What was Jesus' policy concerning Samaria?

[tonychanyt]

Jesus and his disciples visited Samaria in John 4:

39 From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, 'He told me all the things that I have done.' 40 So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.

But then in Matthew 10:

5 These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: 'Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; 6but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

What was Jesus' policy concerning Samaria?

Bible Timeline:

27 AD Jesus Testifies to the Samaritan Woman John 4
29 AD Jesus Sends out His Twelve Apostles Matthew 10, Mark 6
How do we reconcile these seeming discrepancies between visiting Samaritans on the one hand (Jn. 4:40), and avoiding them completely on the other (Matt. 10:5)?

Different schedules, different purposes.

The events that transpired in John 4 were not a beforehand defined missionary objective. It happened spontaneously. It would be ungracious of Jesus not to take up the presented opportunity when the harvesting was riped.

Now assume that one does not accept the above timeline. Still, the command not to enter Samaria in Matthew 10 was lifted in

Luke 24:

46 He [Jesus] told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Between the time of Matthew 10 and Luke 24, Jesus' focus was on the Jews, and not on the Samaritans or Gentiles. However, during this time, some Samaritans and Gentiles benefited from Jesus' presence. Jesus didn't purposefully get out of his way to avoid them.

 

[Maori Aussie]

Jesus and his disciples visited Samaria in John 4:

One thing that caught my Feminist eye was the Samaritan woman at the well, being the first person recorded in scripture to use Jesus and Messiah in the same sentence? (first witness to Messiah?). I then reflected on a woman (Mother Mary) being the first human witness to the Incarnation, and another woman (Mary Magdeleine) being the first human witness to the Resurrection... (assuming the guards missed it).
But Simeon came before Anna at the circumcision of Jesus in Luke Ch2, but no Messiah word...
Nathanael called Jesus "Son of God" early in ministry after Jesus told him that he saw him under the fig tree, but no Messiah word...
Addenda; Consider that Jesus chose to reveal his Messiahship first to a 1: Samaritan 2: woman 3: sinner...