Acts 7:54-8:3
The persecution the followers of Jesus faced was why the Gospel spread beyond Jerusalem! While it is never God’s will that anyone commits a sin, the sin of murder that the Sanhedrin committed against Stephen began the spread of the Gospel into Samaria. Of course, we remember Jesus’ last documented words from Acts 1:8, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The apostles and new disciples had made a massive impact in Jerusalem and Judea, leading thousands into faith and a personal relationship with Jesus. They had faced opposition from Jewish leaders, but regular citizens were receptive to what they were saying. Or, at least, they weren’t against them. The favor the ordinary citizenry had for them continued. But, with the false accusations against, and the stoning of Stephen, that was changing.
Philip, who, along with Stephen, had been chosen to help with the administration tasks of the believers, went to Samaria.
Samaria was north of Jerusalem and south of Galilee, and we know that Jesus and His followers made several trips through Samaria. We know about the good Samaritan, and the woman Jesus met at the well was a Samaritan. We know that the Jews and the Samaritans didn’t get along. But why didn’t they get along?
Samaritans and Jews had a lot in common. They both believed that they, as descendants of Abraham, were God’s chosen people. As such, they both worshiped the one true God. They both acknowledged Moses as the prophet who received God’s law. But the similarities were not enough for the two peoples to forget centuries of differences and animosity.
The fourth chapter of Ezra tells us that after the Babylonian exile, the Samaritans were anxious to help rebuild the temple, but the Jews rejected their help. This rejection caused a complete split between the two. After this, the Samaritans did everything they could to slow the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple. When the daughter of the governor of Samaria married the grandson of the high priest, Nehemiah made them leave Jerusalem. The governor, who worshiped Yahweh, built a temple on Mount Gerizim, which became the place where Samaritans worshiped.
The animosity between the two peoples was enormous and seemingly, insurmountable. This is why the parable of the Good Samaritan and Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well was so radical and why the Jewish leaders condemned them.
But the third place that Jesus said to take the Gospel was Samaria, and Philip, a Hellenistic Jew, went. While his Hellenistic upbringing made Philip more open to other cultures, he was still a Jew who would have realized that he was going to a place where Jews were not accepted. But he went because Jesus said to go.
Who are the Samaritans in your life?
Everyone who is welcome at Christ's table should be welcome at our own.