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OME Christians are good at compassion but weak when it comes to confrontation. Sadly, there are others who don't mind confronting anybody and everybody about anything and everything, but they lack compassion. Jesus was a master at both, and He used them well together.
The bulk of this chapter deals with the well-known story of the woman at the well. She was a Samaritan; an outcast in the eyes of the Jews. As an adulterous woman (having had multiple husbands and living with a man who was not her husband), she was an outcast even in her own town. But the day she met Jesus was a good day for her. Jesus did not reject her. From the moment He met her, He went against the cultural norms that she would have anticipated. As a Jew, His very presence in Samaria was unusual. And, she was especially surprised that He was willing to speak to her (John 4:9). Beyond that, His conversation was not just cursory and cordial; He carried on a meaningful and personal dialogue with her about the most significant of spiritual truths. This was truly a show of unfamiliar respect for her. His kindness was perfectly balanced though. He didn't compromise the truth in order to keep the conversation going. He mixed His sincere compassion for her with a proper measure of confrontation. He confronted her with her moral failures, but offered her acceptance, hope and healing.
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