The provided clips do not state an explicit reason for Jesus' choice to go through Samaria, but they show He did go there and that God's appointments are not accidental.
Les teaches that Samaritans were half-breed Jews detested by pure Jews, so the normal Jewish route avoided Samaria, yet Jesus later went to the city of Samaria in His ministry. He also insists that nothing happens accidentally when the Lord is in it. None of the clips, however, gives a direct statement of Jesus' reason for choosing that route.
John 4:17-18 — Les reads this exchange to show Jesus' supernatural knowledge of the Samaritan woman's life at the well.
Matthew 10:5-6 — Jesus earlier commanded the twelve to avoid Samaria and go to the lost sheep of Israel, a contrast Les uses when noting Jesus later went to Samaria.
In John's Gospel, the woman of Samaria says to Jesus, 'I have no husband.' Jesus answers, 'Thou hast well said, I have no husband: for thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.' The woman then responds, 'Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet,' and asks about the place of worship: 'Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.' In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus commands the twelve: 'Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'
Les does not directly answer why Jesus chose to go through Samaria in these clips, but he provides the surrounding facts. He explains that Samaritans were half-breed Jews who were detested by pure Jews, and consequently the Jews of Jesus' day would not even go through Samaria. When Jesus talked to the woman of Samaria at the well, Les maintains He was talking to a Jewess, not a Gentile. Les also notes that Jesus later in His ministry still went to the city of Samaria. He opens his teaching by saying nothing happens accidentally when the Lord is in it, and then turns to John 4 to read the account of Jesus and the woman at the well. For Les, the event fits Jesus' earthly mission to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, while the Gentile mission would come later.
Les explains that Samaritans were half-breed Jews who had lost their pure character as Jews and were therefore looked down upon and detested by pure Jews. Because of this hatred, the Jews of Jesus' day would not even go through Samaria.
Jesus commanded the twelve, 'Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.' Les says Jesus was not bigoted; He had a heart for the Gentiles, but it was not the time. He had come to fulfill the promises made to Abraham, so the twelve were limited to the lost sheep of Israel.
Les says no. He maintains that when Jesus talks to the woman of Samaria at the well, He is not talking to a Gentile. The Samaritans were half-breed Jews, but they were still more Jew than Gentile, so Les calls the woman a Jewess.
Les opens by telling about a couple who unexpectedly stopped at his program and said they did not know why they stopped. He answered, 'I do,' and then said nothing happens accidentally when the Lord is in it. He links this principle to the book of Ruth as he moves into the idea of divine appointments in Scripture.
Nothing Happens Accidentally
Les insists that events are not accidental when the Lord is in them, a principle he illustrates with Ruth and his own experience before moving to the John 4 account.
Turning to the Woman at the Well
Les directs his listeners to John 4 to examine the account of Jesus and the woman of Samaria at the well.
Jesus Knows the Woman's Life
Les reads Jesus' revelation that the woman has had five husbands and is not presently married, showing Jesus' full knowledge of her before the conversation develops.
The Samaritan Woman Was a Jewess
Les explains that the Samaritans were half-breed Jews who were hated by pure Jews, and he insists the woman at the well was a Jewess rather than a Gentile.
Is It Luck or God? Divine Sovereignty vs. Free Will
Well, I'm afraid they never had a true experience because it was approached in the wrong way. But here, Rebekah is left with a choice, and she says, I will go. So verse 59, they send away Rebekah, their sister, and her nurse, and Abram's servant, and his men. And so they take off now from way up here in Syria, and they're heading back down into the land of Canaan.
Jesus Later Went to Samaria
Les contrasts Jesus' earlier command to avoid Samaria with the fact that later in His ministry Jesus still went to the city of Samaria.
The Gentile Mission Was Not Yet
Les says Jesus was not bigoted toward Gentiles; He had a heart for them, but the time had not come, so His earthly mission focused on the lost sheep of Israel.
The Twelve's Marching Orders
Les reads Matthew 10:5, where Jesus commands the twelve to go not into the way of the Gentiles or any city of the Samaritans.
John 4:17-18: The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
This is the moment in the John 4 account where Jesus reveals His divine knowledge of the Samaritan woman's life.
John 4:20: Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
The woman raises the old Jewish-Samaritan dispute about the proper place of worship during her conversation with Jesus.
Matthew 10:5-6: These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Jesus gives the twelve a restricted mission before He later goes to Samaria, a contrast Les highlights.
No. Les explains that the Samaritans were half-breed Jews who were detested by pure Jews, and the Jews of Jesus' day would not even go through Samaria.
Yes. Les says that later in His ministry Jesus still went to the city of Samaria, even though He had earlier commanded the twelve not to enter any city of the Samaritans.
Les says no. He maintains that when Jesus talks to the woman of Samaria at the well, He is talking to a Jewess, since the Samaritans were more Jew than Gentile.