The Bad Samaritan

[533 words] “Which one?” That’s what a typical Jew in Jesus’ time would have asked about this title. To many Jewish people, all Samaritans were bad. There was no such thing as a good Samaritan. The truth, of course, is that Samaritans were like other people. Some were good and some were bad. Although the Bible does not specifically call him “the good Samaritan,” most Christians know the story about him. But what about the bad Samaritan? Who is this person? What did this individual do to deserve such a label? When Jesus sat down to rest at Jacob’s well, a woman of Samaria came to draw water. When Jesus asked her for a  drink of water, she was surprised and said, “The Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans” (John 4:9). Thus began an interesting conversation between the Lord and the Samaritan woman. What kind of woman was she?…