Samaritans – La Vista Church of Christ https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms Mon, 27 Oct 2025 22:05:51 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/cropped-LaVistaBanner-Copy-1-32x32.png Samaritans – La Vista Church of Christ https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms 32 32 157465916 The Samaritans and Jesus https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/the-samaritans-and-jesus/ Mon, 27 Oct 2025 22:05:51 +0000 https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/?p=91601

by Hugh DeLong

If you study the history of the Samaritans and the Jews, particularly noting the events leading up to the time of Jesus, you will see the great animosity between them. John simply adds an explanation to help clarify this animosity in John 4:9: "For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans." This story falls somewhere between two interesting scriptures. In Matthew 10, at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, he gives the disciples a limited commission and instructs them not to go into any Samaritan villages to preach. Then, in Luke 9:51-56, near the end of Jesus’ ministry, as he was going up to Jerusalem to worship, they went through Samaria and attempted to stay there. Whereupon, as contrasted here with the Samaritan woman and the village of Sychar, the Samaritans refuse these Jewish travelers.

Almost all other mentions of the Samaritans and Jesus are favorable. There are the stories of the good Samaritan (contrasted with the unloving Jewish leaders) in Luke 10, and the grateful Samaritan leper in Luke 17. With Jesus’ favorable comments and his traveling through Samaria on his journeys to and from Jerusalem, the Jewish leaders accuse him of being a Samaritan (John 8:48).

The disciples' relationship with Jesus changed with the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18ff: "Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations." Thus, we read in Acts 8:25: “So, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.” Peter would learn a similar lesson about the gospel and all nations in Acts 10, where after the events leading up to his meeting with Cornelius, he affirms: “Opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him” (Acts 10:34-35). The removal of this barrier between groups and even nationalities is mentioned several more times: Romans 2:10-11; Galatians 2:6; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 3:11, 25; James 2:4, 9; and I Peter 1:17.

In our being disciples of Jesus, let us follow His example and instructions in not making such distinctions in our personal living, but be willing to share the gospel with all of any nation. How are your prejudices?

]]> 91601 Wasn’t the conversion of the Samaritans proof that God wanted Gentiles saved? https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wasnt-the-conversion-of-the-samaritans-proof-that-god-wanted-gentiles-saved/ Sat, 18 Jan 2020 20:10:33 +0000 https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/?p=18583

Question:

Good day,

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Cornelius and his family was proof that the Gentiles were also accepted by God without the law or becoming a Jew, but Samaritans (Acts 8) were already being baptized into Christ before Acts 10. Was that not proof or were the Samaritans not looked at as Gentiles?
Thanks.

Answer:

The Samaritans were seen as half-Jews. When the Assyrians dragged the Jews off into captivity, some were left behind. People of other nations were brought in to populate the region (II Kings 17:24). When they struggled, the Assyrians sent Levites back to the area to teach the people how to worship the God of that land because they had a strong belief that various gods ruled various areas (II Kings 17:26-28; Ezra 4:2).

Thus, you had a group of people that had some Jewish blood in them. But because they were seen as corrupted Jews, the full-blooded Jews would have nothing to do with them (John 4:9). This resulted in the Samaritans establishing their own place of worship (John 4:19).

Therefore, while it was evident that Christianity was not limited to the Jews, there still needed to be a push to prove that Gentiles without any trace of Jewish blood could be accepted as Christians.

Response:

Thank you for the clarification.

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