July 23,2021In my blog post last week, I gave an assignment: to read Luke 10 and note when Jesus mentions the Father and the Holy Spirit. Just before “a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ (verse 25) Jesus welcomed those whom He had sent “two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go” (verse 1). After the seventy men (or seventy-two men according to some manuscripts) “returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name’ (verse 17), Jesus “rejoiced in the Spirit and said, ‘I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him’ (verses 21 and 22). The Lord Jesus was in constant communion with His Father and the Holy Spirit.
We looked at the context of the story of the Good Samaritan in last week’s blog post: believers are to be the Lord’s ambassadors, neighbours, and worshippers. In the jubilation expressed by the seventy men, Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe observes another threefold description:“There is a threefold joy here: the joy of service (Luke 10:17-19), the joy of salvation (Luke 10:20), and the joy of sovereignty (Luke 10:21-24). It is interesting that there are three men on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho who are described in Jesus’ story, which may have reported an actual incident or a parable. In either case, Jesus told about a man who was beaten by thieves, who left him “half dead” (v. 30). In his Study Bible, Dr. David Jeremiah observes: “The narrow road from Jerusalem to Jericho, about 17 miles long, was notoriously dangerous for travelers. It descended some 3,600 feet, and its short curves provided excellent hiding places for bandits. The excess of thieves earned this thoroughfare a name that means ‘the pass of blood’ or ‘the road of blood.’”
Why didn’t the priest and the Levite stop when they saw the wounded man? The priest might have been in a hurry to get home, weary after serving in the temple. He may have thought that thieves left the injured man there so they could rob him too. Whatever excuse he thought of, the priest “passed by on the other side” (v. 31). The Levite may have thought that somebody else was likely to stop after he “came and looked” (v. 32). If we were ranking the reactions of these two men, we would give the priest a zero and the Levite a half-point, for at least looking at the wounded man. Since neither man did anything to help the victim, they both were guilty of inaction and indifference. As Paul Harvey used to say in his stories on the radio, “the rest of the story” is not only surprising, but also satisfying. Instead of saying that a Jewish man stopped and helped the victim, Jesus said that “a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion … and took care of him” (verses 33 and 34). The lawyer would have been shocked to hear that a Samaritan man was the hero of the story.
Who were the Samaritans? Dr. Jeremiah writes: “In 722 BC, Assyria sent the defeated northern kingdom of Israel into exile, immediately deporting 20,000 Hebrews. The conquering Assyrians brought in foreigners to replace the deported Israelites, which led to the intermarriage of Jews and Gentiles. Jews of pure lineage despised the progeny of these mixed marriages.
Eventually, so much animosity arose between the full-blooded Jews and these mixed-blood Jews, or ‘Samaritans’ (so-called because they lived in Samaria), that the latter separated and started their own religion, building their own temple on Mount Gerizim.” In John 4, we read of the encounter that Jesus had with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. An assignment for next week: read John 4 and note the changes in the woman’s attitude as she speaks with Jesus.
Back to the story of the Good Samaritan, we see that he not only took the time to treat the victim’s wounds, he took him to an inn and gave money to those who would care for him. Even more than that, he promised to return and reimburse the caregivers for any expenses they would incur. What a powerful demonstration of mercy and love! May we also reach out to those who are helpless spiritually, giving them the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ.
Scripture for the weekend: “But He said, ‘More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’” Luke 11:28 (NKJV)
Thought for the weekend: “All love comes from God; if we’re not receiving the steady flow of God’s love ourselves, we’ll have none to give away.” – Winn Collier in “Walking Free” published by Our Daily Bread Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI
Steve