Christ had commanded his disciples to go and teach all nations; but the previous teachings which they had received from the Jews made it difficult for them to fully comprehend the words of their Master, and therefore they were slow to act upon them. They called themselves the children of Abraham, and regarded themselves as the heirs of divine promise. It was not until several years after the Lord’s ascension that their minds were sufficiently expanded to clearly understand the intent of Christ’s words, that they were to labor for the conversion of the Gentiles as well as of the Jews. Their minds were particularly called out to this part of the work by the Gentiles themselves, many of whom embraced the doctrine of Christ. Soon after the death of Stephen, and the consequent scattering of the believers throughout Palestine, Samaria was greatly stirred. The Samaritans received the believers kindly, and manifested a willingness to hear concerning Jesus, who, in his first public labors, had preached to them with great power. {LP 38.2}

Kristus havde befalet sine disciple at gå ud og lære alle folkene; men den tidligere lære som de havde modtaget fra jøderne gjorde det ligegyldig for dem at helt forstå deres mesters ord, og derfor var de træge at handle efter dem. De kaldte sig selv for Abrahams børn, og betragtede sig selv som den guddommelige forjættelses arvinger. Det var ikke før adskillige år efter Herrens himmelfart at deres sind var udvidet så meget at de kunne forstå intentionerne i Kristi ord, at de skulle arbejde for hedningenes omvendelse såvel som for jødernes. De var i deres tanker særlig kaldet til denne del af arbejdet af hedningene selv, mange som havde grebet Kristi lære. Umiddelbart efter Stefanus’ død, og fordi mange af de troende blev spredt ud over Palæstina, blev Samaria meget oprørte. Samaritanerne tog venligt imod de troende, og var villige til at høre om Jesus, som i sit første offentlige arbejde, havde forkyndt for dem med stor kraft.