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Tim Maas
Although Jesus had told the apostles with regard to their evangelistic travels not to go to the Samaritans from a mission standpoint (Matthew 10:5), the only route available when physically traveling south from Galilee to Judea (without having to take an unacceptably long detour from a time perspective) required passing through Samaria. (This is confirmed in the writings of secular historical sources such as Flavius Josephus.) (Some commentaries on the gospel also present the route Jesus took as a conscious decision on His part through foreknowledge of the encounter that He was going to have with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well in Sychar, which would lead to the conversion of numerous inhabitants there, as described in John 4.)
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