John 4:5-42

John 4:5-42

What a great passage this is about crossing religious, cultural and gender boundaries and making of them a non issue. Jesus knows a lot about this particular woman. He lets her know what he knows about her religion and her personal life but just because he knows it he doesn't condemn her or point it out to gain some superior moral or religious position over her. She is known deeply by Jesus but Jesus doesn't use this knowledge to further oppress her. Perhaps she was known in the town as a woman of ill repute, or as we might say today, a slut or one of many words men often use to put a woman down. Words which we could use to show our moral superiority over such a woman. Jesus knows of her sexual reputation but that is not an issue to him, at least not enough of an issue to condemn her for. There is no mention of sin, just an offer of eternal life. Jesus doesn't drain the life out of her instead his words fill her to overflowing with hope and possibilities. Could this be the Christ?
The kind of response we might have expected from the town could have been, "Who do you think you are with your immoral life? We already know who you are. We don't need any stranger telling us who you are and what you have done. We know it only too well." Instead, the response is overwhelmingly positive. The woman believes in Jesus and so does the whole town. The people come flooding out to meet Jesus, a Jew, a stranger, another man, and they welcome him to stay in their town.
The offer of eternal life is quite extraordinary and the response is extraordinary too. Here is a picture of people of a diluted heretical religion, people with suspect theology and practices, welcoming the message of Jesus with an incredible thirst for pure spirit and truth. The message of Jesus is always life giving, life enhancing. Could this be the Christ? Are we offering spirit and truth, or perhaps more importantly are we ourselves drinking of the eternal life, the spirit and truth that Jesus brings to us and this world; a spirit and truth that prevents us from seeing anyone else as lesser than ourselves, because of their gender, religion or culture?