John 4:22

“You worship God from your limited vantage point,” Jesus adds, “and we Jews worship God from a more informed position.  That may sound harsh, but there is a reason for this—salvation will come to everyone through the Jewish people.” John 4:22 EFP
 
Wow!  This must have been difficult for the woman to hear.  It even seems to have a twinge of superiority mixed in for good measure.  But Jesus says it without hesitation or apparent compunction.  He seems to be saying, “The Jews have the front row seats and the Samaritans are in the balcony.”  It could be argued, “At least they’re in the building!”  I doubt that is much comfort if you’re told you are by design in the “back of the bus.”

I can’t accept that Jesus was making a social statement and saying this is the way it is and will remain.  That may have ended the conversation in its tracks if it had been perceived that way by the Samaritan woman.  Yet Jesus is pretty much telling her, “You can’t see the entire picture from where you’re standing.”  Maybe she is about to turn on her heels and go back into town.  “Just another bigoted Jew!” she may entertained the thought.  But Jesus, never one to miss any possibility, follows up with “But there’s a reason for this…and it’s to your advantage.”  He then proceeds to make a veiled prediction of his death when he declares, “Salvation will come to all from the Jewish people.”  He is referring to himself!  That brings her back.  He’s talking salvation to all—not just the Jews.  He’s offering hope—not given just to the faultless.  He’s providing living water—for everyone without respect for power, position, or past; enough for even her!

Had she left half way through the statement she would have lost out on the Good News.  If her ears had shut down right after “your perspective is limited, compared to the Jews” she would have totally missed the “salvation to all” statement that followed.  It’s a danger I risk every time I read a tough passage in Scripture and don’t bother to follow through with the ensuing ones.  God does not always tell me what I want to hear—but He always has my salvation in mind.  It may be uncomfortable to take in, but I have to stick around for the Good News that will inevitably follow, maybe not when I want it, but it will come.  Why?  Because God is good—all the time.  No exceptions!  If it’s not good, it’s not from God.  Period!  Because even God’s bad (how I see and feel it now) is good (how he sees it now with the end in sight), because He works in all things for my good.