Expert: Thurman C. Petty, Jr. - 7/21/2006

Question
Why does Jesus instruct the apostles NOT to go among the Gentiles or Samaritans, yet Jesus himself goes to Samaria with the apostles(John 4) and met the Samaritan woman at the well. Also, in ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, Philip went to Samaria as did John and Peter.  This is just a small matter, but I welcome your thoughts, please.

Answer
Dear Jeff,

Thank you for your question.

The text you are referring to is this:

Mat 10:5  These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the
Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.
Mat 10:6  Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.

Jesus sent His disciples on a missionary journey, most likely to train them for their future work.
He didn’t want to expose them to situations which would cause them problems for which He had
not yet trained them. So He sent them only to Jews who were no longer faithful to God.

Later, after they had received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, they worked under
different orders:

Acts 1:8  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me directly.

Thurman C. Petty, Jr.
Burleson, TX
petty@hyperusa.com
Check it out: www.PettyPress.com. 14 books; 40 Bible lessons; over 100 Bible questions
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