Monday Devo
Scripture:
John 4:1-4
Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did). 3 So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. 4 He had to go through Samaria on the way.
Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did). 3 So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. 4 He had to go through Samaria on the way.
Commentary:
4:4 Jesus had to pass this way because of geography (it was the shortest route), but the words may also indicate that Jesus’ itinerary was subject to the sovereign and providential plan of God (“had to” translates Gk. dei, “to be necessary,” which always indicates divine necessity or requirement elsewhere in John: 3:7, 14, 30; 9:4; 10:16; 12:34; 20:9). Through Samaria was the usual route taken by travelers from Judea to Galilee, though strict Jews, in order to avoid defilement, could bypass Samaria by opting for a longer route that involved crossing the Jordan and traveling on the east side. The Samaritans were a racially mixed group of partly Jewish and partly Gentile ancestry, who were disdained by both Jews and non-Jews (see Luke 10:33; 17:16; John 8:48; see also 2 Kings 17:24–31, which describes how the king of Assyria brought foreign people to settle in Samaria in 722 b.c.; over time they had intermarried with some Jews who had remained in the area). See also note on John 4:20–21. Many inhabitants of this region between Judea and Galilee were descendants of the OT northern kingdom of Israel, although from the Jewish perspective these Samaritans had assimilated strongly into non-Jewish culture and had intermarried with Mesopotamian colonists. The Samaritans had their own version of the Pentateuch, their own temple on Mount Gerizim (see 4:20), and their own rendering of Israelite history. Copies of their Pentateuch in Hebrew (and in Targumic Aramaic) remain extant, as do their basic historical narratives. Tensions often ran high between Jews and Samaritans; thus Josephus recounts fighting between Jews and Samaritans during Claudius’s reign in the first century a.d. being so intense that Roman soldiers were called in to pacify (and to crucify) many of the rebels (Jewish War 2.232–246).
Questions:
- Verse 4 says that Jesus "had" to go through Samaria. Most theologians think this says more about Jesus having a divine appointment than it does getting to Galilee fast. Jews typically wanted nothing to do with Samaritans, and most Jews would actually go around Samaria even though the shortest route would take you through it. On top of that, it would've been highly irregular for Jesus, a single, religious male, to be speaking to a Samaritan woman out in the open like this. So obviously, Jesus was being led by the Father. Sometimes obedience takes you places you wouldn't normally go. When was the last time obeying God's leading took you to an unexpected place or had you doing something that you normally wouldn't do?
- This woman was out getting her water in the middle of the day. Most women would do this chore in the morning or evening, to avoid the heat. But this woman was avoiding the crowds because she was ashamed. She had a reputation. And yet Jesus was there to minister to her. When was the last time that you were willing to be compassionate to someone that everyone else would walk past? Are you open to being obedient even if it would lead to embarrassment?
Pray:
- That you would listen for the Lord's voice to lead you.
- That you would be obedient to that voice today.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
3. Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? Since “all have sinned” and the “wages of sin is death,” Jesus had to die on the cross to pay the fine for my sin so I could be right with God.
(Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22)
(Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22)
No Comments