1, 2. (a) Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman by the well prompted what concern, and why? (See also footnote.) (b) By preaching to the Samaritan woman, what did Jesus demonstrate?

AT THE old well near the city of Sychar one noontime toward the end of 30 C.E., Jesus revealed how he felt that women should be treated. He had spent the morning trekking through the hilly country of Samaria and arrived at the well tired, hungry, and thirsty. As he sat beside the well, a Samaritan woman approached to draw some water. “Give me a drink,” Jesus said to her. The woman must have stared at him in amazement. She asked: “How is it that you, despite being a Jew, ask me for a drink, when I am a Samaritan woman?” Later, when his disciples returned from buying foodstuffs, they were taken aback, wondering why Jesus was “speaking with a woman.”​—John 4:4-9, 27.

² What prompted this woman’s question and the disciples’ concern? She was a Samaritan, and Jews had no dealings with Samaritans. (John 8:48) But evidently there was also another reason for concern. At that time, rabbinic tradition discouraged men from talking to women in public.a Yet, Jesus openly preached to this sincere woman, even revealing to her that he was the Messiah. (John 4:25, 26) Jesus thereby showed that he would not be bound by unscriptural traditions, including those that degraded women. (Mark 7:9-13) On the contrary, by what he did and by what he taught, Jesus demonstrated that women should be treated with honor and respect.