The Good Samaritan
LUK 10:24 "for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."
25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?"
27 So he answered and said, " ’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ’your neighbor as yourself.’ "
28 And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
30 Then Jesus answered and said: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 "Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 "Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.
33 "But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34 "and went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 "On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ’Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’
36 "So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"
37 And he said, "He who showed mercy on him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
This, in my opinion, is one of the greatest parables in the bible. Jesus was a master teacher and nowhere in the Word of God is it more evident than here. He was the best at using illustrations that made a truth or story come to life. In fact in this parable the whole story of mankind from the fall of Adam to the second coming is told. When the lawyer asked Jesus the question, ‘Who is my neighbor?’, little did he realize the scope of the answer he received. It’s amazing to me that God did such a masterful job of painting pictures of the story of redemption throughout the word of God. It is said concerning Jesus in HEB 10:5 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you had no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ’Behold, I have come - in the volume of the book it is written of Me - to do Your will, O God.’ " There are types and shadows as well as parables of Him all over the bible. Jesus is the subject of the old testament as well as the new testament.
We will dissect this story phrase by phrase; "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho”. It says a certain man not just any man. This man was Adam who represents mankind. Next it says that he went down. Adam was created in the likeness and image of God. He had a great relationship and fellowship with Him. He was created for God and for His purposes. We all know the story of Adam’s sin. Adam sinned against God and fell or “went down”. In the story of the Good Samaritan it says that he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. Jerusalem was the city of God’s dwelling place, a place of great blessing. This describes Adam’s state before he sinned. He lived in the presence of God. He was in a place of great blessing.
The text says that he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. According to Joshua 6:26, Jericho is a cursed place. As we see in the story, this certain man (Adam) goes down from Jerusalem (a blessed place) to Jericho (a cursed place). It is interesting that the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was a steep descent of about 18 miles. It was infested with thieves and robbers and was known as “ the bloody way”. John 10:10 tells us talking about the devil that, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
Then Jesus answered and said: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. LUK 10:30. In the next phrase it says that he fell among thieves. We know that this is the devil and his evil spirits. It says that they stripped him of his clothing. John 10:10 tells us that one of the things the enemy does is steal from us. He steals our possessions from us and leaves us in poverty. The second thing it says that they did was to wound him. They left him poor and sick. The final thing that the thieves did to the traveler was to leave him alone and “half dead”. It’s interesting what God said to Adam in GEN 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." The word die in verse 17 is a plural word and can be translated, “ in dying you shall surely die”. The day that Adam sinned he died. He didn’t die physically but died spiritually and began to die physically. Adam was “half dead”.
"Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. LUK 10:31. The first one who came along was the priest. It said that he came along by chance”. He wasn’t looking for this wounded man but was only by chance coming that way. The priest speaks to us of religion. It is impossible for religion to meet the real needs of man. It could not save him so he passes by on the other side of the road.
"Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. LUK 10:32. The next one to come along was the Levite. The Levite was the servant of the temple and the interpreter of the law. The Levite is a type of the law. Galatians 3:11 tells us, “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "The just shall live by faith." The law cannot meet the needs of mankind so it too passes by on the other side of the road.
"But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion on him, LUK 10:33. Next to arrive on this pitiful scene is the Samaritan. The Samaritan in this story is Jesus. Samaritans were a mixed breed of Jew and gentile. They were despised by the Jews. Isaiah 53:3 tells us concerning Jesus that “He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” This text in Luke tells us that he was on a journey. The priest and the Levite came by chance but the Samaritan (Jesus) was on a journey. It says next that he came to where he was. Religion (the priest) wants us to come to him. The Levite (the law) wants us to come to it but the Samaritan (Jesus) came to where the half dead man was. When he saw him he had compassion on him. Religion has little compassion. The law only cares that you live up to its standard but Jesus has compassion. This compassion is demonstrated by what he did next. LUK 10:34 "and went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The first thing he did was bandage his wounds. He met his need. Compassion meets the need. That’s what Jesus does for us. He meets the need that we cannot meet in our own strength. Next he poured in the oil and wine. There is a great picture of this in
Luke 5:37, “And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.
38 But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.” The wine skins were made of leather. When they aged they would get brittle and begin to crack. They would soak them in water to cause them to become more pliable. They would then begin to rub oil into the skin until it was renewed. The Greek word for new wineskins implies renewed skins not brand new ones. This is a picture of what takes place in the new birth. Jesus soaks us in the water of His Word until faith comes and makes us pliable. He then takes the oil of the Holy Spirit and turns an old brittle cracked wineskin (heart) into a new or renewed soft pliable skin (heart). This heart is then ready to be filled with the new wine of the Holy Spirit. The Samaritan poured in the oil (of the new birth) and the wine (receiving of the Holy Spirit). The next thing the Samaritan does is to set him on his own animal. The animal speaks of strength. After we have been saved we need the strength of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told his followers in Acts 1:8 that they would receive power after the Holy Spirit came upon them. The animal (Holy Spirit) then takes the wounded man to the inn. The inn is a type of the church. The church is a place for wounded people. There are so many churches that do not want the wounded but that is where they belong. I believe that the Holy Spirit is leading people back to church in these last days. The church needs to be ready to minister to the wounded.
I love what happens next. "On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ’Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ LUK 10:35. Before he departs he makes sure there is ample provision. He leaves two denarii with the innkeeper to take care of the man. Two denarii is equal to two days wages. Peter tells us in his book, “ But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”2PE 3:8 . We could say then that there is provision for two thousand years. That is the number of the church age. Then he said that if he tarries he will repay when he comes again.
There you have the story of the Good Samaritan. Who is he? He is our lord and he has made such a wonderful provision for us. It doesn’t matter what kind of mess you have made of your life. He has anticipated it and the provision is there waiting on you today. You can’t mess your life up too much for God to fix. The only tragedy would be if you didn’t ask for his help. He will never intrude into your life unwanted or uninvited. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord, why don’t you pause and do it right now. Romans 10:9-10 tells us, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.” His wonderful gift is waiting to be received.
