Inquiry:
Did the Samaritans accept Jesus? Luke 9:52-53 says no, but John 4:39-40 says yes. Is there a contradiction?
Response:
Certainly a difference is seen in how Jesus was received by the people of Samaria as recorded in Luke 9:52-53 and John 4:39-40. Let’s look at why the difference.
It must be noted that the events recorded in these verses took place at different times. John 4:39-40 was in the first year of Jesus’ ministry, as he went from Judea into Galilee. He stopped at Sychar, a Samaritan city to rest. A talk with a woman just outside the city turned into an opportunity to speak to all the residents of that place; the end result was that many believed in Him (John 4:39-42).
In contrast, Luke 9:52-53 appears to be in the final year of Jesus’ ministry. He “set His face toward Jerusalem,” which is why the people of this unnamed city of Samaria did not receive Him. Nothing suggests that it was Sychar. But, had the questioner read just a bit further, we find that Jesus “went to another village” (Luke 9:56). Though rejected by the people of one Samaritan city, He was received in another.
These occurrences did not happen at the same time. No evidence says that it happened in the same place. Nothing in these two texts presents them as a contradiction. And even in Luke 9, the Lord was received by some Samaritans. There is no contradiction.
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