152
The Desire of Ages
“Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard Him
ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the
world.”
The Samaritans believed that the Messiah was to come as the
Redeemer, not only of the Jews, but of the world. The Holy Spirit
through Moses had foretold Him as a prophet sent from God. Through
Jacob it had been declared that unto Him should the gathering of
the people be; and through Abraham, that in Him all the nations
of the earth should be blessed. On these scriptures the people of
Samaria based their faith in the Messiah. The fact that the Jews had
misinterpreted the later prophets, attributing to the first advent the
glory of Christ’s second coming, had led the Samaritans to discard
all the sacred writings except those given through Moses. But as the
Saviour swept away these false interpretations, many accepted the later
prophecies and the words of Christ Himself in regard to the kingdom
of God.
Jesus had begun to break down the partition wall between Jew and
Gentile, and to preach salvation to the world. Though He was a Jew,
He mingled freely with the Samaritans, setting at nought the Pharisaic
customs of His nation. In face of their prejudices He accepted the
hospitality of this despised people. He slept under their roofs, ate with
them at their tables,—partaking of the food prepared and served by
their hands,—taught in their streets, and treated them with the utmost
kindness and courtesy.
In the temple at Jerusalem a low wall separated the outer court
from all other portions of the sacred building. Upon this wall were
inscriptions in different languages, stating that none but Jews were
allowed to pass this boundary. Had a Gentile presumed to enter the
inner enclosure, he would have desecrated the temple, and would have
paid the penalty with his life. But Jesus, the originator of the temple
and its service, drew the Gentiles to Him by the tie of human sympathy,
while His divine grace brought to them the salvation which the Jews
rejected.
The stay of Jesus in Samaria was designed to be a blessing to His
disciples, who were still under the influence of Jewish bigotry. They
felt that loyalty to their own nation required them to cherish enmity
toward the Samaritans. They wondered at the conduct of Jesus. They
could not refuse to follow His example, and during the two days in