“Spiritual Jews and Spiritual Samaritans”

Steve Corley

Given in Kingsport on Sabbath, August 26, 2023

Given in Knoxville on Sabbath, December 2, 2023

Given in Roanoke on Sabbath, December 30, 2023

In popular culture the word “Samaritan” is seldom heard without being preceded by the word “good.”  There is a tremendous amount we can learn if we look in detail at what the Bible tells us about Jews and Samaritans – not only the parable of the good Samaritan but also the conversation which Jesus had with the Samaritan woman at the well, and the descriptions in the Old Testament of the peoples believed to be largely the ancestors of the Samaritans.  In this sermon we are going to take a “deep dive” into what the Bible shows about the Samaritans – and what we can learn about what the world calls “Christianity” as well as by contrast how we should be living our lives.  We can title the sermon “Spiritual Jews and Spiritual Samaritans.”

The most famous section of the Bible in which a Samaritan is mentioned is of course, as we indicated, the parable of the good Samaritan.  But I will get to the parable last because it needs to be understood with the background of other Biblical passages referring to the Samaritans – most especially Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4.

Just who were the Samaritans?  The traditional view is that the Samaritans were descended from the Gentiles who were resettled in northern Israel by the Assyrians to replace the Israelites whom the Assyrians had deported (2 Kings 17:24-41).  Indeed, the Talmud – written about 350-500 AD – refers to the Samaritans as the “Kutim.”  Remember that one of the places from which the Assyrians brought settlers into northern Israel was called “Cuthah” (2 Kings 17:24) or “Cuth” (verse 30) – hence the name “Kutim.”  After Judah also fell and the Jews were deported to Babylon, groups of these foreign people moved southward from northern Israel into the territory of Judah.  They challenged the Jews who returned from Babylon and caused a number of problems for them in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah.  Note that some of them specifically identified themselves as descendants of the people brought to Israel by the Assyrians (Ezra 4:1-3, 9-10). These people claimed to be worshipers of the True God just as the Jews were and wanted to share in the rebuilding of the temple (verse 2).  When Zerubbabel said that they could not do so, apparently because of their blended religion, they opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem (verses 4-24) and most particularly the construction of the wall of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 4).  [Note that the antipathy between Samaritans and Jews continued into New Testament times also as shown by how a Samaritan village rejected Jesus and His disciples because they were headed to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51-53).]

Yet the Samaritan woman at the well said that she and the other Samaritans considered Jacob as their ancestor (John 4:12 – we will get into this passage shortly).  Genetic studies of the few remaining modern Samaritans show quite a bit of similarity with Jews themselves, especially in the Y-chromosome of men.  The apparent answer is that the people brought in by the Assyrians intermarried with some of the northern Israelites who had not been deported and the resultant blended people came to be known as Samaritans, after the city of Samaria (“Shomeron” in Hebrew) which had earlier been the capital of northern Israel.  The New Testament does not specifically state that the people called “Samaritans” at that time were the descendants either of the people brought into northern Israel by the Assyrians, or of both them and the northern Israelites who intermarried with them. However, the claim of Samaritans to some Israelite ancestry (as mentioned by the woman at the well) in addition to the modern genetic studies, combined with the identification of the Samaritans as “Kutim” in the Talmud which was written still later (as I mentioned before) certainly points to a blended origin for them.  Just as the Samaritans were apparently a blended people, they practiced a blended religion (2 Kings 17:27-41, Ezra 4:2) – combining a degree of worship of the True God with a considerable amount of paganism.  We need to keep this fact in mind as we look at other Biblical passages referencing the Samaritans.

We in God’s Church are the spiritual Jews (Rom. 2:26-29 – note the requirement here for keeping God’s Law), the “Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16).  The churches of this world are “spiritual Samaritans.”  They are practicing a form of Christianity blended with elements derived from paganism – just as the ancient Samaritans practiced a form of Judaism blended with paganism. 

With this background knowledge of the origins of the Samaritans we then can better understand Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well in Sychar (John 4:7-26).   The discussion contains a number of items particularly relevant to the blended religion of the Samaritans.  Noter from verses 16-18 that the woman at the well had had five husbands and at the time was living with a man who was not her husband (a practice which is nothing new!)  The churches of the world – the “spiritual Samaritans” now (as physical Samaritans then) often have a very lenient and/or very selective approach toward God’s Law.  Remember that even in the OT God said He hated divorce (Malachi 2:13-16).

Note in John 4:22 that Jesus made two very incisive comments regarding physical Jews versus Samaritans then which apply to “spiritual Jews” versus “spiritual Samaritans” now.  His first statement in this verse to the Samaritan woman was “You worship what you do not know – we know what we worship.”  The Samaritans were practicing a religion blended with paganism and did not understand the nature of the True God.  The physical Jews, by contrast, did have Scriptures which revealed to them the Father-Son nature of God – that there are two Beings in the God Family (e.g., Proverbs 30:4) although they often did not understand such (and of course as a result most did not recognize the Messiah when He came).  Similarly, the churches of the world – the “spiritual Samaritans” – worship what they do not know.  They understand neither the nature of God nor His plan for mankind and they reject much of God’s spiritual Law.  Most of them believe that God is a “trinity” in a concept which many consider to be beyond human understanding.  By contrast, we in the Church of God – the “spiritual Jews” – do worship what we know.  The nature of God has been revealed to us – that God is not a trinity but rather a Family, currently with two Members but with the potential to include billions in the future.  A key difference here between “spiritual Jews” and “spiritual Samaritans” is the knowledge of Him and His way with which God has blessed us – and He holds us responsible for that knowledge.  Remember that from those to whom much is given, much will be required (Luke 12:48; more on this later).

Christ’s second comment in this verse – “salvation is of the Jews” – refers specifically primarily to us today – the “spiritual Jews.”  Salvation was not offered to Israel as a whole under the Old Covenant, although a few Jews and other Israelites who needed it were indeed given the Holy Spirit (and hence the opportunity for salvation).  But we, as New Covenant Christians, “spiritual Jews,” are offered the Holy Spirit – and hence salvation (Romans 8:11).  For us, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2).  Having blessed us with both His Holy Spirit and His truth (through the understanding of Scripture which the Holy Spirit gives), God is giving us the opportunity to worship Him “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).  The “spiritual Samaritans” of the world, practicing a form of “Christianity” which is blended with paganism, are not yet being offered the Holy Spirit or salvation – it is not yet their day of salvation.  Their worship of God is not yet “in spirit and in truth.”  Their day of salvation will come later – in most cases, in the second resurrection when they will be taught the truth and given the Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 37:14). 

Now we have discussed the likely origin of the Samaritans and their religion, and also what Jesus pointed out about them during His conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well.  The passages that we have covered are crucial background material for a proper understanding of the more famous parable of the good Samaritan.  So now let us get into the parable.  Let’s turn to Luke 10:30-37.  With the background material that we covered earlier (especially Jesus’ comments to the woman at the well), we can see that the parable is not in any way an endorsement of the Samaritan religion but rather contains two separate messages of its own for us.  The first message is that the Samaritan – despite following a blended religion and worshiping what he did not know – was obeying God’s Law toward the injured man tremendously better than the Levite and priest even though the latter two knew the Law much better, and hence the Samaritan was putting them to shame in this respect (cf. Romans 2:14).  We might remember similarly that when Jesus healed ten lepers in Luke 17:12-19, only one returned to thank Him and that man was a Samaritan.

What does this mean for us today?  First, a member of one of the churches of this world is a spiritual “Samaritan” – with deficient understanding of the truths which God reveals in Scripture, and generally without the tremendous gift of the Holy Spirit.  However, what if he treats his fellow man better than we do, better than we as “spiritual Jews” do (analogous to the priest and the Levite in the parable)?  What if he is showing better obedience to the “weightier matters” of the Law (justice, mercy and faithfulness) than we are doing – given all of the truth and knowledge that God had revealed to us (and the Holy Spirit which He has given us)?  Then such is to our shame.

The second message for us is that the parable – in combination with what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well – “gives the lie” to an argument which was popular in 1995 among those who tried to dismantle the doctrines of God’s Church.  That argument was that since the “Christian” churches of the world were doing so much good for humanity in terms of charitable deeds and helping their fellow man, their religion could not be so bad.  This argument is totally invalidated by the fact that even though the good Samaritan in the parable was behaving very generously toward the injured man, still as a Samaritan he was worshiping what he did not know and his religion could not bring salvation (as Jesus had told the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:22).  The world’s churches are doing the same thing as the “good Samaritan” – helping their fellow man in many ways but, on the other hand, teaching a religion which not only cannot bring salvation but is often actually hostile to many of God’s laws.  Christ promises us that He will one day force those “who say they are [spiritual??] Jews and are not” to worship before our feet (Rev. 3:9; cf. also Rev. 2:9).  And what did Jesus state in Matthew 7:21-23 that He will say some day (apparently in the second resurrection) to some of those who said that they had prophesied in His name, cast out demons in His name, and done many other “mighty works” in His name?  He will say “I never knew you – depart from Me, you who practice….what?….LAWLESSNESS!” (ἀνομία, “anomia,” Strong’s #458)  Having done many “mighty works” in service to others will not protect people who have believed (and possibly preached) that God’s spiritual Law is “done away” and that Christians are not required to obey it.  (Of course – if they sincerely believed that the Law no longer applied and that they were doing right, they will certainly be given the opportunity to learn the truth and to repent.)

But what is an additional “positive” aspect which “spiritual Samaritans” might bring to humanity?  Remember that the Samaritans of New Testament times were not total pagans as were most of the people of the Greco-Roman world.  They did practice a form of worship of the True God although it was contaminated with some pagan practices.  Let’s turn to Romans 3:1-2.  Paul noted that, in the process of becoming a New Covenant Christian, the Jew had a tremendous advantage over the pagan.  The Scriptures had been committed to the Jews so they already had some familiarity with them – while the pagans generally had none.  (Note from Zechariah 8:23 that physical Jews will similarly have a “head start” compared with others in the new society at the beginning of the Millennium.)

Jesus specifically told the disciples to preach the Gospel in Samaria (Acts 1:8).  Even though the Samaritans were practicing a blended religion with some pagan elements, they still had familiarity with Scripture (at least the first 5 books of the Bible) and with God’s Law (although they might have had a lenient and selective approach toward it).  Samaritans who heard the Gospel were starting at a point “further along” than outright pagans who had zero knowledge of Scripture (the condition of most people in the Greco-Roman world).  Similarly, today, the churches of the world – even though they practice a mixture of God’s truth with a number of non-Biblical doctrines and practices, some of pagan origin – are laying a foundation by which people are familiarized with the Bible to some extent and have learned at least to pay it “lip service.”   In India, for example, a person growing up in one of the world’s “Christian” churches is potentially in a considerably better position to respond to the true Gospel than a person growing up as a Hindu, knowing nothing about the Bible.  Likewise, in this country a person coming from one of the “Christian” churches, who has learned some degree of respect for God’s Word while growing up, is better positioned to be shown God’s truth and called by God in this age than a person who has grown up in an atheist family, with no Biblical knowledge.

In summary – God has made us “spiritual Jews.”  He has blessed us with the knowledge of His truth and with His Holy Spirit which helps us to understand His words and keep His Law.  He has given us much – and will require much of us.  We must not look down on the “spiritual Samaritans” in the churches of this world, who are practicing a blended religion analogous to that of the ancient Samaritans.  It is not their day of salvation today – Christ has “never known them” – but they will get their opportunity later.  The “spiritual Samaritans” are actually doing humanity a favor, in their charitable acts toward others and in preparing people with some knowledge of, and respect for, God’s Word – giving them “a step ahead” over others when they are confronted with the true Gospel later.  But we must be “spiritual Jews” and do our best to follow all of God’s laws, most especially the “weightier matters” of judgment, mercy and faithfulness.  We must not be like the priest or Levite in the parable who were “shown up” by a Samaritan with far less knowledge of God’s Law.  So let us go forward, do good to all people (especially to those of the household of faith – Galatians 6:19), strive to use the Holy Spirit to obey all of God’s Laws, and look to the day when we will be told “Well done, good and faithful servant!”