Breaking Down Barriers: The Inclusive Good News-Part 2

In yesterday’s post on Breaking Down Barriers, we saw how Jesus effectively broke through the gender barrier. Using the same story, let’s study how He further breaks barriers in the familiar story of the woman at the well.

Breaking Down Barriers: Race

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.” ~John 4:9-10 (NIV)

Notice that she points out His social faux pas by reminding Him that she’s a woman. But she also points out that He is a Jew and she is a Samaritan. Jews of that day had no dealings with Samaritans as evidenced by the fact that they normally went out of their way to avoid walking through Samaria. The Jews looked down on the Samaritans as a mixed race of people.

Jesus quickly overcame the racial barrier with a cryptic reference to Himself as living water, peaking the woman’s interest and effectively including her in the invitation of the Good News.

Breaking Down Barriers: Morality

“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.” ~John 4:11-18 (NIV)

Jesus–as Holy God dwelling among men–doesn’t overlook sin. He pretty much lays it on the line in regard to the sin in the Samaritan woman’s life. But also notice that He doesn’t condemn her. Much like the story of the adulterous woman, He recognizes the wrong in her life, but offers forgiveness in place of condemnation.

How differently humans react. We take the moral high ground–a place of pride and superiority–when it comes to the sin in other people’s lives. And Jesus had plenty to say about that type of attitude, particularly “Don’t do it!” Thank God that He doesn’t erect a moral barrier between sinners and the gospel, but invites us to come as we are.

Breaking Down Barriers: Religion

“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.” ~John 4:19-26 (NIV)

The Jewish people viewed the religious practices of the Samaritans as suspect and incomplete, although the woman’s comments reveal a knowledge of the things of God and the long-awaited Messiah. The woman is quick to point out disparities in the religions of the Jews and Samaritans, and Jesus just as quickly reveals the truth about worshiping God in spirit and in truth. How quickly Jesus cut to the heart of the matter, revealing Himself as the Christ.

In Conclusion

We will encounter barriers in our interaction with others, but they don’t have to stay. Let’s take a cue from our Lord, and use His example to reach out to others in spite of barriers.

Because of the way Jesus approached the situation, because He included the woman as a recipient of His grace, all the barriers between them tumbled to the ground. In response, the Samaritan woman ran to town to tell everyone what (and Whom!) she’d experienced.

Breaking Down Barriers – Discussion Questions

In what ways can we follow the example of Jesus in breaking down the barriers of race, morality, and religion?
What can we learn from Jesus’ example in meeting people where they were?
What divine encounters with others have you experienced lately? What barriers did you have to overcome?

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