Jesus and his weather-beaten band of wandering disciples were still heading north and had been for some days. To some extent Jesus had decided to get out of Judea, where he had been working, in order to avoid competition with John the Baptist in that region. (John's gospel claims that the rumor was spreading all over that Jesus was baptizing more disciples than John the Baptist was.) Jesus also might have decided to head north towards familiar territory in Galilee, because the Pharisees had heard what was happening, and he may have thought that by getting away he could avoid a premature final confrontation with them early in his ministry.

The most direct route north to Galilee was through the region of Samaria. Yet a good Jew of Jesus' day would often be inclined to avoid this region. The…