Exodus 17: 1 – 7; Psalm 95: 6 – 11; Romans 5: 1 – 11; John 4: 5 – 42
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, February 24th, 2008
“Sometimes, having a little knowledge is a wonderful thing.”
“Sometimes, having a little knowledge is an awful thing.”
Today’s Gospel reading,[1] the very familiar account of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, is all about “a little knowledge”, it seems to me.
For “a little knowledge” can work two ways: either it will enable a person to see more and more, or it will limit their ability to see, sometimes not at all.
The two perspectives can be seen in: 1. the Samaritan woman, who had “a little knowledge” (actually, enough knowledge), which Jesus was able to use to get her to see more and more of God’s work and will; and 2. Jesus’ disciples, who lacked even “a little knowledge” of what Jesus was doing in His encounter with this woman by the well in the village of Sychar.
So, I’d like to trace the Samaritan woman’s journey of faith, focusing in on her responses to/talking about Jesus. There are five references, five verses that trace her journey in coming to know who Jesus is.
But before we launch into the woman’s faith development, let’s take a moment to outline briefly the history of relations between the Jews and the Samaritans. For in doing so, we can understand more fully the gaps that Jesus bridged in reaching out to the Samaritan woman, and then, through the woman’s witness, to the townspeople she lived among.
The Jews and the Samaritans had a long history, and it was not a good history:
Way back in 721 B. C., the Assyrians swept in from the north and the east and conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which was comprised of the 10 tribes in the northern part of the Holy Land. As they conquered the kingdom, they deported much of the population (as was common in those days), and then repopulated the area with other people who were imported from elsewhere. The resulting intermarriage of peoples created an ethnically mixed people, known as the Samaritans. Naturally, the peoples of the Southern Kingdom, Judea, regarded these people, these Samaritans of varied backgrounds, as “half-breeds”. They were inferior in every way, from their point-of-view.
Gradually, the disdain between the two groups grew into genuine hatred, and in the year 128 B. C., Jewish troops stormed into Samaria and destroyed the temple which was located on Mt. Gerizim.[2] The hatred and separation between the two groups flared into full scale enmity from that point onward.
By Jesus’ time, Jews would avoid going through Samaria if at all possible, taking the eastern route through the Jordan River valley, or perhaps along the seacoast to the west. Jesus’ route through Samaria was unique, and the language John uses to describe the necessity of this more direct route seems to indicate a divine purpose to Jesus’ choice of this way right through foreign and hostile territory.[3]
The level of separation between Jew and Samaritan is indicated by the literal meaning of verse nine: “Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans”, John tells us. Literally, this might mean: if a Samaritan used an object, a Jew would not touch it or use it.
So, Jesus had quite a number of obstacles to overcome in dealing with the Samaritan woman, including:
- Men did not converse with an unknown woman in public,
- Jews had nothing to do with Samaritans,
- Samaritans had a different set of Scriptures than the Jews, and hence, a different understanding of God.[4]
So now, let’s turn to Jesus’ methodology in breaking down the obstacles which lay between Him and the Samaritan woman….we turn to the five forms of address/references to Jesus the woman uses:
- “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (verse nine): In response to Jesus’ request for a drink, we hear this sharp response. In her reply, the woman immediately hits on the two main gaps that exist between her and Jesus: gender and ethnicity. Can you hear the bluntness of her response? “How is it that you….” No modifier to cushion the impact of her statement, such as “excuse me”, no form of address such as “sir”….The first words out of her mouth are right to-the-point: “How is it that you, a Jew, as a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?”
But Jesus is undeterred (don’t you love that about Him?....He just doesn’t take “No!” for an answer!). He responds, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink’, you would have asked him, and He would have given you living water.”
The key words here are: “if you knew” and “who it is”…..Knowing is a key word throughout John’s Gospel account….Remember Nicodemus’ words from last Sunday’s reading?[5] “We know” Nicodemus says….But, it turns out, Nicodemus didn’t know, much less understand.
Jesus’ steering of this conversation will be all about getting the woman “to know” “who it is” who is talking to her.
But there’s another point we need to make before we move on: the term living water has a double meaning:[6] It can mean flowing water,[7]or it can mean the life-giving revelation of God, a usage that stretches back into Old Testament usage.[8] Furthermore, Jesus’ reference to “living water” recalls His words to Nicodemus (John 3: 5) about being “born of water and the spirit”. (Jesus will flesh out the meaning of “living water” later on in verse 14.)
Like Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman takes Jesus’ words literally: she seems to think that perhaps He will point out an otherwise-unknown stream near her house, or perhaps will make available another source of water which isn’t so difficult to use. Maybe the woman thought that Jesus’ offer of “running” water would make life a bit easier and more convenient. (If the encounter happened today, we might be tempted to say that the Samaritan woman wondered if Jesus wasn’t a plumber, who had come to install plumbing in her house.)
Jesus pushes on in His attempt to broaden her understanding, using the term “living water”…. - Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; where do you get that ‘living water’?” (verse 11): Notice now that the woman uses the polite form of address “sir”. Maybe she is beginning to soften up a little. Maybe she is intrigued by this mysterious Jewish man who approaches her at the hottest part of the day to ask for a drink of water.
Jesus attempts to enlighten her understanding of “living water”, to which she responds, “Sir, give me this water that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”
Even now, her responses seem to indicate little more than a literal, everyday understanding of Jesus’ intent and message.
So Jesus tries another approach, which results in this response from the Samaritan woman: - Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet!” (verse 19): Notice that she uses the polite form of address, “Sir”, again.
The entrée into this response from the woman is Jesus’ request that she bring her husband to Him. She responds, “I have no husband”. Jesus says, “You are right in saying ‘I have no husband’, for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband.”
We need to pause here for a moment….Jesus’ foreknowledge of the woman’s marital status has elicited volumes of reflection on the woman’s past life…..Some have said that she had been married five times to different men, and was now living with yet another man. Others have said she was the victim of an ancient practice called “Levirate marriage”,[9] in which the brother of a husband who died had an obligation to take the widow as his wife, in order to raise up children for the deceased brother, and that, in turn, she had been married under this practice to five different brothers, but that the sixth brother had refused to marry her.
Whatever the case, the central point seems to be that Jesus foreknew the details of her private life, which the woman confirms when she says to the townspeople, “Come and see a man who told me all that I ever did.” (Verse 29)
All other analyses of the woman’s marital situation may be interesting, but quite possibly go beyond what the text itself will support.
And it is this foreknowledge that elicits the woman’s response, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.”
The Samaritans had a concept of Messiah. Theirs consisted of a figure they called Ta’heb who would come, and who would make all things known to them. Hence, Jesus’ comment about her personal life is the key indication to the Samaritan woman that Jesus might fill the qualities of Ta’heb… “Perhaps, if this Jewish man is so all-knowing and wise, he might be able to clarify some other matters, as well,” she may have thought to herself.
Jesus attempts to enlarge her knowledge base some more, explaining that the age-old rivalry between Jew and Samaritan over the proper place for worship (Jerusalem or Mt. Gerizim) will soon mean nothing, for God will seek persons to worship Him “in spirit and in truth.”[10]
Picking up on the Samaritan expectation of Ta’heb as the one who will make all things known, the woman then says: - I know that Messiah is coming; when he does, he will show us all things (verse 25): The woman’s response is grounded in the Samaritan messianic expectations, clearly.
But note that she says, “Messiah” –or- more clearly “a Messiah”.
To which Jesus responds, “I AM is speaking to you.”[11] [12]
Jesus’ response allows the woman to come to a deeper knowledge of who Jesus is….following the interlude in which the disciples return (more on their knowledge and understanding of the situation in a minute), we read the woman’s testimony to the townspeople of Sychar: - “Come and see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” (verse 29): Now, we hear clear (though still questioning) identification of Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ.
The woman has come to a fuller knowledge of Jesus’ identity, although her knowledge is still framed in the form of a question.
Nonetheless, she is willing to testify to her neighbors, and they come to Jesus.
Now, to recap the woman’s progression of knowledge, we have:
- “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me...” (verse eight) – a blunt and to the point response.
- “Sir, you have nothing to draw with….where do you get that ‘living water’?” (verse 11) – An initial use of the polite form of address, “Sir”.
- “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet” (verse 19) – Again, she uses “Sir”, and begins to understand Jesus’ identity.
- “I know that Messiah is coming…He will show us all things” (verse 24) – Jesus might be a Messiah…the woman’s conviction about Jesus’ identity is closely tied to the Samaritan understandings of Ta’heb.
- “Can this be the Messiah?” (verse 29) – Jesus’ identification is now centered on being the Messiah, even though questions still remain in the woman’s mind.
But we must now turn our attention to the disciples, who have returned from the village, where they have bought some food….Notice, first of all, that they wonder among themselves at why Jesus was talking with this woman[13]….their concerns mirror the woman’s concerns: both seem to be saying, in essence, “Why are you breaking social custom by talking in public with her?”
But their knowledge of the situation is also quite limited in the instance of Jesus’ reference to food….For they wonder, “Has anyone brought Him food?”[14]
Just as Jesus had done with the Samaritan woman in expanding her knowledge of Him and His work, He now does so with the disciples. He says, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to accomplish His work.”[15]
As we reflect on the circumstances of the Samaritan woman and the disciples, we can see that each had “a little knowledge”.
In the case of the Samaritan woman, it seems that she was looking – or at least was aware – of the possibility of the one who would come to “show us all things.” Her knowledge of Jesus’ identity and work grew as He continued to bridge one obstacle of connection and understanding after another.
On the other hand, the disciples’ limited knowledge prevented their seeing the truth of the situation. Jesus had to point (perhaps literally) to the townspeople who constituted the “harvest” for which He labored, but which the disciples would do the reaping.
As we think about it, the Samaritan woman ought to have been the one who failed to “get it”, and the disciples – those who ate, walked, listened and watched Him do the miraculous signs that He did, signs that pointed to His identiy, origin and purpose – should have been the ones who “got it”.
But just the reverse is true: the one with the most obstacles between her and Jesus, and the one with the most limited knowledge, was the one who understood.
Sometimes, what we think we “know” can blind us to what we have yet to learn.
And so it is with the life of the Spirit, who, like the wind, blows when and where it will. We can perceive the movement of it, but cannot identify its origin or its destination.[16]
This Lent, what about us? What do we think we “know” about Jesus, but have yet to learn?
May the Holy Spirit enable us to come to a fuller and clearer knowledge of Him.
AMEN.
[1] This sermon will attempt to consider only a small portion of the riches of this passage. As is usual with John’s writing, the account of Jesus’ encounter at Sychar operates on quite a number of different levels. This is only one of those levels.
[2] The Samaritans maintained a worship center on the mountain, which is southwest of the town of Sychar. It is this site that the woman refers to in her comments which we read in verse 19.
[3] John tells us (verse four) that Jesus “had to go through Samaria”, using a verb (had to) that he often uses to denote divine will.
[4] The Samaritans possessed their own version of the five books of Moses, the Torah or Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy), but did not regard as Scripture any other books. In addition, their version of the Pentateuch had a different emphasis from the Jewish version. Chief among the differences in the Samaritan version is God’s command to Moses took place on Mt. Gerizim (not Mt. Sinai, as Exodus 20: 17 states in the Jewish version), and a similar change with regard to Mt. Ebal in Deuteronomy 27: 4. The Samaritan version of the Pentateuch is still available today.
[5] John 3: 1 - 17
[6] Jesus tells Nicodemus that, in order to see the Kingdom of God, he must be “born again and from above”. The Greek word for “born again/from above” is anothen.
[7] Like in a stream or fountain, as opposed to water from a well or cistern.
[8] See the treatment of this sense of the term “living water” in Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of John, Moloney, Francis J., (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1998), p., 117.
[9] See Deuteronomy 25: 5 – 10 for the provisions pertaining to Levirate marriage. The term “levirate” derives from the Latin word (levir) for “husband’s brother”.
[10] Verse 24
[11] Verse 26
[12] These “I AM” sayings are important in John, and they convey the divine identity as we hear it at the burning bush (Exodus 3: 14), the God who revealed Himself to Moses.
[13] Verse 27
[14] Verse 31
[15] Verse 34
[16] A paraphrase of Jesus’ teaching to Nicodemus, John 3: 8
