Dr Paul Allen

English: Christ and the woman of Samaria at Jacob's Well (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, 'Give me a drink.' (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, 'How is it that you, a Jew , ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?' (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)" ( John 4 :7-9) In John 4:7-9, Jesus crossed three barriers. The first was that which separated Samaritans from Jews. In the eighth century BC, the Assyrian Empire conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and deported the Israelites who lived there. In their place, the Assyrians brought other peoples to populate the land (see 2 Kings 17:24). These Gentiles sought to worship both the gods of their homelands and the local deity, the God of the Israelites, so they mixed the religions. This was a grave offense to the Jews, and over the centuries their hatred only grew as the Samari...

Christ and the Samaritan woman  (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, 'Give me a drink.' (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, 'How is it that you, a Jew , ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?' (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)" ( John 4 :7-9) In John 4:7-9, Jesus crossed three barriers.  The first was that which separated Samaritans from Jews. In the eighth century BC, the Assyrian Empire conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and deported the Israelites who lived there. In their place, the Assyrians brought other peoples to populate the land (2 Kings 17:24). These Gentiles sought to worship both the gods of their homelands and the local deity, the God of the Israelites, so they mixed the religions. This was a grave offense to the Jews, and over the centuries their hatred only grew as the Samaritans developed their o...

English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you” (John 6:27). The people who had been present at Jesus ’ miraculous feeding of the five thousand followed Him many miles around the sea because they wanted Him to care for their needs. But they were seeking a king who would provide for them in a physical, not spiritual, sense. Because their hearts were hard and their minds focused on earthly things, they neither perceived their spiritual needs nor did they understand the Messiah ’s mission of redemption. Jesus rebuked them for their “flesh-seeking” disposition : “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled” (v. 26). They sought Him, not because they understood the significance of the miracles, which were signs and seals of God’s testimony concerning the Messiah, but s...

Jesus and Samaritan woman (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Joel 2:28–32  In the Old Testament , the Spirit of God was given to priests and other specific individuals (see Numbers 11:16–17 ). But Joel predicted that one day God’s Spirit would be given to all believers, regardless of position or status. Jesus fulfilled this prediction. Throughout Jesus’ life he appealed to the Jewish community as their prophesied Messiah, but he also rewarded the faith of those who were not members of God’s original “chosen people.” Jesus taught that the second most important command is “Love your neighbor as yourself” ( Mark 12:31 ). He used the parable of the Good Samaritan (see Luke 10:25–37 ) to illustrate that fulfilling the intent of the law was more important than following the letter of the law . By using a non-Jew —the Samaritan, who followed the intent of the law better than did the priest or the Levite—Jesus showed that it was possible for Gentiles to know God’s law and follow it. No...