"How is that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? For the Jews have no dealings with Samaritans" (John 4:9).
When Israel’s last king, Hosea, transferred his allegiance to Egypt, Samaria (the capital of the northern kingdom) was taken captive in the year 722 B.C. Most of the people were driven from their country and carried away to Assyria and Medes (2 Kings 17:3–6). The very poor, however, were allowed to remain behind. Those left behind eventually intermarried with foreigners from Babylon who traveled in the region. These mixed people were called Samaritans.
Those who lived in the region of Samaria suffered from plague and famines. As time went by, the Samaritans began to attribute their suffering to God’s displeasure, so they begged their king to send them an Israelite priest who would teach them the law of the “god of the land.” The result was a mixed faith, comprising both Jewish and pagan traditions.
When the remnant of Jews who had been carried away to distant lands returned, they built an altar and laid the foundation of the temple. Jealous Samaritans disrupted this work because the Jews would not allow them to help with the building project (Ezra 3 and 4; Neh. 4:1–2). Because they had been rejected by the Jews, the Samaritans built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim, which was destroyed by enemies in 128 B.C. The worshippers, however, continued to offer their sacrifices on the summit of the hill where the temple had stood. In this way, they practiced various aspects of Jewish law. But they only accepted as authoritative the five books of Moses from the Old Testament.
There was much resentment between Jews and Samaritans. When Jesus went to Samaria, spoke with this woman at the well, and even asked to drink from a Samaritan vessel, He crossed racial and cultural boundaries that had not been breached for centuries.
This interaction reveals the grace of Christ’s ministry. He didn’t reserve His grace for the ostensibly orthodox. No, He ministered even to those who followed pagan rituals, who lived immoral lives, and who (in the eyes of the “religious”) did not deserve God’s love. But as Jesus told His disciples elsewhere, He did not come to save the righteous, but sinners. Thanks be to God!
Is there any group of people you have difficulty loving because of personal, cultural, racial, or religious heritage? Ask God to give you the grace to love your neighbor as Christ has loved you.
