27He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
28"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
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I used to think this story was an example to show how to be good to strangers. Two religious types pass by a person in need and one stops and truly helps. End of story. But later I realized there is much more to this story.
The priest and Levite not only represent religious types, they represent me and my actions toward my family and friends and acquaintances. JESUS knew the Sadducee, or teacher of the Law, was trying to test HIM. This is a rare discussion that shows JESUS had compassion on even those who opposed HIM.
HE illustrates how people who have been in church a long time forget why they are learning the Bible. The Bible is meant to be a guide book rather than a rule book. The words of grace and mercy should guide humans away from the path of rejecting CHRIST.
The illustration shows us how to apply this guide book to our lives. JESUS uses an extreme example of a person coming from a group who hated the Jews for their prejudice. The Samaritan helped a Jew. GOD says at the end, "Go and do likewise."
Go and help someone you don't care for? Yes. What about repayment for my actions? GOD says "Your repayment will be in heaven where moths and rust cannot get to it." Flip the script, how would you like to be the person in need? Help someone in need, don't look at the pay, don't judge the person in need.
- Is there someone in your family who is in need?
- Are you too concerned with how you look to other people to help someone who is different than you?
- Is there anyone around you in pain that you are passing by because you are judging them?
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