tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post5653197782763203802..comments2024-01-20T16:28:46.327-08:00Comments on Wordgazer's Words: "Sir, I Perceive You are a Prophet" - Jesus and the Woman at the WellKristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08252374623355509404noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-16645315049218587272015-04-18T23:19:13.102-07:002015-04-18T23:19:13.102-07:00Hi Hannah! Thanks for reading! No I don't thin...Hi Hannah! Thanks for reading! No I don't think Jesus' words "We worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews" undermine His message that sacred space is now being opened to everyone who worships "in Spirit and truth." I think He is simply affirming Torah as being from God-- but that what has been reserved exclusively for Jews, was now being extended beyond the Jews. As for "the fields are ripe for harvest," that is the "Father's work" that Jesus was talking about as being His food. He was saying that the kingdom building He was doing in talking to this woman, was more important than eating-- not that we shouldn't eat! Since Jesus asked the woman for water, He was interested in taking care of His very human thirst-- but that was not the most important thing to Him. <br /><br />Yes, the disciples wanted him to eat, but the verse first emphasizes their surprise that He was talking to a Samaritan woman. Jesus' focus on "food to eat" that was doing God's will, in the context of harvest, shows that this was where His focus lay. "This isn't what it looks like; this is God's work" was pretty much the message. Kristenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08252374623355509404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-41013263760286210212015-04-18T06:37:54.621-07:002015-04-18T06:37:54.621-07:00This was super-encouraging in that it showed the v...This was super-encouraging in that it showed the verse to be much more feminist and liberating and inclusive and social justice-y than a first reading might have, and well-researched and engagingly written.<br /><br />I understand that this is an old post and you may not have time to respond, but I'm not sure whether two verses in the passage undermine the message. Firstly verse 22, where Jesus says that the Samaritans do not understand what they worship and the Jews do, because salvation comes from them. This could be more of a 'yes, you understand and you are part of us and God loves you and wants to include you too, but the Jewish tradition is closer to the truth because we follow the scriptures more clearly &c' rather than fully undermining the new sacred space/new alternative kinship message.<br /><br />The second verse, verse 31, puts the disciples worry for Jesus in the context of worrying about him eating as opposed to worrying about his choice to speak with the woman, although their worries may be expressed more subtly/expressed in ways I haven't noticed in the text/be expected because of the social situation at the time. I greatly prefer the 'Jesus was correcting the disciples on their views about the woman' interpretation, and possibly the 'fields are ripe for harvest' verses indicate more strongl that this intepretation is correct (I'm not sure how they fit in), but that verse seems to indicate that the mildly worrying 'you don't need food, you only need to spread the gospel' interpretation is at least possible.Hannahnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-57895974033887932632013-06-20T08:48:59.451-07:002013-06-20T08:48:59.451-07:00Don D, I had noticed that, but as the woman was th...Don D, I had noticed that, but as the woman was the first to go and tell a whole bunch of people instead of one or two, I think Mr. Lose's point still holds that this woman does hold a unique place in the Gospel of John-- for that and other reasons. <br /><br />Good point about the way women were lifted up in the New Testament! Thanks for reading!Kristenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08252374623355509404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-3759554819808908792013-06-19T15:47:27.483-07:002013-06-19T15:47:27.483-07:00You quote David Lose: "And she accepts, playi...You quote David Lose: "And she accepts, playing a unique role in Jesus' ministry as she is the first character in John's gospel to seek out others to tell them about Jesus." This is in error as John 1:41, 42 and verses 45, 46 show 2 of the disciples inviting others to follow Jesus. In the second instance, Nathaniel replies to the effect: "From Nazareth? Can anything good come from there?" Thus, she is not the first. The point is nonetheless valid in that she is in good company in inviting others to meet Jesus and suggesting that "Could this be the Christ?" This unnamed woman is a critical link to the themes you raise here. I was recently asked if there was any support for the Early Church supporting women in roles of authority to which I had replied that the NT is replete with examples of women being lifted from the common societal "lower caste" position. (An analogy, I realize the position of women in the Ancient Near East is analogous, not identical to the Hindu caste system.) Thank you for explaining this in greater detail for this passage.Don Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01442315688385921479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-87079748328197989392013-06-17T08:56:33.658-07:002013-06-17T08:56:33.658-07:00Love the Gospel of John!
Thanks for presenting so...Love the Gospel of John!<br /><br />Thanks for presenting some new perspectives.Steve Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13251554325064300307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-32850173035620653112013-06-16T22:24:02.927-07:002013-06-16T22:24:02.927-07:00Defeatingthedragon-- that's great! If you hav...Defeatingthedragon-- that's great! If you have any insights of your own on a particular Jesus-woman encounter, please do post them as comments on the post about that woman as I get them done.<br /><br />Jesusandthebible, I think you're right. The fact that the Samaritan woman mentions "the fathers" and "our father Jacob," followed by Jesus' mention of God as "the Father," does make this passage just as much about natural & spiritual family/kinship as it is about sacred space.Kristenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08252374623355509404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-37348567448969173242013-06-16T19:49:24.464-07:002013-06-16T19:49:24.464-07:00I've been working through re-envisioning the w...I've been working through re-envisioning the women Jesus encountered during his ministry on my own as I read through the Gospels, trying to see these stories in a different light than what I'd always been taught or always assumed. <br /><br />Thank you for this series-- I am excited about it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-11923811424681073822013-06-15T10:14:00.682-07:002013-06-15T10:14:00.682-07:00When Jesus refers to God as the Father--and to tru...When Jesus refers to God as the Father--and to true worshipers of the Father--this new kinship also could be contrasted with "our fathers" (Jn. 4:20), who "worshiped on this mountain," as well as "our father Jacob" (4:12), who gave them the well. Because these fathers were revered, they related to both kinship and sacred space. Nicodemus in Jn. 3 would have been such a revered father among the Jews, as a ruling Pharisee. Despite their gifts and teachings, these fathers are now being surpassed by the Father, and his Son, who give the living water of the Spirit of truth (as described later in Jn. 7:38-39 and Jn. 14-16). As Jn. 3:34-35 has said, "For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for it is not by measure that he gives the Spirit; the Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com