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.)
The woman is astonished that someone of the race which she believes despises her own should ask a favor of her. The dealings of the Jews with the Samaritans were somewhat restricted to commerce. The Jews hated the Samaritans because of their religious and racial differences, perhaps all the more so since they were half-breeds of the Jews. Thus, to ask any kind of favor of a Samaritan would have been unthinkable for most Jews. At the same time, she obviously could not resist jeeringly bantering a Jew who was so desperate as to make such a request of her.
But it was not just the racial barriers that Jesus was overcoming. She was a woman and He was a rabbi and rabbis were forbidden to speak to any woman, even their own daughter or wife, in public. In fact, some Pharisees were called the “bruised and bleeding Pharisees” because they would shut their eyes whenever they even saw a woman in public, which caused them to run into walls and buildings. His own reputation is of no consequence to Jesus when it comes to meeting the needs of any individual.
To make matters even worse, this woman had a bad reputation and no decent man, let alone a rabbi, would even be seen in her company, let alone talking with her, and yet Jesus asks a favor of her and then engages her in a conversation.
The situation, however, is even more amazing. If the woman only knew, she could ask the real question here: “How can You, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Living Word, the Creator of all things, ask me, a miserable human being, for a drink — something You could easily create out of nothing? How could You (and why would You) lower Yourself to this extreme?” We all know the answer — He did it for love.