The Good Samaritan

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.”