The Good Samaritan

 

The Good Samaritan

Luke 10:29 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.  34 So he 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."

God’s Word states that the greatest of all fruit is love. If you have Christ like love in your heart toward your fellow man, then you have fulfilled the law and the prophets. Gal 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." It is quite often difficult to love people when they treat you bad, but through the help of God’s indwelling Spirit, this is possible. If it were not possible to love your enemies as yourself, then Christ would not have taught this. With God, all things are possible, and without love, our faith is in vain. Anger, hate, bitterness, jealousy, envy, as well as holding on to a grudge, will lead to spiritual backsliding, and eventually to spiritual death, if one does not repent of this. If you are struggling with anger or hate issues, I recommend that you spend time in prayer, and in study of God’s Word to overcome this.

In response to the question, “who is my neighbor?” Christ taught the parable of the Good Samaritan. Christ said that there was a man who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and left him half-dead.  A priest and a Levite, passed by him on the other side of the road and would not help him. But, a certain Samaritan saw him and had compassion for him. The Samaritan bandaged his wounds, poured oil, and wine on them, and brought him to an inn. He paid the innkeeper to care for the man until he returned. Christ said that the true neighbor was the Samaritan, because he showed mercy to the man who fell among thieves. Christ also said to go and do likewise. Many people nowadays are very self-centered and the needs of others are of no importance. In a city that I once lived near, I was told of a man who died from a heart attack, while parked on the side of a road. The man was slumped over the steering wheel in broad daylight, on a very busy, well-traveled road, and no one stopped to check on him. The physician who examined the body said that the man would have probably lived if someone had helped him. This is an example of the selfishness that exists in our modern world. We need good Samaritans that are willing to take the time to help those in need. I have also heard many stories of good neighbors, who risked their lives to pull people out of burning cars or homes. I know of a non- believer who was willing to open up their home to a homeless family, when their Christian family members refused to. This non-believer displayed mercy for this family and proved to be a good Samaritan, while the Christian family members were willing to let their family go to a homeless shelter. God will bless those who show mercy to others. In our modern culture, we are taught that our money belongs to us and we have no responsibility to help the less fortunate. The truth is quite the opposite; God’s Word teaches that if we neglect the needy, we will not enter God’s kingdom. James taught that faith without works is dead. James states, that if you see your brother or sister naked, or hungry, and say to them, “be warm and filled,” but do not give him what he needs, then your faith is dead.

 James 2:14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

I admire the good work of ministries like the Salvation Army, homeless shelters, and food banks. They show the love of Christ to the hungry and homeless, by living what they preach. My wife and I used to do volunteer work for a Salvation Army homeless shelter and it was very fruitful. A person is more likely to listen to your testimony, if you are showing loving kindness toward them, rather than begging for their money. If the church would learn to be givers, rather than takers, then we would see a large harvest of souls overnight. The wheat and the tares grow together in Christianity, but the day is coming when the tares will be removed, and cast into the fire. Consider Christ’s teaching on the separation of the sheep and the goats on judgment day. The sheep, who enter God’s kingdom, are those who have fed the hungry, gave water to the thirsty, gave shelter to the stranger, clothed the naked, visited the sick and prisoner. The goats that go into punishment are those who have NOT done these things for their fellow man. If we claim to know Christ, we should have love, accompanied by action, for our fellow man. I encourage you to be a good Samaritan and reach out with the love of Christ to a hurting world! 

  

  Matt 25:31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.  33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'  37 Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' 41 Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire  prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' 44 Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' 45 Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."