Well, Well, Well (Advent 1, 2023)

Politics of the day have always created division, but the truth is Messiah had to come from somewhere. By simply existing as “The Chosen People” who had been given “The Promised Land” by none other than God, the Jews through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have gathered enemies against themselves like iron to a magnet. Hint: It’s not the magnet’s fault.

Well, well, well! What do we have here? Jesus may have thought.
(He knew what He was doing).

When the Samaritan woman came to draw water, she was aware of the myriad of problems she presented just being herself. She was an outcast, a Samaritan, immoral, a woman, and probably shunned by the rest of the town which is why she didn’t draw water with all the other women earlier in the day.

Jesus is sitting at the well and does the unthinkable. He asks her to draw some water for Him. John 4:9 “The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)“

She knew the rules. So did Jesus. When she tries to steer the conversation away from her sin life to discussing theological differences in worship, I imagine Jesus laughing inside Himself because theology was His wheelhouse. He was the greatest living expert on it.

Indeed, this exchange shows Jesus’ awareness of the earthly plane with all its problems, and His intentional call to a higher, spiritual plane.

John 4:17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.”

Well, well, well! There you have it, in Jesus’ own words:
“Salvation is from the Jews.”
More Christians need to take this to heart.

Questions for further thought:

Make no mistake: if getting rid of the Jews were to happen today, in the analogy above, the iron filings would find a different magnet (the Church) and persecution there will then become priority 1 of the enemies of God. Why do you think they chant, “Death to Israel! Death to the Jews! Death to America!”? Why “migrate” to Christian countries instead of nations with their own faith traditions? They are truly missing the “From the Jews, for the World”…as if their actions could stop salvation.

We admire men like Bonhoeffer who stood against Hitler’s final solution regarding the Jews, but the truth is there were very few men like him. He died standing for what he believed. What about the rest of the church leaders then? Largely silent and afraid. What about now?

Is it any wonder so many Jews today might look at the Church and wonder about whether we believe in Jesus when our faith of our fathers is in the crosshairs and we are tightly bound together in Christ our Savior, a thoroughly Jewish Messiah?

Does anyone believe the Church will escape persecution by siding with God’s enemies against the Jews or remaining silent?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, as we turn our thoughts to Your birth and the impact of Your life and death to our modern world, grant us courage and wisdom to do what is right. It’s not enough for us to be brave. We must be wise. So, please, Lord, give us discerning hearts to stand with all people who are still in Your plan of salvation and against those who are Your enemies. Give us Kingdom vision for those people sharing Your heritage, yet to become followers of Christ. May we distinguish genuine faith inside the Christian community from those who grieve Your heart by honoring You only with their lips while their hearts are firmly planted in the world’s ways with its hatred, antisemitism, and political expediency, and all the while denying that You came “From the Jews, for the World”. Holy Spirit, please reveal to our hearts where we are as individuals so we may deal with our own sin and proceed to worship You in spirit and in truth. Amen.

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Acknowledging inquiries about an entire season’s devotionals for your study group’s planning purposes, Seminary Gal’s prior seasons’ Advent devotionals can be accessed via the archives to the right and are as follows:

“Awaken Remnant” was the devotional topic for 2022. It began November 27, 2022, and highlighted the remnant found throughout Scripture as evident in Jesus’ lineage.
The multi-faceted Interlude between the promise of a Deliverer and the birth of our Messiah and King was the theme of 2021’s devotional series. It is archived beginning November 28, 2021.
2020’s Devotional Series Divine Intervention began on November 29, 2020 and explored God’s activity on behalf of a hurting world and nations in tumult– Intervention for you and for me when our status as sinners required nothing short of a miracle.
God’s Christmas list explored what might be on God’s Christmas list, learning what He wants from us. It began December 1, 2019.
Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
The 2016 season devotionals were called “Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times. Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence. His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology. They began November 29, 2015.
Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols. You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives. They began November 30, 2014.
The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John. It began December 1, 2013.
The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story. It began December 1, 2012.