Jews and Samaritans: The Wall Jesus Crossed

A Long Quarrel

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When Jesus asked a Samaritan woman for a drink, she was shocked. “For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans” (John 4:9). The reason goes back hundreds of years.

One family. Long ago, all of Israel was one nation, the family of Jacob. Jacob's well at Sychar, and the field he gave to his son Joseph, were part of that family's story (John 4:5-6).

Joseph's resting place. When Israel came out of Egypt, they carried Joseph's bones with them. “They buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought” (Joshua 24:32). Shechem was close to Sychar.

A kingdom split. After King Solomon died, the nation split in two. The northern kingdom was called Israel, and later its capital was the city of Samaria. The southern kingdom was called Judah, and its capital was Jerusalem.

Turning from God. The northern kingdom worshiped idols again and again. God sent prophets like Elijah to warn them, but they would not listen.

Taken away. About seven hundred years before Jesus was born, the army of Assyria conquered the northern kingdom and carried many people away (2 Kings 17). Then the king of Assyria brought people from other nations to live in the land.

Mixed-up worship. These newcomers learned a little about the Lord, but they kept serving their own gods too (2 Kings 17:33). Over time they married into the families left in the land. Their great-grandchildren became the Samaritans.

Their own mountain. The Samaritans set up their own place of worship on Mount Gerizim, near Sychar. That is why the woman said, “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain” (John 4:20).

Only five books. The Samaritans kept only the first five books of the Bible, the books of Moses. They did not accept the prophets or the psalms.

Hard feelings. When the Jews came home from Babylon to rebuild the temple, the people of the land tried to stop them (Ezra 4). Years later, a Jewish army destroyed the Samaritan temple. Each side remembered what the other had done.

Enemies. By the time of Jesus, many Jews and Samaritans would not eat together, share a cup or even speak. Some of Jesus' enemies used the word Samaritan as an insult (John 8:48).

Even the disciples. Once a Samaritan village would not welcome Jesus. James and John wanted to call fire down from heaven on it, but Jesus turned and rebuked them (Luke 9:52-56).

What we learn. The wall between Jews and Samaritans was very old and very tall. People had hurt each other for hundreds of years. That is the wall Jesus walked right through when He sat down at Jacob's well.

What to do. Think about the walls between people at your school or in your neighborhood. Ask Jesus to show you one person on the other side of a wall, and be kind to that person this week.

Behind the words “For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans” (John 4:9) lie about seven hundred years of history.

The divided kingdom. After Solomon died, ten tribes broke away and formed the northern kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 12). King Omri later built the city of Samaria as its capital, and the name came to stand for the whole region (1 Kings 16:24).

The fall of Samaria. In 722 BC Assyria captured Samaria and carried much of the population away. 2 Kings 17 explains why: Israel had sinned against the Lord and served idols, though God warned them again and again. Assyria then settled the land with people from Babylon, Cuthah and other cities.

A blended religion. The newcomers feared the Lord, yet they also served their own gods (2 Kings 17:33). This mixing of true and false worship is what the Jews later held against the Samaritans.

Opposition. When the exiles returned from Babylon, the people of the land offered to help build the temple. When Zerubbabel refused, they worked to stop the building (Ezra 4:1-5). In time the Samaritans built a rival temple on Mount Gerizim.

The Samaritan Bible. Samaritans accepted only the five books of Moses. They looked for a coming Prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15). That hope stands behind the woman's words: “I know that Messiah is coming… He will tell us all things” (John 4:25).

Gerizim destroyed. More than a hundred years before Jesus, the Jewish ruler John Hyrcanus destroyed the temple on Gerizim. The Samaritans kept worshiping on the mountain anyway, so the woman could point and say “this mountain” (John 4:20).

No sharing. The Greek word for dealings in 4:9 is synchraomai (say: soon-khrah-OH-my), to use together. Many Jews would not even share a cup with a Samaritan. That is why the woman was stunned when Jesus asked to drink from her jar.

The insult. When some leaders wanted to insult Jesus, they called Him a Samaritan who had a demon (John 8:48). The name itself had become a curse.

The same attitude. When a Samaritan village turned Jesus away, James and John asked to call down fire from heaven. Jesus rebuked them (Luke 9:52-56). The old hatred lived in the disciples' hearts too.

Truth without hatred. Jesus never pretended the Samaritans were right about everything: “You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22). But the truth did not make Him unkind. He told her the truth while He offered her living water.

Application. Every culture has its Samaritans, people we have been taught to look down on. Following Jesus means telling the truth and showing love to the very people our group avoids.

Jesus Came for Everyone

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Jews and Samaritans had been enemies for hundreds of years. Then Jesus came, and He treated Samaritans in a way nobody expected.

He went to them. “But He needed to go through Samaria” (John 4:4). Jesus did not wait for Samaritans to come to Him. He went to their town.

He asked for help. Jesus said to a Samaritan woman, “Give Me a drink” (John 4:7). By asking her for water, He showed that He did not think He was better than her.

He stayed with them. The Samaritans “urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days” (John 4:40). Jesus ate, slept and taught in a Samaritan town.

A story with a surprise. A lawyer asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29). Jesus told about a man beaten by robbers on the road. A priest and a Levite passed by on the other side.

The hero. “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion” (Luke 10:33). The hero of Jesus' story was the person the lawyer least expected.

Go and do likewise. Jesus told the lawyer, “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37). Love your neighbor, even when your neighbor comes from a group you were taught to dislike.

The one who said thank you. Jesus healed ten men who had leprosy. Only one came back. He “fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan” (Luke 17:16).

The plan for the church. Before Jesus went back to heaven, He said, “You shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Samaria rejoices. A few years later, Philip preached about Jesus in Samaria. Many people believed and were baptized, and there was great joy in that city (Acts 8:5-12).

Brought near. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). Jesus' cross brings people from every group into one family.

One family. “You are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).

Every nation. In heaven, John saw “a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne” (Revelation 7:9).

What we learn. Jesus came for everyone: Jews and Samaritans, men and women, people from every country. Nobody is too far away for Him.

What to do. This week, pray for a person or a group that is very different from you. Then look for a way to show them Jesus' love.

Jesus did more than put up with Samaritans. He went out of His way to reach them and even held them up as examples.

John 4:40-42. Jesus stayed two days in a Samaritan town, eating their food and sleeping under their roofs. The townspeople concluded, “This is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.” A title bigger than any one nation came from people many Jews despised.

Luke 10:25-37. The lawyer asked, “And who is my neighbor?” He wanted to limit whom he had to love. Jesus answered with a story in which a priest and a Levite, the religious insiders, passed by, while a Samaritan stopped. Then Jesus turned the question around: “So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”

Compassion. The Samaritan “had compassion,” bandaged the wounds and paid for the man's care. Many Christians also see in the story a picture of Jesus, who came to us when we were helpless and paid for our healing.

Luke 17:11-19. Ten men with leprosy were healed, but only one returned to give thanks, “and he was a Samaritan.” Jesus called him a foreigner and told him his faith had made him well (Luke 17:18-19).

Acts 1:8. The risen Jesus named Samaria in His plan: “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Samaria was the first step beyond the Jewish homeland.

Acts 8. Philip preached Christ in Samaria, and many believed and were baptized. Peter and John came down and prayed for them, and the Samaritan believers received the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-17). The same John who once wanted fire to fall on a Samaritan village now prayed for Samaritans to receive the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:12-19. Paul says Gentiles were once “without Christ… having no hope and without God in the world,” but are now “brought near by the blood of Christ.” Jesus' death broke down the wall between peoples (Ephesians 2:14) and made one family, “members of the household of God.”

No partiality. At the house of Cornelius, a Roman officer, Peter learned the same truth: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34). Then Peter preached Jesus, and Cornelius and his household believed and received the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:43-44).

Revelation 7:9. History ends with “a great multitude… of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues” before the Lamb. The Samaritan town that welcomed Jesus is a small preview of that crowd.

Application. Prejudice is a sin the gospel heals. When you meet someone your friends look down on, remember that Jesus sat at a Samaritan's well, and treat that person as someone Jesus died for.

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