The Samaritans-



The Samaritans-

Who were they?

In the New Testament the Samaritans were considered inhabitants of the district of Samaria. They descended from the exchange of population effected by the Assyrians after their conquest of the Northern Kingdom in 722 B.C.

It is impossible to write an accurate history of the Samaritans because their records are so scarce, and their references are sometimes contradictory. The name Samaritans appears only once in the Old Testament, in II Kings 17:29 where it is used for those colonist newcomers, planted by the Assyrians, who persisted in their pagan ways. However, the majority of the population consisted of Israelites who had not been deported and who continued in their Israelite faith. The beliefs brought by the newcomers did not survive and, from a Jewish standpoint, no paganism is found in later Samaritan theology.

The mixed population of Samaria was not accepted as Jewish by the Jews of the south. When the Jews returned from the Babylonian Exile and began to rebuild the Temple, the Samaritans offered to help but were rejected, and then they proceeded to prevent or delay the project (Ezra 4:1-6).

Samaritans were forbidden to offer sacrifices at the Jerusalem Temple or to intermarry with Jews, while the Samaritans built their own temple on Mount Gerazim, near Shechem. Their Bible consisted of the Pentateuch alone; the text featured minor deviations from the accepted Hebrew text and also contained an additional verse specifically mentioning Mount Gerazim as the site of the temple.

The continuing hostility between Jews and Samaritans is clearly seen in the New Testament. One of the worst insults that hostile Jews could offer to Jesus was to call him a Samaritan (John 8:48). When Jesus was refused hospitality by a Samaritan village because he had set His face to go to Jerusalem, his disciples were angered, and then Jesus rebuked them (Luke 9:51-56).

The story of Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well in John chapter 4 also shows up the division between Jews and Samaritans and the disciples are amazed that Jesus was talking to a woman of Samaria (John 4:27). The parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:33-37) also reveals this division between the Jews and the Samaritans because in their minds it would be impossible for a Samaritan to act charitably.

Overall the New Testament speaks favorably about the Samaritans, they received Jesus’ ministry and were among the first to accept the gospel.

The Samaritans were a racially mixed society and the Jews considered their religion a pagan system (Ezra 4:2). Their blood would become more and more mixed with Jewish blood by the intermarriage with surrounding Israelites, who saw many similarities and familiar worship that had been in former times. By the time of Christ, the Samaritans were severely despised by the Jews and to be called a "Samaritan" was to be numbered with the tax collectors and sinners.

As mentioned the Samaritans were large in number and posed a threat to the order that Pontius Pilate was seeking to establish. Although they were misled in their assumption regarding the place of worship and the Hebrew Scriptures in their complete form, they were seekers according to the New Testament. They also received Jesus after the testimony of the Samaritan woman at the well.

Nevertheless the New Testament reveals that they were heavily looked down upon by the Jews and scorned. This makes them very important in the New Testament because Jesus taught that the common attitude toward the Samaritans had to change, and not only the Samaritans but that of the whole gentile world.

Jesus passed through Samaritan towns instead of crossing the Jordan to avoid them. When he spoke with the Samaritan woman, contrary to Jewish custom, he said a time would come when worshiping in Jerusalem or on Mount Gerazim would not be important but they that desire to worship God would worship in the spirit. When Jesus was asked whom to regard as a neighbor, Jesus told them the story of the Good Samaritan precisely because Samaritans were despised.

The apostles understood that within the Church Samaritans must be not be despised and should be accepted as equal to Jews. Peter and John conducted a special mission to Samaria to confirm Samaritans who had already been baptized by Philip (Acts 8:14-17). The salvation of the Samaritans was a central point between the preaching of the gospel to the Jews (Acts 2) and the preaching of the gospel to full-blooded Gentiles (Acts 10).

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