Reading through John 4 had me in awe and almost in tears. Here we see the amazing encounter between The Lord and a scorned woman. In those days, Samaria was considered a gentile zone. The Jews cared little for the Samaritans and no one would have dealings with the people living there. They considered themselves superior to the Samaritans.
But Our Lord wasn't concerned about this obviously. He knew all about the discrimination and yet passed through there all the same while his disciples went on to buy food. As he waited for them sitting and resting on a well, the woman approached. She probably recognised almost immediately that He was a Jew because of his attire. I am certain she might have been expecting a few verbal jabs from him but that was not to be the case.
The Bible accounts that when Jesus saw her, he spoke to her. He actually spoke to her! That must have thrown the woman off balance for sure! She even asked him "How is it that you a Jew asks me for water?" That describes how stunned she was. Jesus would not only go on to tell her who he was but also tell her amazing revelations about herself and the gospel. That day, salvation came to Samaria!
One of the key things to point out from this story is how The Lord conducted himself and His Father's business. He knew the man made restrictions that had been placed on the Samaritans and He didn't let that interfere with what he had to do. His passing through the land of Samaria itself proves that cultural, racial, geographical and religious embargoes would not affect His mission. He was concerned for the countless of souls predestined for salvation and would break senseless man-made barriers to get to them.
What does this teach us? Our God is no respecter of persons. The gift of salvation is and was for all men. We must understand that Christ came and died for all men that whomsoever will believe in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
As we go about evangelising and fulfilling God's mandate we must lean on His spirit to help us reach out to such souls like this woman. The ones who have been rejected and called good for nothing by the society, the ones who have been condemned because of their lifestyle. We shouldn't let silly man-made restrictions hinder us from fulfilling God's mandate.
Christ died for them and its our duty as Christians to tell them that. We shouldn't let irrelevant man-made embargo's hinder us from fulfilling God's mandate. Remember Jesus died for all men.
