I listened to an online sermon today from a very well-known preacher I have loved and respected for years. Two things leaped out of that sermon and struck me as very important. I believe they are important enough to share with you today.
In chapter 4 of the Gospel of John, Jesus did the unthinkable. He met with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well and not only had a conversation with her but also asked for a drink from her cup. The Jewish people and the Samaritan people did not associate. The animosity between the two groups was deeply ingrained in their histories despite the fact that their lineage could be traced back to shared ancestry.
Jesus broke social norms and purposely met with this woman whom His people would have shunned.
The first thing that jumped out of the sermon to me was the fact that the Samaritan woman knew He was Jewish without being told. Jesus was obviously Jewish. He didn’t hide His heritage. He didn’t deny His heritage. He didn’t nullify His heritage in order to validate the heritage of the Samaritan woman. He didn’t say His was better. He didn’t say His was worse. He kept His heritage but focused on what was important – sharing the gift of salvation.
The main idea of this sermon was that we need to put the Gospel before everything else including the terrible racial divide our nation is experiencing right now. We shouldn’t do that by erasing our heritage or by demonizing our heritage but, rather, by letting the Gospel of Jesus change hearts and souls.
It was a very inspiring sermon full of hope and faith and was even more remarkable since it came from a preacher who has experienced discrimination due to his own heritage.
The second thing that really struck me as noteworthy from this sermon is that hidden in his very inspiring message was a common misconception. I have heard this same misconception in every single sermon I’ve ever heard that includes the Samaritan woman. She is always portrayed as a woman of loose morals who couldn’t keep a husband. The preacher I heard today did exactly what I’ve heard my whole life. He said that Jesus was pointing out the sins of this woman and giving her the opportunity to change her ways.
A few weeks ago, I would have agreed with him completely, but that was before I participated in a Bible study by Kristi McLelland called Jesus and Women In the First Century and Now. Through this study, my eyes have been opened to set aside my Western vision and look at the Bible using the Eastern vision that it was written in.
In the time of Jesus, women had very few rights. Women were not allowed to divorce their husbands, but men were allowed to divorce their wives for anything as insignificant as burning the bread. We don’t know why this Samaritan woman had been divorced five times. For all we know, she may have just been a terrible cook. Regardless of the reason, she had little to no choice in it.
Jesus wasn’t pointing out her sins and giving her the opportunity to change her ways. He was giving her the justice and mercy she needed to lift her up out of the shame that had been forced upon her. Those who preach otherwise have good intentions, but they are just people. People aren’t perfect. They don’t understand everything and make mistakes.
The two things I took from this sermon seem to conflict. One was inspiring and the other was incorrect. The most important part of both of these points comes down to this one thing. It’s all about Jesus. He is what matters. Sharing Him is what matters. Showing people His mercy and justice is what matters. The rest are just words in a sermon.
forgiven faith 