From the Bible Study on Women of the Bible "I Will"

There is something about this woman that intrigued me from the first time I gave her much thought. She was being portraying in a Christmas cantata in Waxahachie, Texas. It was the way the actors portrayed Jesus and this woman that grabbed my heart with the emotion of the moment. There she was stretching and reaching to touch Jesus singing this song, "there was no where else to go...no where else to turn...and you quietly turn to me.." The song sends shivers down my memory as I see Jesus turning to the woman searching for her eyes and freeze frames in still life. That picture is archived in my mental film library on the highlight reel! Why I wonder? Of all the amazing graphic things I have seen, what is it about that scene in that Christmas Cantata that compels me to think about this woman? I think it can be summed up with one rhetorical question, "Have you ever been rejected?"

This woman so very rejected by medical "experts", by religious people, she was even dismissed as one of the crowd by the disciples- a subtle rejection. Ever felt rejected?

We will be looking at three woman who would never have been in the "in crowd" in high school or anywhere else for that matter. We will look at three nameless women- The Woman with an Issue of Blood. The Woman at the Well. The Woman Caught in Adultery. See how the savior takes these rejected women with many real issues that got them rejected in the first place and see how Jesus sets them free to love and serve Him.

The Woman with an Issue of Blood

Let's see what the WORD of God has to say about this woman.

Why would this woman have been rejected by people in Jesus' time?

What social barriers do you think Jesus crossed by touching this woman?

What might have prevented Jesus from touching this sick woman? Read Leviticus 15:19-30:

We think we are inconvenienced by our "Mr. Monthly Visitor"...Imagine what it was like for the average Jewish woman!? This woman was beyond the usual menstrual cycle-she was ill. She could have had what some many women suffer with today- endometriosis. We don't know-but there was no cure for her.

Medicine in the time of Jesus is described in The New Manners and Customs of Bible Times (Ralph Gower, 1987, The Moody Bible Institute, p. 172-173), in this way:

"The time of Jesus three was therefore an uncertain attitude toward medicine. There are indications that disease was a major problem. (Mark 1:32-34) They believed that sin was connected to disease and they were not certain about doctors, the phrase, 'physician heal thyself', (Luke 4:23) was a common attitude toward doctors. But for al that, every town was required to have at least one. Therefore the woman with the issue of blood was able to consult a number of them. There was always a Temple Doctor for the priests. It is obvious from the text that Mark did not think much of Doctors." Mark 5:26.

The Talmud ( the commentary that the scribes and Pharisees referred to for everyday life issues) preserves a record of medicines and treatments for all sorts of ailments including this one. At the very least, this woman was ceremonially unclean and for a rabbi or any Jewish man to touch her would have broken the Talmud (not the Scripture) and the social norms of the day.

What does Jesus call her? See Luke 8:48

This is the only time Jesus uses this term of endearment.

Luke would have had a different attitude toward this woman's treatment by the doctors. Compare Luke 8:43 with Mark 5:26. Why do you think Luke had a different attitude toward the healers who tried to help this woman? Give you a hint. Read Col 4:14:

Luke was a Greek trained physician that the apostle Paul traveled with and thought very highly of. He would have been sworn to serve using the Hippocratic Oath- first do no harm. Therefore, not treating a woman correctly or harming her for monetary gain would not have been an option for him. Luke was certainly aware of phony "snake oil" salesman who likely had drained her of her income forcing her to be destitute and desperate for Jesus' healing touch.

This woman was brought low by her condition and was broken in need of a savior. I believe many people do not come to Christ even after they are saved from their sin because they do not think they need Him . If you are one of God's hand picked servants- He will bring you low enough so you will be able to humbly reach up and trust Jesus. Are you there? Can you hear him calling you, "Daughter"?

The Woman at the Well

Now here is a woman with issues. Read John 4:1-42.
What are her issues?

What social barriers did Jesus cross by interacting with the Woman at the Well:

Samritans were at the very least disliked by the Jews. The Samaritans were half breeds of the nation of Israel. When the nation divided into the Northern and Southern Kingdom after the death of King Solomon, there was a spiritual dividing line. There was not a Temple on every corner. There was one. All the sacrifices and religious activities had to happen there in Jerusalem in Solomon's Temple. With a nation divided-Samaria became the NEW JERUSALEM. They set up their own temple with their own rules and their own priests. Another form of idolatry. The Israelites married the people of the region in Samaria-thus the Samaritans were the in bred backward best forgotten cousins of the Jewish family.

Now read this information into the discussion between Jesus and the woman. What new insights do you have as you read. Do you better understand the interchange in John 4:19-26? Notice how she changed the subject from her sin to religion? Why do you think she did this?

How can you prove that this conversation was controversial in their time according to John 4: 9, 27-30:

What does Jesus call himself? John 4:10 and John 4:25-26:

What names does the woman call Jesus? John 4:19; 29

How did the woman's encounter with Jesus impact her life and the life of her whole town? (John 4:28-30, 39-41)?

How does Jesus want his followers to view even their casual, or chance, contacts with people (John 4:34-36)?

What is living water? What did Jesus mean by "living water" in John 4:10? The Old Testament is full of verses that tell us to be thirst for God . Living Water is the only way to quench that thirst. Look up these verses and ask God to make you thirst for HIM so that you run to him to fill your cup each day. If you stay full of the Living Water- when you cup is jarred by life- it is only the LIVING WATER that spills out. In addition, a half empty cup causes us to run like beggars to other people and things to fill us up. When we run to others to fill the cup only meant for LIVING WATER, we wear our friends and family out!

Look up these OT references to LIVING WATER. Write them below and keep them in your heart this week by reading them each morning before you start your day:

Psalm 36:8-9

Psalm 42:1-2

Isaiah 55:1

Jeremiah 2:13

Jeremiah 17:13

This Woman at the Well, dealt with her issues, not by seeing the local "shrink" or taking St. John's Wart for her social anxiety disorder. (Hear me when I say this, I am not saying you cannot take meds for depression or anxiety or go see a Counselor) I am saying that she dealt with her issues by trusting Jesus. Jesus is the one who sets us free from the bondages of our past. Sometimes in order to use modern medicine effectively through counseling or medication, we need spiritual freedom. I am not talking about salvation-though that is the first step to freedom. I am talking about saved people who are in prisons of their own making. You need freedom. Galatians 5:1 says, "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery."

What happened as a result of her "freedom"?

Think of the people you will be able to witness to , minister to and share God's amazing freedom if you will humbly go to him and ask him where you have been enslaved and from what you need freedom from? Ask Him now:

The Woman Caught in Adultery

You know what I always think about when I read this story? Where was the man and why wasn't he part of this stoning party? He was probably in the crowd with a rock in his hand- what a jerk! This woman never denied that she had great sin in her life- she allowed Jesus to forgive her and walked free.

John 8:1-11
Read this passage and while you do- notice how he focuses on the Pharisees and not the woman.

Where did they bring the woman to be stoned? What was the location?

What happens just before this scene John 8:1-2? What happens just after the scene John 8:12-20?

What was the motivation of the Pharisees and the Scribes to stone this woman? Was it for pure holy and righteous motives? John 8:6

When hounded to make a statement about the woman, what did Jesus say to the Pharisees and the crowd? (John 8:6-8)

Why were the Pharisee so sure they could cause Jesus to incriminate himself by presenting the woman to him caught in adultery?

Why do you think the older men walked away sooner than the younger ones? John 8:9

What do you think Jesus was writing in the ground? Just your speculation- John 8:6-8

This woman was in a terribly public and embarrassing situation. She did not deny her sin- but Jesus let her go free- to sin no more. Was her sin any worse than those who gossiped about her?

Read the list in Romans 1:28-32 do you see any numbers putting them in order of sinfulness? What sins do you have difficulty dealing with in other people? Are you willing to drop your rock? Are you willing to give them the grace to walk away to sin NO MORE?

Each of these women, The Woman with an Issue of Blood, The Woman at the Well and the Woman who was caught in Adultery, all had "issues" and those issues defined them- until Jesus gave them a new identity.

Who do you think you are? The answer to that question is the key to living in freedom and grown in Christ. Most believers do not know what the Father says about them. I f we knew and believed all that God says about us-it would change everything. We would start living up to who we are- who God says we are. We behave the way we believe.

Read what God says about you:

How do you feel about yourself now?

I Will

Ephesians 5:8 instructs how to walk in harmony with our new nature in Christ Jesus. We are not trying to improve on our nature; we are not to act or pretend to be who we are- you cannot become a Christian by acting like one. We don't get it!! We think that we have the old and the new nature inside fighting against each other. WRONG! You have a new nature...your a new creation. WE don't know who we are because we do not understand this very important fact about our true identity- we don't understand the amazing transformation that occurred when we walked from darkness into light. We think we are sinner and still walking in darkness. WE ARE NO LONGER SINNERS...we are SAINTS who sometimes sin. SAY "I AM A SAINT...who sometimes sins." Don't take my word for it...read it for yourself:

COPY EPHESIANS 5:8 below:

Notice that Eph. 5:8 does not say that you were once in the darkness, it says that you WERE DARKNESS-not just IN THE DARKNESS. It says that you are LIGHT IN THE LORD> YOU ARE LIGHT NOT DARKNESS.

NOW ACT LIKE IT!!! Preachers who tell us over and over that we are just sinners saved by grace. GUESS WHAT WE ACT LIKE IF WE ARE TOLD WE ARE A SINNER-that's right- you will act like a sinner and never attempt anything higher and purer. TRUE...we WERE sinners SAVED by AMAZING GRACE but that is who we were-we are now partakers of the Divine nature-we are holy even as Christ is holy-we have been made righteous by the blood of Jesus. You are righteous and holy-what are you going to do about? How about living it??? Walk in it??

What do you need to say I WILL TO? Deal with it this week