In this pericope from John’s Gospel Jesus meets a Samaritan woman, the traditional enemy of the Jews and a social outcast, at the OT setting for a matrimonial encounter. This dialogue reveals the truth of Jesus’ identity as Messiah and leads to the Samaritans’ confession that Jesus is the Saviour of the world. After discussing the historical, canonical and theological background I will present an exegesis of the story, describing Jesus’ actions and finish by providing some of the ways John intended the passage to be used and how it may be applied by the reader today.
New Testament
Describe the Key Features of the Early Christian Mission According to Acts. In what ways, if any, does the nature of mission in Acts challenge normal missionary or evangelistic activity in the Western Church today?
Jesus thus commissioned his disciples to take the good news of all that he had done throughout the world. This mission was undertaken by the early church and its nature is recorded in Acts.
Describe the notion of a missional community as a site for engaging in outreach, ministry of presence and liberation today. Draw from Paul’s Epistles, the Pastoral Epistles and contemporary literature to describe Biblical and current strategic approaches to ministry.
The incarnation and ministry of Jesus is perhaps the ultimate example of missional community.
In the synoptic gospels Jesus speaks repeatedly of the ‘Kingdom of God’. What does he mean by this expression?
The writer of the Gospel of Mark introduces the ministry of Jesus by describing how “Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”[1] The phrase the ‘kingdom of God’ (which in Greek is hē […]
In what ways do Jesus and his followers affirm and/or redefine the symbols or cardinal tenets of Jewish faith during his ministry?
Jewish faith in the first-century was defined by belief in one god (monotheism), Yahweh, whose presence was in the Temple, which was surrounded by the Land that had been promised to Israel. The five symbols: monotheism, election, Land, Torah and Temple, were “a common and a unifying core for second Temple Judaism.”
