Elizabeth: Mother of the Messenger

Have you ever wondered how you can ever reach That One Person with the gospel? The one with a different political affiliation, religion, or otherwise different worldview? I have. I know I can’t move my friend toward God. Only He can draw them. But sometimes I don’t even know where to start talking. Our differences are so great.

Jesus faced a similar situation when He spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well. Samaria was once part of Israel’s northern kingdom that was later wiped out by Assyria. The Assyrians habitually moved conquered residents out, scattered them, and repopulated the land with other displaced peoples. It was an effective means of quelling potential rebellions. By Jesus’ day, any Jewish blood that may have survived the Assyrian conquest was muddied both in race and religion by intermarriage with Gentiles (non-Jewish people).

The Southern kingdom, by contrast, was conquered by Babylon and returned relatively intact after seventy years of exile. Therefore, Jews considered Samaritans half-breeds and heretics. Samaritans found Jews haughty and bigoted. Samaritans were also pro-Rome, while the Jews vehemently opposed Roman rule. To top it off, men and women weren’t supposed to speak together in public at all. But when the Samaritan woman alluded to some of these differences, Jesus answered that they would all be largely irrelevant through His work on the cross. Their conversation is a beautiful picture of His forgiveness and hope that transcends human boundaries.

Sometimes I need to remind myself that the One who changed the Samaritan woman’s life still has the power to convict, to restore, to unite, and to change lives today. In a world of vastly differing points of view, that is an encouraging thought. • Michelle Isenhoff

• Can you think of someone you struggle to see eye to eye with? As a Christian, how might you share the gospel with that person—with the care and love Jesus shows you (1 Peter 3:15-16; 1 John 4:19)?

We love each other because he loved us first. 1 John 4:19 (NLT)

Read Verses:

Luke 1