Written words do not have a tone of voice. The very personal nature of communication often relies upon cadence and tone as much as the words to convey meaning. The arrival of emails revealed just how poorly we interpret the written words of others without verbal and nonverbal cues. Things which when said in person would clearly be a joke often resulted in hurt feelings when put in emails. This same problem can occur when we read recorded conversations in Scripture.

When the Samaritan woman came to the well Jesus asked her if she would give him a drink. In normal situations the meaning of this request would have been clear. However any interaction between a Samaritan and a Jew was not normal. Samaritans and Jews had a history, and it was not a good history. When the Jewish nation was carried off into exile the Jews of Samaria remained behind and intermarried with the foreign conquerors. They established a new place of worship and when the Jewish people returned from exile the tensions between the two rose to the point of violence. Through the years, the violence cooled but the prejudice and hate grew. The Jewish people believed all Samaritans were unclean and the Samaritans believed all Jews were self-righteous, hateful and bigoted.

The Samaritan woman asked Jesus, “How can you asked me for a drink?” Was she questioning his audacity or was she questioning his Judaism? Was she hateful or was she inquisitive? Did she consider his request insulting or was it humanizing? Was she shocked or was she outraged? The written word does not reveal her emotional state, and we do not know her well enough to know, but we do know Jesus. His question was not presumptive, insulting, or contemptuous, and it was not hateful. Jesus saw her as a person not just a Samaritan. Jesus didn’t speak to her as she expected; Jesus spoke to her with respect and hope. Jesus demonstrates righteousness overcoming prejudice and hatred; his love shows us the way.