Jesus Christ’s Transformative Encounter with the Samaritan Woman: An Exposition of a Revolutionary Mission
Keywords:
revolution, mission, feminist critics, transformative encounter, structural locations, oppressionAbstract
This article is about a case study on spiritual transformation. It is inspired by Chapter four of the Book of John in which Jesus Christ entered Samaria and encountered the Samaritan woman. He prophesied about her life, and anointed and appointed her as his first evangelist. Consequently, she courageously and radically initiated successful evangelism in a community deeply wounded by social divisions. This study shows that despite the criticism that anti-Bible feminists have launched against God, Jesus’ unprecedentedly progressive attitude toward women is a great example that all male leaders should emulate everywhere. The study is based on the analysis of the Bible, relevant Bible-inspired books and newspaper articles. Its main conclusion is that counter-productive divisions based on gender, class, race, culture and religion are ungodly. They produce social disadvantage that diminishes the worth and dignity of many people and separate them from God. Structural analysis, textual criticism and the author’s personal observations were used to analyze and interpret the text. Jesus’ spiritual transformation of the Samaritan woman and his deployment of her for high impact evangelism while they were so many male rabbis, points to the fact that carnally minded religious leaders are irrelevant to the Kingdom of God. They have no spiritual capacity to deliver God’s people from systemic oppression. The author offers useful lessons that Christian leaders can use to increase their relevance and effectiveness as change agents.
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