took place near the ruins of their Temple.

By Jesus bringing to light the cause of the division, he also revealed the means by which the healing could be brought about through Jesus making the temple at Jerusalem obsolete. Salvation coming from the Jews, but from Jesus by him being the final sacrifice for sin and God presence leaving the temple at Jerusalem.

We have seen history repeating itself the conflict between Jew and Palestinian for over almost 100 years since the return of the Jews to their homeland 

But with one difference the cross.

The cross that was driven into the ground at Calvary where the King of Peace wore a crown of thorns, each thorn pressing against his flesh representing a nation in conflict, the bigger the thorn the deeper the wound.

The nails that had been driven into his hands and feet, each hammer crushing blow bearing the pain of disputes and arguments the fighting and the killing blows of hatred.             

His body beaten and hung disjointed and twisted representing the devastation of war. He bore all of man’s inhumanity to man.

The depth of God’s love Jesus life’s blood shed for all the sins of the world and the land. 

Where would Jesus the risen Lord be standing in this conflict between Palestinian and Israel? I believe he would be saying to both people, "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons and daughters of your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5: 44, 46.  

The Messiah’s Secret Revealed.          

Luke records Jesus wept over Jerusalem. “And as he drew near and saw the city he wept over it saying, “Would that even today you knew the things that made for peace! But now they are hid from your eyes. For the days shall come upon you, when your enemies will cast a bank about you and surround you, and hem you in on every side, and dash you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another in you; because you did not know the time of your visitation.” Luke 19: 41 – 44.

Did Jesus' tears reflect the pain of the cross that he knew he was to endure?

He knew that his death was hidden from the eyes of understanding of the Sanhedrin so that the prophesies would be fulfilled concerning his death and resurrection, and did he fore see his rejection by the nation’s leaders at and after Pentecost when the disciples were proclaiming for the first time that Jesus was the Messiah, and as a result  of their not knowing the time of his visitation they had left themselves open to the devils devices, he foresaw Jerusalem surrounded with armies and its destruction. Jesus foresaw it all and he wept.

The width of God’s love revealed when Jesus informed her of God’s love for the Samaritans and many of the Samaritans came to Jesus from that region and were healed and brought to faith in him

The Samaritan woman heard the truth from Jesus, “The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.” Verses 23, 24

Jesus was to make the temple obsolete through his death and resurrection.

                                                 

Abraham looked for a city whose builder and maker was God. The heavenly Jerusalem. People from all of the nations living together in peace under the King of Kings and Lord of Lords worshipping God his Spirit and word dwelling in the temple of our hearts.

These religious squabbles affect people who are seeking God

On Christmas Day in conversation with James a University student I was asked about my faith and in that conversation that followed the young man pointed out how he was put off by the squabbling and divisions between people and their religions and that all religions are the same.

I witnessed to him that my faith is real to me as I have been healed through faith in Jesus and one experience is worth a thousand arguments. I pointed out that in the Bible in the Old Testament there are prophesies that have fulfilled in the New Testament by Jesus and he reveals the way to find God. 

I have met a number of young people like James who hold a similar view and I realize that  in the majority of our schools religious education is taught by paralleling stories across the faiths, secularizing all faiths. In doing so regrettably the prophesies that are in the Bible and their fulfillment are left out by many teachers, and future prophesies are not touched upon.  

The church has this ministry of telling people about the prophesies that Jesus fulfilled, and the future prophesies that concern all of humanity. (Blog 'Isaiah's Prophesies Fulfilled' over 30 prophesies fulfilled in one day) and www.messiahs-secret-revealed.co.uk Part 7 for future prophesies)

Young people who are seeking the truth about the way to find God, when they hear about prophesies regarding Jesus being the Messiah and future events of his return, by God’s grace they will respond and accept Jesus as their personal Saviour.

The ministry of reconciliation as we are aware starts with us in our churches, many of our inner city churches are learning to welcome people from all over the world as they integrate into our society. Our new Bishop of Manchester Bishop David Walker at his enthronement service said, "It is the Churches job to facilitate belonging to God. Our Churches should be a place where people can grow in their sense of belonging. When people who start to come to Church should not be confronted with ‘this is how we do things here.’ They should expect, to be asked to share with us what they have and we should share with them. The Church is a place of welcome with hospitality at its core." 
May the love, the height and the depth of Jesus shine out from our hearts over this coming year.  Happy New Year! Dorothy