Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
John 8:48
Samaritan – the word doesn’t bring up any emotional response or gut reaction in our day and age, but at the time it was given, it was a put-down of the basest sort. Jewish people looked down on their neighbors to the north because they were foreign transplants to the land of promise and, even after centuries of living there, were still unwelcome.
The term also had connotations of being a heretic, because although the Samaritans wanted to worship Yahweh, they did so at the wrong mountain and in the wrong manner. By equating Jesus with those undesirables, the Jewish leaders could switch from discussing issues with the Master to simply dismissing any argument He could give, because He was beneath them.
The main problem with trying to use racial slurs to insult Christ is that He loved everyone, including the Samaritans. He purposely traveled through Samaria to reach out to a wayward woman, and then preached to her village, where He was hailed as “the Christ, the Savior of the world” (John 4:42). In Jesus’ parable of “the Good Samaritan,” the Samaritan was portrayed as the good guy and the Jewish leaders as hypocrites. Finally, when the Lord healed ten lepers, only the Samaritan in the group came back to give thanks. Jesus commended him and told him “Your faith has made you well” (Luke 17:19).
The Lord Jesus wears all His titles well, even the derogatory ones. Bigoted men and women appear in every age and culture. They would try to ignore Christ because they feel He is unworthy of their time and effort. He still loves them all the same and wants them to break through their hate and prejudice so they can approach Him in faith as Savior of the World.
August 4
