THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN

Proclamation:

“In reply Jesus said: ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers.  They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.  A priest … a Levite … a Samaritan … Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man …’ Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’”  Luke 10:25-37 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Luke begins this chapter by stating that Jesus appointed seventy-two additional men to go out two by two ahead of Him to every town and place where He was about to go. (Luke 10:1-24)  Then Luke presents the parable of the Good Samaritan which Jesus told them.  The parable was in response to a second question that an expert of the law had asked Jesus after his first question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” He then asked, “And who is my neighbor?”  The parable states that three men came upon a man in need who had been robbed and beaten.  The priest and the Levite passed him by but the Samaritan stopped, offered him assistance, and took him to a place where he could be cared for and paid for the care. (Luke 10:33-35)  Luke ends the chapter by giving an example of how we can get so involved in the busy-work until we miss out on the most important part of why we are here. (Luke 10:38-42)

Application:

Sometimes, like this young man, we do and say things just to justify ourselves. (Luke 10:29)  We know what The Bible says about something and yet we still have questions as he did. (Luke 10:25-29)  Jesus, The Christ, makes it clear that we should do what The Bible says. (Luke 10:26)  He also tells us to help those who are in need. (Luke 10:37)  All too often we, the people of the church, see people who are in need of assistance and we just pass them by.  It is possible to help people in many ways including, but not limited to, giving them money.  We are blessed in order to be a blessing to others.  Jesus said that as we treat the least of the people, He takes it as if that is how we have treated Him. (Matthew 25:35-45)  Knowing what The Bible says does not do us any good if do not live by what it says.