John 4:1-26
Jesus and the Samaritan Woman
1 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
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.)
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
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. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
Matthew 15:21-28
Faith of a Canaanite Woman
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession."
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us."
24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."
25 The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said.
26 He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."
27 "Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."
28 Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
I do not think that Jesus has any biases or prejudices...He seems throughout the gospel to overlook ethnicity, skin color, how famous one is, where one came from, how poor you were, the size of your house, or even if you had a house at all (He did not have one), or the size of your bank account...Man is different, I think, from Jesus in this respect...We all seem to have biases from what we have learned and what has happened in our past experiences...Biases affect how we think and feel and what we do...Our biases affect our friendships and who we are with...Our biases affect our faith, and also who and what we believe in...Jesus is not biased like we are...
It maybe that our biases turn us away from those that do not have our own particular viewpoint...So we may have lost some friends because we do and cannot see another person's point of view...Man seems to have a natural slant for others to want what they want, and for others to see things through our own eyes, and for others to believe what we believe in...We seem to want to be around people who believe what we believe...
Jesus seemed to have His biases completely in check...He is comfortable around everyone and anyone...Jesus knew the Truth about all things and how we are to treat others and all our neighbors...He really did not turn away from others with a different view...He did not turn away from people who did not believe what He believed in...He spoke the Truth to them, and i would think, He wanted them to know God and who God is...
He talks about the Samaritans in a positive way...He talks to women and women supported Him...And this was unusual in His lifetime on earth for a Rabbi to teach women...Jesus has a long conversation with a Samaritan woman about the Messiah that was to come to earth, and He talked and helped a Canaanite woman and her daughter...But both the Samaritan and the Canaanites were not in the best of graces with the Jewish people...And women did not hold any power or social status to the male dominated world of the near east...In fact, they were not to be taught many things...
So as we read the gospels, we see that Jesus held women, Samaritans, and the Canaanite people in a positive esteem...Jesus showed an empathy toward all people...And He was One who completely believed in God, so He came from a Male, Jewish, and a Man of God to get His world view and beliefs and His faith...His viewpoint came for God...His belief in God had Him helping everyone...His belief in God overcame any biases...And we see this as He taught and talked about forgiveness, Truth, love, mercy and grace...