I was sitting in church last Sunday listening to the speaker and he was talking about a subject that I had read over and over and heard speakers speak of it many, many times, but he had put a different twist on it. I hadn’t read the following story before to gather wisdom from it. Christ’s teachings have to read carefully or we will miss His point. From ( John 4:5) is the story of Jesus coming into Samaria and meeting the Samaritan woman by the well. The scriptures say: Verse 5 “Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, “Give me to drink.” (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.”
I had previously read it as a story without having picked up on the fact that he did not criticise her nor condemn her. He merely stated her situation and she went into the city and told the others. They came and listened for two days and many were converted. Had he criticized the woman she would not have drawn water nor went to get the others to listen to him. It made me realize that I need to go back and read the scriptures from a more open perspective. I’m sure that, even as many times as I have read them, I have not gleaned as much meaning and instruction as there are in them. If we read them with the spirit, maybe even pray for the spirit before we start we will be able to absorb from them the spirit that Christ had—one of love and understanding. I’m sure that scriptures were not designed to condemn but rather to teach compassion.
That is what I mean by “Old things, New Meanings”