An Encounter of Jesus With the Samaritan Woman as A Model for Mission Today: John 4:4-42
Date
2005
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Publisher
Tangaza University College
Abstract
Jesus is the one sent by the Father to reveal the Father to humanity and to share
with us his life. In Christ, God allows himself to be represented: "the messenger is a
fully accredited representative of the one who has sent him" (Jn 14:9-10). In the
encyclical Evangelii Nuntiandi Pope Paul VI tells that Jesus Christ is the model of
evangelization. Jesus is going to another culture to invite the people into the Kingdom
of God (in 4:4-42). Jesus' words and deeds directed people to this Kingdom. And this
same Jesus, the first missionary sent by God the Father had told his disciples "to learn
from me" (Mt 11:29), and to do what he had done; "this is my blood of the covenant,
which is poured out for many" (Mk 14:24). So, in this dimension Jesus is the best
example for missionary work, Jesus said, "for I have set you an example" On 13:15).
The New Testament contains four distinct Gospel portraits of the life, ministry,
death and resurrection of Jesus. All four Gospels attempt to bring the good news of the
story of Jesus to the needs of a particular community. Each Gospel deals with the
meaning of Jesus' identity and mission in its own way.
The forniative issue for the Gospel of John seems to have been the question:
who is Jesus? The Gospel narrative is an attempt to provide fresh answers to this
question. It seeks to move the reader away from overly confident assumptions, false
certitudes, and complacency about Jesus' identity. It offers each reader of the gospel
the opportunity to discover Jesus for himself or herself. This purpose, to lead the reader
to his or her own experience of Jesus, accounts for the distinctive literary style of John.
The use of the extensive dialogues between Jesus and other characters would help to
open the story to the reader's own experience. For John the dialogue is a means of
Jesus' revelation of himself. Women play significant role in the Gospel of John. This significance is evident
both in the number of stories on which woman appear and in the theological importance
of those stories. Women are Jesus' main conversation partners in three stories that
reveal Jesus' identity (4:4-42; 7:53-8:11; 11:1-44). And the role of the mother of Jesus
is also given an important place at the beginning of Jesus' ministry in Cana (2:1-11).
The first chapter of my essay is a study on the origin of the Samaritans, their
religious status and the relationship between Samaritans and Jews. Then, my concern is
to bring out how were the Samarians treated in the synoptics. We also will uncover the
understanding of Samaritans about themselves. And my attempt, in this chapter, is to
show how much importance is given to understand the identity of Jesus, using different
symbols.
The second chapter is dedicated to the detailed exegetical analysis of Jesus'
encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4:4-42. The whole chapter deals with the
dialogue of Jesus and the Samaritan woman. I set the conversation under different
stages and show how did the conversation influenced her conversion. The Samaritan
woman's perception of 'who Jesus is' has grown from 'a Jew', through sir' or 'Lord',
to 'a Prophet', to 'a Messiah' or Christ' and at last the Samaritans' recognition of Jesus
as 'the Savior of the world'.
The third chapter is an endeavor to bring forth the climax of the encounter
between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. I see this encounter scene as a excellent
model for our missionary work in this modern world. This dialogue —analysis is an
attempt to enter into the process of the divine human encounter and its forth coming
fruits. Since both Jesus and the Samaritan woman play very important role bringing
conversion and faith in God the Father, they can be seen as model for our missionary
activities among our own people and among the non-Christians.
Description
Keywords
Encounter of Jesus, Samaritan, Woman, Model for Mission, John 4:4-42