“Society’s Dictates”

John 4: 27: “And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He had been speaking with a woman; yet no one said, “What do you seek?’ or ‘Why do you speak with her?’” Not only did Jews not have dealings with Samaritans (v. 9), but men and women were not allowed to converse in public. So said society. However, this type of sexism is not found in the Law or prophets, and Jesus preferred to follow His Father’s commandment to love His neighbor as Himself, with no gender restrictions included. The end result? “Many of the Samaritans believed.” (v. 39)