Who Were the Samaritans?  

Read Luke 10:25-37

The Samaritans were a mixed ethnic group that included both Jews and Gentiles in their ancestry. The group appears after the Assyrians captured the northern kingdom of Israel in 721 BC. Eventually, the Jews were allowed to return to Israel. However, many of the Jews decided not to make the journey and stayed in Assyria. They often married Assyrians and adopted some of their culture. Yet, they retained some of their Jewish customs, also, had their own temple, and studied the Torah. And this was only the start of their intermarrying.

Most of the Jews hated the Samaritans. They thought the mixed-heritage group had compromised their faith by marrying Gentiles. As discrimination and mistrust grew, neither group liked the other. Unkind acts abounded between the two groups and the resentment grew.

This is one reason why Jesus' parable about the Good Samaritan was so meaningful. His listeners must have been shocked at the contrasts, but Jesus was both showing them how to live a life of faith as a believer and trying to break the stumbling block of prejudice. He does the same for us if we will only hear him.

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