As we continue our study on the church, for today’s meditation we will study this portion of scripture found in the Gospel of Luke chapter 10.
We read in Luke 10:30-35, “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. “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.’” (ERV)
When Jesus taught, while here on earth, He oftentimes used parables. A parable would appear to be a simple story from a worldly point of view, but in reality it conveyed a deep spiritual truth. While many heard these parables as mere stories and moved on, the disciples of Jesus who followed Him closely, were taught the deeper meaning of these parables. I hope that as we study the above mentioned parable that Jesus taught, that we will be able to discover some valuable truths from the same.
The question that was asked
This was the question that was asked by a teacher of the law to Jesus as recorded in Luke 10:29, “But the teacher of the Law wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?"”(GNB)
Most of the religious leaders who followed Jesus asked questions just to test Him, and this was the response that Jesus gave as we read in Luke 10:30, “Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.” (ESV)
There is no mention of who this man was, his background or qualifications, but there is just reference to one man. This one man is therefore a representation of all of mankind.
We read that this man left Jerusalem, the place where the temple of God was, and went to the city of Jericho. As he journeyed from Jerusalem to Jericho, certain events transpired in his life. Every time we walk away from the presence of God to do our own things, we will be challenged with certain setbacks and difficulties.
The distance from Jerusalem to Jericho they say was approximately 30 Kilometers, but the way was very steep with a difference in altitude of almost 1000 meters as travelers descended to Jericho. Also this was a dangerous road that this man chose to travel on.
Oftentimes, we venture out on a path that we know is not good for us, but we still choose to go ahead because of various circumstances. We should therefore not be surprised if we are faced with troublesome situations along the way. Every time we deliberately walk away from God’s protective presence, we should not then blame anyone for the calamities we encounter. Adam and Eve were enjoying the presence of God in the Garden of Eden, but when they decided to disobey the command of God, they had to face so many serious consequences.
The plight of the man
As the man journeyed down this dangerous road, he fell among robbers. The only goal of these bandits was to confiscate all the good things that this man had in his possession. We read in John 10:10, “The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life - life in all its fullness.” (GNB)
God created Adam in His own image, He gave Adam the freedom to make choices, and to have authority to rule over all that God had made. However, when man chose to rebel against God and do His own thing, Satan took over that authority that duly belonged to man.
• He was stripped
The first thing that happened to this man was that he was stripped of all his clothing. Our clothes are in a way an identity of who we are, and by disrobing this man, the robbers left him without any identity as to who he really was.
When God created man, He clothed him with the robe of righteousness, but when man sinned, he lost the glory of God that covered him, and he realized that he was naked. Man realized that he had forfeited something that was really precious to him. The enemy comes to steal, and he stole the glory that rightfully belonged to man.
• He was wounded
The second thing they did was that the thieves left him wounded. This again is the work of the devil who thrives on causing hurts to people. As children of God, we have been given the protective armor of God to stand against the wiles of the evil one. God has gifted us with the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, and the belt of truth so that we can arm ourselves against the attacks of Satan. Look at mankind all around us, and we will observe that they are bruised or hurt in so many ways, and most of these are deep inside.
• He was left bleeding
Thirdly, we read that they left the man bleeding. The state of the man was such that if one did not come forward to help him, he would probably have bled to death. Truly if God did not choose to give His son for sinful mankind, there was no hope for man.
When the robbers left him, the traveler was at the threshold of death, with everything that he owned being stolen from him. Many people have forfeited many of the blessings of the Lord because they have gone away from God’s protection, and have allowed Satan to get hold of all that belonged to them.
Two who passed by
We read in Luke 10:31-32, “Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.” (ESV)
There were two men who passed by the wounded man, and Jesus specifically identifies these two men, one was a Priest and the other a Levite. Both of these men were those who served at the temple. These religious leaders could not help, and also did not even try to come forward to help the wounded man. This teaches us that religion as such, with all of its cumbersome rituals are not able to save us. Therefore it is important that we consider as to who is truly able to help us in our predicament.
The one who stopped to help
We further read in Luke 10:33, “But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.”(ESV)
There was another person whom Jesus spoke about in this parable and he was a Samaritan. In bible times, there was animosity between Jews and Samaritans, they would not even talk to each other, and would avoid being in each other’s presence. However, when this Samaritan saw this wounded man who was most probably a Jew, he had compassion on the man and came forward to help him.
This shows the difference between the Holy God and sinful man. God’s holiness and man’s sinfulness are poles apart, yet God chose to help us. While Jesus was here on earth teaching about the Kingdom of God to the people, Jesus was moved with compassion over them. We have a God who deeply feels, and has compassion towards us. Jesus came down to earth to redeem us, took on flesh and blood like each one of us, and He understands every emotion we go through. He understands our confusions, our pains, our loneliness, our tears, and all of the complex circumstances that we go through.
The Samaritan did all he could
We read in Luke 10:34, “He went over to him, poured oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them; then he put the man on his own animal and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.”(GNB)
• He came near the man
The Samaritan went close to the wounded man to help him.
For those who feel that there is none to help you, let me remind you that you have a Good Samaritan who is near you, and ever ready to help you. When Jesus was here on earth, a man with leprosy came to Him, and begged Jesus to heal him. While everyone would shun a leper, Jesus touched the man with leprosy, and healed him. Our God is a holy God, and we as human beings are stained by sin. Yet, God sent His only begotten Son Jesus into the world to save us.
• He treated his wounds
Not only did the Samaritan come near the wounded man, he also poured oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. Every time I imagine this scene, I guess this Samaritan was out on some important work. Nonetheless, when he saw the wounded man, he set aside his schedule, and his agenda, and went forward to help the man who was in a helpless condition.
Remember that Jesus came down to the earth to save us from all of our infirmities and our hurts. No one else can understand us, and help us like Jesus can. The word of men will be of no use, but when the Lord binds our wounds, there will be healing and restoration in our lives.
• He put him on his own donkey
After the Samaritan had bound the wounds of the wounded and bleeding man, the next thing he did was to put him on his own donkey. This act demonstrates God’s immense love towards all of us. The wounded man was full of blood, and being thrown in the sand, he must have been so messed up. Anyway nothing stopped the Samaritan from picking him up, and I imagine he must have even torn a part of his own robe to bind the bleeding man’s wounds.
We have the Lord Jesus who perfectly understands our situations, and came down so that we our wounds can be covered and healed by His stripes. Jesus understands and sympathizes with every one of our circumstances, and He is ever willing to help all those who are deeply wounded. We can tell God everything, and if we ask Him to help us, He is compassionate and ready to step in to bring healing, and restoration to every area of our lives. We will experience the presence of God anew in our lives.
• He took him to an inn and took care of him
The Samaritan took the wounded man on his donkey, and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. This is indeed such an astounding thing as the Samaritan did not just leave the wounded man at the inn and walk away, but stayed back to take care of him. He was not content to giving the wounded man first-aid only, but was genuinely concerned that he was well on the road to recovery.
As I shared at the beginning, mankind had to face the consequences of the wrong choices that were made. We were in a deplorable condition, wounded and bruised by Satan, but Jesus came down as the Good Samaritan. Jesus was moved with compassion at the plight of fallen mankind, and He came to save us, and bind up all of our wounds by His sacrifice on the cross.
• He left him in the care of the inn-keeper
We read in Luke 10:35, And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ (ESV)
The one who is a Good Samaritan is the preacher of good news of the gospel to the world.
We are constantly listening to a lot of bad news, which affects us in many ways. In such a situation, the Lord has chosen such His ministers to share this good news with those around us. The Bible refers to the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as gospels, which actually means ‘Good News.’ The good news is that mankind does not need to struggle with sin, or undertake penance of various sorts to get right with God. On the other hand, all that one has to do is to believe that Jesus came down to this earth, took our sins on Himself, and to be assured that there is no room for curse or to live in bondage to sin anymore. When this happens God comes into our lives to bring healing and restoration.
We observed how the Samaritan did not just stop with giving the wounded man first-aid, but he also brought him into an inn, took care of him for a while, and then left him under the care of the inn-keeper.
There are many who believe in Jesus and have accepted Him as their Saviour and Lord, but have failed to become part of a local church for various reasons. We are encouraged to be in fellowship, to listen to God’s word, to grow in our spiritual life, and knowledge of God and His word. We are reminded that first-aid alone is not enough, we must be willing to be in the care of a good local church. The inn-keeper can be compared to the pastor of a church, whose responsibility was to help the man be restored to perfect health and strength. The pastor preaches the word, the person get into fellowship with other believers, and with time the person is revived and restored to all that God intended for him to be.
This may appear to be a simple parable that Jesus taught, but we realize that there is so much of depth and meaning that was conveyed. As God’s children it is crucial that you find a good local church that you can belong to, get into fellowship, listen to the word of God, and allow God to work in your lives to bring changes wherever necessary. Only then we will be able to be renewed and re-established to become the people God wanted us to be. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, and have surrendered your life to Him, I encourage you to take make every effort to be a part of the church, which is the body of Christ.
The word of God admonishes us that we should not neglect the gathering together of believers, and this is so important because as individuals we will falter in various ways, when faced with different situations. Remember that the church is the body of Christ, He is the head of the church, and all of us are members of His body. Only when we become part of the church can we be healed, restored, and then we will fulfill the will of God for our lives. If God is speaking to you, be reminded that church was God’s idea, and He instituted it so that all of mankind can be healed, taken care of and be restored to wholeness.
Once we are part of the church we should not become complacent and content, but rather be those who will go out to help others who are in need of that first-aid, and bring them also into the church so they too can be healed and renewed. All of us were once bleeding and wounded with no hope, but Jesus came to bind all our wounds, and He regenerated us to be all that He meant for us to be. We are healed and revived so that we can become those who will fulfill the will of God in our lives. Jesus said to Peter in Matthew 16:18, “and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (ESV) Note how that Jesus said that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church which implies that not as individuals but only when we are part of the church, we can be overcomers. If you are not sure where to join, pray and ask the Lord to guide you aright, and make a decision to join and be in fellowship with a church. When you obey God He will take you, and use you to be a great blessing to many.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
