The context

Following Stephen’s death, a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, causing everyone except the apostles to be scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. The situation that Jesus spoke of in the “Parable of the Sower” had arrived. The evangelist Philip crosses two ethnic boundaries. (1) The significant boundary was with the Samaritans. (2) The smaller boundary was with the Ethiopian convert. “Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming the Christ to them.” Philip’s initiation of evangelism to the Samaritans was groundbreaking. Let’s review the hostile relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans here.

The history of hostility

(1) During the Assyrian captivity, some inhabitants of the northern kingdom (Jews) were allowed to remain in the Promised Land. The Assyrians settled people from other nations in the towns of Samaria, leading to intermarriage between Jews and Gentiles, resulting in the emergence of the Samaritans. The explanation in 2 Kings 17:25-29 is interesting. (a) The people from other nations began to worship idols in that land. (b) The Lord sent lions to punish them. (c) They sought help from the king of Assyria, who then sent a Jewish priest from captivity to Bethel to teach them how to worship the Lord. (d) Despite this, the people continued to worship their own gods. (2) The Samaritans mixed the worship of Yahweh with idol worship, creating what is known as Samaritanism. The characteristics of Samaritanism are as follows: (a) Worship of the one true God. (b) Reverence for Moses (accepting only the Pentateuch). (c) Observance of the Sabbath and practice of circumcision. From the Jewish perspective, Samaritanism was considered heretical. As a result, the Jews ceased to associate with the Samaritans. (3) After the return from captivity, relations deteriorated further. (a) The Samaritans offered to help with the construction of the temple but were rejected. (b) They then used every means possible to obstruct the construction. (c) The Jews destroyed the temple on Mount Gerizim. (d) The Samaritans retaliated by bringing several corpses into the Jerusalem temple at night. (e) By the first century, relations between the two groups had reached their lowest point. Philip crossed this boundary. God does not show partiality towards anyone. Let us also walk in a way that reflects the love of our Heavenly Father.