“Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans” (John 4:9 NLT). The two cultures had hated each other for a thousand years. Most Jews would gladly double the length of their trip rather than go through Samaria.
Jesus, however, played by a different set of rules. He loves to break down walls. That’s why he sent Philip to Samaria. And when he did, the city broke out into a revival. Peter and John traveled from Jerusalem to Samaria to confirm it. According to verses 15 to 17 of Acts chapter 8, “…as yet [the Holy Spirit] had fallen upon none of them…Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.”
Why delay the gift? Simple. To celebrate the falling of a wall. The gospel, for the first time, was breaching an ancient bias. Let any doubt be gone: God accepts all people.
