Friday, 5th May 2023
Alex Buabeng-Korsah
TOPIC: BREAKING DOWN OLD BARRIERS
THEME SCRIPTURE: “A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give me to drink” – John 4:7
PREPARATORY QUESTIONS:
- Why do Christians still maintain social barriers?
- Why is it important that we break down old barriers within the community of believers?
Jesus is leaving Judea for Galilee. His popularity had gotten to the Pharisees. These Pharisees heard that Jesus was baptizing more people than John. The repentance message is getting through to the people. However, the Pharisees' hearing of Him meant opposition. To go to Galilee, He needed to go through Samaria. Jesus, an outward Jew, knew how the Jews hated Samaritans. The Samaritans were those Jews who were not deported or killed during the fall of the northern kingdom in 722 B.C. (2 Kings 17:23–40). After the Assyrians left them behind, these Jews intermarried with pagan colonies.
The Samaritans were considered unclean traitors to Jewish blood.
Jesus' mission was to reconcile the world to God and to show that all men were created in God’s image; He sought to bring to the Samaritans the message of the kingdom. After arriving at Sychar, Jesus rested by Jacob's well while His disciples went to find food. A Samaritan woman arrives at noon, an unusual time for women to visit the well. Jesus, the Messiah, then confronts the ancient Samaritan-Jewish barrier by asking this woman, "Give me to drink" (John 4:7). Despite their hatred, Jews and Samaritans hoped for the same Messiah. They both yearned for the coming of the Christ.
This Samaritan woman, an outcast for having five husbands, was God's instrument (John 4:29) for bringing the entire city of Sychar to Jesus (John 4:39).
Who would have thought Jesus would preach to a woman and a Samaritan, Precious One? Who would have thought one woman, believing in Jesus, could share Christ with an entire city? And who could have thought that a holy man like Jesus would associate his work with a woman with such a social stigma? Often, believers allow social barriers to continue our divide. Tribal, racial, educational, economic, gender, and other barriers determine our inclinations. Some can't accept that a woman preaches Christ. Others also go like, “I am not called to the poor” or “I can’t marry from this race or tribe.". Jesus preached the kingdom at every opportunity.
Christ died for all, and in Him, there is neither male nor female, slave nor free. God sees all men the same - sinners needing salvation.
If you have been saved, it is by grace. Pass on this grace to anyone God sends your way, regardless of education, economic status, race, or tribe, breaking all human and demonic barriers. Human barriers frustrate God's grace. Until we break down old barriers, we will perpetuate social divides, raising standards against God’s grace for others. If we frustrate God's grace for others, God's grace for us will be curtailed. Therefore, precious one, be transformed today by the renewal of your mind. God bless you more.
FURTHER READING – John 4:1 - 40
Call to Salvation: Today is your day if you have not received salvation by turning over your life to Jesus Christ. Click here to do so
QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU MEDITATE ON THE WORD:
- What are some of the old barriers in your life that can frustrate the grace of God?
CONFESSION
Precious Father, I affirm this day that I am created in the image of God, and so are all men. I thank you for the salvation I have received in Christ. By the consciousness of the Spirit, I live above all social barriers to fulfil the will of God for all men, in Jesus’ precious name. Amen
1-Year Bible Reading Plan
Deuteronomy 22; Songs of Solomon 2; Acts 14; Acts 15
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