30 To answer this question, Jesus said, “A man was going down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Some robbers surrounded him, tore off his clothes, and beat him. Then they left him lying there on the ground almost dead. 31 “It happened that a Jewish priest was going down that road. When he saw the man, he did not stop to help him. He walked away. 32 Next, a Levite came near. He saw the hurt man, but he went around him. He would not stop to help him either. He just walked away.
33 “Then a Samaritan man traveled down that road. He came to the place where the hurt man was lying. He saw the man and felt very sorry for him. 34 The Samaritan went to him and poured olive oil and wine on his wounds. Then he covered the man’s wounds with cloth. The Samaritan had a donkey. He put the hurt man on his donkey, and he took him to an inn. There he cared for him. 35 The next day, the Samaritan took out two silver coins and gave them to the man who worked at the inn. He said, ‘Take care of this hurt man.
If you spend more money on him, I will pay it back to you when I come again.’” 36 Then Jesus said, “Which one of these three men do you think was really a neighbor to the man who was hurt by the robbers?” 37 The teacher of the law answered, “The one who helped him.” Jesus said, “Then you go and do the same.” (Luke 10:30-37, ERV)
Jesus’ parable
of the Good Samaritan challenges us to change our
thinking about what loving others truly means. In the scripture passage
above, a priest and a Levite (who supposedly had a close relationship with the
love of God) can’t find a reason to help a fellow countryman who is at the
brink of death. On the other hand, a Samaritan who shouldn’t have a
reason to help, sacrifices income, time, and energy for a stranger. Being a
Good Samaritan…
1.
Means willingness to
get involved.
We
may quote scripture and recite platitudes on love and God, but unless we are
willing to get involved in the lives of others, we are not living what we tell
others. The Samaritan treated and bandaged the wounds. He set the injured man
on his donkey. He took him to an inn and cared for him throughout the night.
The Samaritan could have said to himself, “I give regularly to my church.
I donate to the Salvation Army every Christmas. I have done my
part.” But he didn’t. The scriptures said that he had compassion, and acted on
it.
2.
Means generosity. The Samaritan didn’t
know how long the injured man would be laid up, but I am guessing (because the
text said the attack left him “half dead”), that it could be a prolonged stay.
At any rate, the wellbeing of this stranger was more important to our Good Samaritan
than whatever the cost might be. Again, this generosity would never have been
possible if he hadn’t had money in the first place.
This was a man who
managed his money. He undoubtedly lived on a budget, spent less than he made,
and maintained a contingency fund for unexpected expenses. Placing cash into a
“bless envelope” every month can make you more aware of the needs of those
around you.
3.
Means having a
changed heart. It starts in our hearts, a heart
that has been changed through the love of Christ for us, and a heart that sees
other human beings: friends, enemies, people we know, people we don’t know, as
neighbors. You can’t read this parable without thinking of how Jesus loved us,
his bitter enemies, and rescued us from certain eternal death that we
deserved. His unconditional love continues to help us as He provides for
us spiritually and physically because that’s who He is. Considering His
love for us, changes our hearts to love people as He does.
4.
Means having a good name. One wonders if the Samaritan had
been to that inn before, perhaps paying for some other needy person’s stay. We
know this: the innkeeper trusted the Samaritan, probably because he had
proven himself to be trustworthy.
5.
Means it’s
personal. “Go and do likewise.” Jesus said at
the end of this parable. When we see others in need, who should help
them? Should it be the government, some church program, or anybody but
me? Jesus makes it personal for the expert in the law and for us. The
expert was to “Go and do likewise,” and so are we. Consider that being a
Good Samaritan is not the job of someone else, but yours.
Thankfully, it was personal for Jesus. He didn’t wait for someone
else to save you, He saved you. He is personally active in your life
today too.
6.
Means
sacrifice. The Good Samaritan didn’t take a
picture of the beaten up Jew, share it on social media, and wait for the
outrage. He actually did something that required sacrifice. Giving
up his possessions to care for him, and then taking him to an inn, and handing
more of his possessions over, required sacrifice. Helping someone else in
the midst of our busy day means sacrifice.
Whether it’s a car on the side of a road or a friend who
needs time for us to listen to them, they need our time, and if our time is
spoken for or we’ve wasted our time on ourselves, then how can we help?
If you don’t think it’s your job because you don’t have the time, keep reading.
7.
Means there is no
racism.
Even
though he was considered a “despised Samaritan,” he rose above such shallowness
to care for a fellow human being. I compare the Samaritan’s actions to an
American 19th century slave showing compassion to a plantation owner or a
Jewish prisoner demonstrating concern for a Nazi guard during WWII.
“Psychologists tested the
story of the Good Samaritan. What they learned gives us reason to pause. The
greatest determinant of who stopped to help the stranger in need was not
compassion, morality, or religious creed. It was those who had the time. Makes
me wonder if I have time to do good.” (Richard Paul Evans) [i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“Five Things We Forget About Being a Good Samaritan”
by Shirley Greenleaf
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