The man questioning Christ must have been surprised. This teacher was telling a story! What's happening? But the picture the Teacher was drawing really found its mark. The story mentions four men. First the wounded man. He is the unknown. He is the pawn in the game. What do the others do about him? Next came the indifferent man, the priest. Literally 'he came alongside'. What did he see? What did he think? He may have even thanked God that it had not happened to him. But he walked on. Then came the interested man, a Levite. He wanted to see, he wanted to know what happened. He probably thought 'something needs to be done about this Jericho road'. But he himself did nothing. Now the compassionate man arrived. Can you picture the scene? He gently turns the wounded man over and discovers he is a Jew, then that he is still alive. His compassion wasn't a passing emotion. He saw the need and tried to render first aid. Next he took the man to the nearest inn and asked for him to be looked after. End of story? Yes, but now comes the application. The purpose for which the story had been related. 'Now my friend which one fulfilled the law and showed love to his neighbour?' The Jewish lawyer couldn't say those hated words 'The Samaritan'. All he could admit was it was the man who had helped (v.37). Our Lord said, 'Why not follow his example?' The wounded man must have interrupted the plans of the Samaritan. Are we willing for any interruptions God might have planned for us this week? Today? |
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