Jesus Doesn’t See ‘Us Vs. Them’; He Sees All Of Us As ‘Us’
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(51) As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. (52) And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; (53) but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. (54) When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” (55) But Jesus turned and rebuked <or denied> them. (56) Then he and his disciples went to another village.’ (Luke 9:51-55)
The world today is plagued with an ‘us versus them’ mentality, and part of it is due to the fault of governments allowing unchecked illegal immigration to occur that causing stress among the ‘natives’ of the land and the newly-arriving immigrants coming in. Recent events that have been publicized are in England and Ireland over Middle Eastern and African immigrants, and here in the United States it is Venezuelan gangs taking over apartment complexes in Aurora, Colorado and Haitian immigrants killing ducks in the park and pets from peoples’ yards in Springfield, Ohio. These two events are but a very small sample of the issues caused by unchecked open immigration policies that have been creating this ‘us versus them’ environment between existing residents and arriving newcomers.
The tensions are (or should be) expected. We welcome guests if we are prepared for them to come, but when we are not prepared, we first are wary until their intentions are known. The tone or actions at their arrival can dictate whether to remain wary and cautious, or become more relaxed and welcoming. Some guests who come know to be respectful of culture and traditions, others perhaps not so much. This can be amplified by preexisting prejudices or stereotypes we carry either through experiences or learned through others. Not all stereotypes or prejudices are bad, but the ones that are bad often stick out the most, and those stereotypes that are reinforced through actions often paint the broad brush over the entire group. In turn, this can create or bolster these ‘us versus them’ thoughts, unfortunately up to the point of conflict.
If there ever was an ‘us vs. them’ mentality by the Jews demonstrated in the Bible, it was with the Samaritans. The Samaritans were mostly from the Jordan river region (what is now the West Bank as well as Jordan on the East Bank) and considered themselves derived from the Jewish tribes of Ephraim and Manassas and followed the teaching of the Jewish priests that stayed in Babylon after the exile ended. The ‘mainstream’ Jews did not agree with this and considered the Samaritans, in essence, dregs of society.
When Jesus and the Apostles entered this Samaritan village during His final trip to Jerusalem, the people there did not welcome Jesus as He was headed to Jerusalem and not Mount Gerizim (the Samaritans’ most holy place). The Apostles, based on their request to have the village destroyed by fire (much like Sodom & Gomorrah), were obviously not happy with the Samaritan residents of the village having such an opposing viewpoint. However, Jesus told the Apostles, ‘Ahh, NO.’, and He had them go onto the next village down the road.
To the Apostles, the villagers committed sin on the scale of Sodom & Gomorrah, and to the Apostles telling Jesus ‘We don’t want you or your bubbas here’ was another affront against God, and thus they were incorrigible. Jesus, however, saw the Samaritans in a different light; He knew that many Samaritans, while perhaps imperfect and different in their worship, nevertheless did worship God and followed the Levitical Law as presented by Moses.
There were some deviations (it is viewed that the Samaritans raised and ate pigs, for example), but, as with the Good Samaritan, some followed their beliefs in God’s Love closely. Their only ‘crime’ was that they were different. Like Israel, there were many failings and false worship, but their failings often matched the Jews. In a sense, together they were like a TWIX, different and opposing sides of the same candy bar, that in many ways mirror each other.
The Apostles wanted nothing to do with the Samaritans, but we find Jesus not only preserved them, but made it a point to go out and seek them. Jesus visited the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4) and used the Good Samaritan as the ‘hero’ of the parable (Luke 10). When Jesus calls His disciples to perform the Great Commission, He specifically tells them (and us) in Acts 1:8 to go be “witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Unlike Sodom & Gomorrah, Jesus did not see a no-hope scenario but one of repentance with the Samaritans. Jesus did not call down fire upon the village, but shortly thereafter called upon the Word to be given to the villagers.
We also must be cautious of falling into the ‘us versus them’ trap; we can set expectations – as we would for guests in our homes – that entering requires a certain decorum and certain behaviors are not tolerated. However, we cannot allow feelings, or prejudices and stereotypes, to blanket groups as a whole but allow the opportunities of sharing with them Jesus and His Gospel, providing these groups the ability to accept Christ and His love for them. In showing them the love of Christ, we should share with them the customs of our culture so they are not ignorant to them. Respect is reciprocal; as Jesus showed His respect to the current wishes of the Samaritans, providing the opportunity for them to respect the future evangelism of Christians who came to Samaria after His Ascension.
Jesus Himself never sees ‘us vs. them’, only ‘us’ as He did when fulfilling John 3:16, as He came to save all the people, not just those who looked like a Jew, or ate like a Jew, thought like a Jew, or dressed like a Jew. When we quit blinding ourselves with differences that we think we can exploit others with, we will see that we are mostly the same, deserving the same respect to express themselves, and opportunity to hear the Word and be corrected by the Word and not by human fiat.
