Chapter 4
Nearly all of this chapter is about the Samaritan woman at the well and the people that are a part of that village. They have their own temple, but the Lord doesn't accept it (verses 20-22). It's interesting to me how readily they believe and the people believe and not because of what the woman said, it's because they have heard his words and know he is the Christ. Verses 41- 42 is as strong a declaration of testimony as any found in the gospels.
The Samaritans are descendants of the few Israelites of the ten tribes of Israel that once comprised the Northern Kingdom of Israel when it was destroyed by Assyria. These remnants of those tribes intermingled with the Assyrians and so they are not pure Israelites. This is why there is such tension between the them and the Jews because the Jews, who are now a mix of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin have maintained a purity of their race. The Samaritans believed:
1. Belief in one God
2. Moses is the greatest and final prophet
3. The first 5 books of the Old Testament are the word of God and they reject all other scripture
4. Mount Gerizim (in Samaria) is the chosen place of God and the temple they built there is God's chosen temple
5. At the end of time, a restorer will come and usher in a new gospel dispensation and resotre the proper law and modes of worship
6. A final day of judgement when people will be rewarded for their righteous or wicked beilefs
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