Text: John 4:4-26, 39-42
Title: Being in the Light
Summary: In John 3 and 4, Jesus first reveals his identity as the Christ to two individuals - Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman - well before he does so in public spaces. These two figures are best held together in tandem with one another, to understand the revelatory nature of Jesus' message, and the diverse community of believers who responded to him. John makes a point to identify the time of day when they each interacted with Jesus: nighttime for Nicodemus, noon for the Samaritan woman. While some have interpreted the Samaritan woman's presence at the well at noon as indicative of her publicly-known role as an adulteress, a closer look into historical context reveals this is not a sound conclusion. Which leaves the question: why did John so clearly indicate the time of day in both encounters? When we hold the two stories together, we see a strong connection between Jesus' teaching to Nicodemus on light (that whoever lives by truth comes into the light) and the setting for the woman's encounter with Jesus (at the height of the noonday sun, when nothing can be hidden). When we reframe our interpretation of this passage with the symbolism of light as our starting point, we find that the Samaritan woman has much to teach us about what it looks like to be in the light.
Text: John 4:4-26, 39-42
Title: Being in the Light
Summary: In John 3 and 4, Jesus first reveals his identity as the Christ to two individuals - Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman - well before he does so in public spaces. These two figures are best held together in tandem with one another, to understand the revelatory nature of Jesus' message, and the diverse community of believers who responded to him. John makes a point to identify the time of day when they each interacted with Jesus: nighttime for Nicodemus, noon for the Samaritan woman. While some have interpreted the Samaritan woman's presence at the well at noon as indicative of her publicly-known role as an adulteress, a closer look into historical context reveals this is not a sound conclusion. Which leaves the question: why did John so clearly indicate the time of day in both encounters? When we hold the two stories together, we see a strong connection between Jesus' teaching to Nicodemus on light (that whoever lives by truth comes into the light) and the setting for the woman's encounter with Jesus (at the height of the noonday sun, when nothing can be hidden). When we reframe our interpretation of this passage with the symbolism of light as our starting point, we find that the Samaritan woman has much to teach us about what it looks like to be in the light.