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4 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, “Jesus is making and baptizing more disciples than John” 2 (although it was not Jesus himself but his disciples who baptized), 3 he left Judea and started back to Galilee. 4 But he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

 

Today’s devotional reading is the introduction to tomorrow’s dive into this entire interaction between Jesus and this Samaritan woman. So today is just some background on the relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans. Throughout the Bible, there are divisions amongst the Jews and Samaritan people. Due to religious and ethnic differences, Jews would avoid and often refuse to interact with Samaritans. So, what was so offensive that would lead to these people living in close proximity to be so averse to each other?

 

First, Samaritans were seen as offensive because they would marry foreigners. Second, they had had different views of where God was to be worshipped. For the Jews, the temple in Jerusalem was the place of worship to God while the Samaritans worshipped God on Mount Gerizim. Yes, not different God’s but the same God. It was simply a matter of location that was deemed right. Third, Samaritans had their own Torah which only included the Pentateuch or first five books of our Bible.

 

We even read that the land was once owned by Jabob himself! Time and different interpretations of the same stories of God led them to be antagonistic to the point Jews would take the long way around to avoid Samaritan lands. Yet, Jesus intentionally walks these lands, interacts with them, and even uses them in parables. And in each case, people are brought to a realization of God’s power and desire for his people to be together.

 

God, open our hearts and minds so that we can be one people under Your reign. Amen

 

Chad Ryberg

Cryberg@livinglord.org

 

Prayer Concern: That our teachers understand their value in our society.