Be Loving To All Minorities Series

The apostle Paul once said that “there is no partiality with God” (Romans 2:11); and he also declared, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28). James admonished, “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality” (James 2:1). These bold statements in the Bible are hard to overlook, yet some believers act unaware of the fact that partiality and racism are unacceptable in the eyes of God.

Some pick and choose who they feel is worthy of fellowship in the church; basing their judgments on a person’s skin color, nationality, or gender. In essence, they are deciding who is worthy of hearing the gospel and receiving salvation in Christ. Jesus, however, was careful to give everyone a chance to believe in Him, no matter what their background; and in our passage today, we will see how Jesus crossed both gender and racial boundaries in order to extend the gift of salvation to someone who was spiritually thirsty.

Jesus Spoke with One Seen as a Minority (vv. 5-9)

5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

We read here that Jesus “came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar” (v. 5). Sychar possibly had a bad stigma in the region. A. T. Robertson notes that among scholars there is a dispute about whether Sychar is a variation of Shechem, which actually means “drunken town” or “lying town.”(1) Jesus chose to enter a city which had a bad reputation, revealing His unbiased nature; thereby setting the scene for a demonstration of love, acceptance and grace.

Jesus, being tired and thirsty from the long journey, came to Jacob’s well seeking a cool drink of water (v. 6); and at the same moment a Samaritan woman approached to draw water for the evening. Jesus looked at her with His caring eyes, and in a gentle voice said, “Give Me a drink” (v. 7). The account then emphasizes, “For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food” (v. 8). Jesus’ treatment of this Samaritan woman is connected to His disciples being absent, suggesting that they would have disapproved of His verbal exchange with a Samaritan.

The woman expressed great surprise that Jesus would dare speak with her, for she inquired, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (John 4:9). Her reaction reveals that it was taboo for Jews to speak with Samaritans. So, I must ask, “Why was it considered wrong to engage in conversation?”

The background begins with the Assyrian captivity of 721 B.C. During this time many Jews living in the geographic region of Samaria were deported. The Assyrians then repopulated this area with slaves they had taken from other countries, and therefore Samaria became a melting pot of cultures and religions. When they later began returning to their homeland, pure-blooded Jews believed in keeping their own culture and religion uncontaminated, and so, they stayed away from the Samaritans.(2)

The woman in this account was seen among the Jews as belonging to a minority group. She had two strikes against her: 1.) she was a Samaritan, and 2.) she was a woman. Jesus demonstrated here that in the eyes of God no one is to be viewed as a minority. Peter once addressed a crowd concerning why he had received a Gentile, the Roman centurion Cornelius, into his house. Here’s what he said in Acts chapter 10:

You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean . . . In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation, whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him (Acts 10:28, 34-35).

In our main passage, Jesus challenged the social norm. He did so, because He saw the Samaritan woman as a human being with a real spiritual need. He also realized the Gentiles were significant to God, and that the gospel would soon be carried to them by the apostles. Jesus was well versed in Old Testament scripture; and He was likely familiar with how Isaiah once declared in chapter 42 of his book: