There was a deep and bitter hatred between Jews and Samaritans. After all, Samaritans were half-breed Jews, having intermarried with their Assyrian conquerors many years before. They had a different version of the Bible and a different priesthood and place of worship. No self-respecting Jewish Rabbi would ever risk spanning this bitter historic divide; Jesus did. Jesus pointedly revealed himself as Messiah, not to the male dominated Jewish faith but to a woman, even a Samaritan woman. Jesus was breaking with the cultural prejudices of His day. This would be both shocking and angering. But God’s cosmic Christ would offer salvation outside the accepted well constructed walls of Judaism which divided one group from another. Following Jesus means breaking through the walls of racism while embracing the universal love of Christ.
“The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am he.’” John 4:25–26 (ESV)
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