Jul 11

John 4:4-10
Memorise Colossians 3:11
“love thy neighbour as thyself”

The Samaritans were looked upon by the Jews as a ‘mongrel’ race. They were of mixed heritage, not pure Jews like themselves. Ever since Samaria had been conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BC (read 2 Kings 17), the people were dispersed and had intermarried with other races; the city had been under foreign rule, and the people had engaged in a form of syncretistic worship, combining the worship of Jehovah with that of other false idols. Through the years, a great hatred and animosity had begun to develop between these two people, such that the Jews took a huge detour when they travelled down to Jerusalem from the north, just so that they would not have to pass through Samaria. This was why it was so surprising to the Samaritan woman at the well when Jesus, being a Jew, asked drink of her for she knew clearly that “the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans”. In this we see that Jesus showed no prejudice. He looked upon the woman of Samaria with love and compassion. He saw her coming to the well and asked her for water to drink, not because he was helpless to get his own water or that he so desperately needed a drink, but he did so in order that he would have an opportunity to strike up a conversation with the woman and share the gospel with her. Through the verses that follow, we see how Jesus would lead her to understand that He was indeed the Christ, and as a result she became a most effective evangelist who spread the good news to the whole city!

In our society, there are many different races and people that have congregated in cosmopolitan Singapore. Are you prejudiced against anyone? Do you have this sort of racial or nationalistic pride that looks down upon other races or nationalities? Realise that we are all fellow sinful humans who all need the saving grace of our Lord. God is the one who has made all of us, and there is no difference, between you and the people around you. In the eyes of God, there are only two real types of people – the saved and the unsaved. If you have the gospel and are headed to heaven, then your responsibility is to bring this wonderful truth to those around you, like how Jesus preached to the Samaritan woman, and how she in turn shared this great news to the people in her city!

Thought: Colossians 3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
Prayer: Lord, grant me love and compassion, not prejudice and hatred.