Lent 2022 • Week Two Jesus Crosses Borders

Monday, March 7th, 2022

“When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” —John 4:7 (NIV)

Bible Reading: John 4:1-42

“Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John — although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 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. ) 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.” “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him. Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

In the scripture reading for today we learned that Jesus crossed more than one type of border traveling from Judea to Galilee. Jesus intentionally stepped into and crossed a border when he chose to speak to the woman at the well; this action would have been viewed as problematic because most Middle Eastern cultures disapproved of men speaking to women in private. Furthermore, Jewish tradition considers Samaritan women continually unclean. In fact, most Jewish travelers would choose the longest routes around Samaria to avoid any interactions at all. Jesus comes into this particular scene knowing all truths about the woman and the negative relationship (past and present) between the Jews and the Samaritan’s, why did Jesus do this…His heart and love compelled Him to proceed. It is worth noting that even though Jesus knew of the past actions of this woman he did not chastise or belittle her in any way. Jesus crosses every man-made boundary to quench the woman’s deepest longing…with Himself. He reveals His identity as the Messiah: “I am he.” Jesus chooses this woman to witness Him not just as Messiah for the Jews, but the Savior of the world. With Jesus there are no borders that separate who we are, we are all God’s children and His love knows no limits.

Challenge Questions:

1. What stands between you and a joyful relationship with Jesus today?

• Me. I’m my own worst enemy some days.

• Worries of this world, self-absorbed.

• Not spending enough time with God.

• Me.

I love Jesus and I want to be joyful, even on my not so good days. Jesus is my source of strength and my refuge. I am who I am only because of Jesus, He created me on purpose, He gave me life and I long to spend eternity with him. The above obstacles are my stumbling blocks, I admit that I fail often and I thank God for His unending grace and mercy.

2. What stands between you and a joyful relationship with people that Jesus has called you to love, perhaps across social, racial, economic or cultural borders?

• Fear.

• Self-confidence.

• Pride.

• Did I mention Fear.

The above characteristics have a tendency to come and go in my life. I sincerely love people and try to see good in people, though some tend to make the task harder than it needs to be. Life and it’s many responsibilities affects each of us dramatically different. As I have aged, matured and experienced life I try to be more patient with others. Reminding myself that none of us are perfect. As individuals, each with our own personalities and life experiences will see the world and all that is within it differently and that’s okay. This is what I tell myself, God did not say you have to be everyone’s best friend, what he did say was, “love one another.” I don’t have to agree with everyone but I should most definitely respect and honor their choices. History of our world shows us just how cruel we can be to one another and it seems that we just refuse to learn from our past in order to prevent ourselves from repeating things in the future.

Something to Ponder: 🤔💭🧐💬🙏🏻

Think of someone in your neighborhood or workplace who is most unlike you and prayerfully plan a specific way to show them Jesus’ love this week.

Additional Scriptures for Study:

2 Kings 17:24 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=2%20Kings%2017:24&version=NIV

Ezra 4:1-24 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Ezra%204:1-24&version=NIV

Luke 9:52-56 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Luke%209:52-56&version=NIV

Revelation 7:9-12 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Revelation%207:9-12&version=NIV

🌺 🌿 🌼 🌱 🌸 🍃 🌻 🍃 🌸 🌱 🌼 🌿 🌺

Friends, thank you for visiting my blog today, I pray that you know God and know the purest of all love comes from our Heavenly Father. ~ Peace to you!

~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience.

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/