A Conversation at the Well

In 722 BC the Assyrian king Shalmanezer V began to wind-up a two decade campaign against the Northern Kingdom of Old Testament Israel. Shalmanezer captured Israel's capital city of Samaria. Many, though not all, of Israel's citizens were deported to Assyria. The Assyrians then "imported" various peoples into Israel to repopulate the region. Over time, two things happened: The newcomers intermarried with the remaining Israelites. The resulting mixed populace adopted, but modified, the worship of YHWH. When Ezra and Nehemiah led exiled Jews back to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and the temple, the Samaritans met them with persistent offers of help. But their motives were politically self-serving and deceptive. Nehemiah sent them packing. Centuries of hostility between the Jews & Samaritans resulted. In 400 BC the Samaritans built their own temple on Mt. Gerezim. In 128 BC the Jews tore it down – Jerusalem was the only place to worship! Tensions between the neighboring groups persisted right up to the days of Jesus. The Jews despised the Samaritans, and the Samaritans despised them right back! One Jewish teacher called the Samaritans "those stupid people from Shechem!" Kind of like saying, they don't know "come here" from "sic 'em"! So…how would you expect a Jewish rabbi to treat a Samaritan adulterous? Today, we'll listen in as…

Jesus breaks multiple cultural barriers to save a single sinner.

1. An ordained encounter (4-14).
2. A cutting command (15-18).
3. An awakened conscience (19-24).
4. A divine declaration (25-26).