Jesus: Equal Pay For Equal Work

27th in a series of how men and women in the Bible deal with disappointment, waiting and unemployment.      

                                       







 Jesus: Equal Pay for Equal Work    

                                                 Observations from John 4:1-42

On June 10, 1963 President John F. Kennedy’s Equal Pay Act was signed into law with the express purpose of ensuring that women got paid equally for equal work.  And yet today we continue to argue over what that means.  Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway are near the top in the world when it comes to gender equality in the working world.  This is demonstrated by equal pay and equal maternity leave.  

In our present day culture sexual differences are being distorted.  On the one hand modern science is ignoring biology and on the other, an attempt is being made at achieving a neuter sex. But wonderful and beautiful differences exist that make this world not only livable but interesting and vibrant.  The Bible says in Genesis 1:27, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”  In other words, communities are not complete without a mix of male and female.  Where each sex is able to express their distinctives in the ways our Creator intended.

An accurate reading of Scripture will reveal a God who we know as a loving father and primarily men who have received His revelation.  And yet there are differences in the way a biblical follower of Christ acts, based on the knowledge of how we are made and most importantly through the example of Jesus Christ.  In the story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well, a cultural shake-up occurred that a cursory reading of the passage does not reveal.  

We are first amazed that Jesus and his disciples went through Samaria at all.  Jews, in that day, would walk ten to fifteen miles out of their way in order to avoid these 'half-breed' people.  The Samaritans had Jewish heritage but it had been mixed hundreds of years before and those who thought they were pure-bred Jews(although there’s no such thing - see the genealogy in Matthew 1) despised them.  Secondly, Jesus approaches the well in the heat of the day when most women would not have been there.  Only the Samaritan woman, a woman of some ill-repute, came when she would not have to endure the ridicule of the other villagers.  

Jesus then made another faux pas by actually speaking to her.  Any Jewish man of standing and especially a Rabbi would not only not speak to woman in public but certainly not to a Samaritan one.  What was he thinking?   It’s as if Jesus’ entrance into our universe offered a corrective to our distorted mindsets.  The conversation between the two of them quickly dove deep  into the essential meaning of life.  What a gift!  To be able to cut through the small talk and speak about the things that really matter.

They go back and forth discussing physical water and spiritual water.  Jesus corrected her thinking about the Messiah and his origin.  Again, Jesus tactfully and effectively heard her objections and took the conversation exactly where it should have gone….to the state of her soul.  This was revealed when he was able to see into the woman’s checkered past and expose her empty way of life…. “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband.”

The woman had a choice at this moment: 1) Run away in a huff at this stranger’s impudence, 2) Loudly declare her innocence….in the movies this is where the woman usually slaps the man across the face or 3) Humbly accept his loving judgment and find out what’s behind his line of questioning.  It seemed that she went with #3 and wanted to know more about Jesus.  

Beginning at verse 21 Jesus exposed the weaknesses in human religion.  Jews do it one way, Samaritans another.  But the point is, God is above all that.  Verse 24, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”  He didn't say men worshipers but all people.  In other words, the whole point of this conversation is that God has revealed from the beginning of time, through Scripture, and now through Jesus, that he wants to bring men and women into a relationship with him.  The path for both is equal.  Each of us needs to submit to our Creator, drink the living water, repent of our past behavior and allow him to transform our lives.  We are all equal in our need.

This is Jesus’ way.  Yes, he chose twelve men to be his disciples but he employed many women to be evangelists as well.  This Samaritan woman being one of the first.  For she went back to her village and said, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him.”  

Was it a risk for Jesus to talk with her?  Absolutely!  The Scriptures say,  “Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?””  I wonder why Peter was silent at this point.  That’s not like him.  And Judas, he was quite opinionated as well.  Maybe they were so stunned as to be speechless.  

The result of this encounter is undeniable.  Verse 42, "They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”  It’s clear that much good came from the risk that Jesus took.  Could this story have implications for us in our interactions with other people?

Application:

1. Are you willing to examine yourself to see what wrong cultural practices and prejudices you continue to carry?
2. With the world’s attempt to bring equality how does Jesus’ approach differ and why is it successful?
3. What difference would it make in the workplace if we knew that we were treated equally?
4. What will you do today to communicate your understanding of equality in your interaction with people?
5. Who do you need to apologize to for your unfair treatment?  This could go back years, but as the Psalmist declares many times, “Confession is good for the soul”.  i.e. we need to forgive and be forgiven in order to understand and receive the forgiveness that God offers us.