The Good Samaritan

Who does not know the story that’s entitled “The Good Samaritan” found in Luke 10:29-37? Okay, here’s a refresher...

A guy, heading from Jerusalem to Jericho, is robbed, stripped naked, beaten badly and more or less left on the side of the road to die. First a priest then a Levite, come walking up the road but upon seeing the half dead man laying there, both do the same thing at different times; they cross over to the other side of the road and pass the guy straight. Imagine that. Then, a Samaritan, who by the way, Jews despised, on his way to somewhere, sees the poor guy and immediately makes a detour. He bandaged the guy’s wounds, poured oil and wine, put him on his donkey, took him to an inn, took care of him overnight, yes, overnight; then next morning because he probably already missed the first day of his conference, had to leave, so he paid the innkeeper to continue to take care of this Jewish stranger…the guy was going from Jerusalem to Jericho, so we can confidently deduce that he was Jewish…until his return.

Okay, good, that is the story in a nutshell. This, one of Jesus’ parables, is meant to teach us a lesson.

Now, I know that when we read or hear a sermon on this Samaritan, we are often told that we should be good like the Samaritan, showing mercy and compassion to others, and not be like the priest and the Levite who did not.

But, like the priest and the Levite, everyone just bypasses the guy. All of us, including preacher, pastor and Bible Study teacher, leave him on the side of the road. We completely ignore him. After reading the passage we do not mention the guy ever again, we only focus on the priest, the Levite, the Samaritan and sometimes the innkeeper gets a bit part but never the guy. And you know what I think, out of all the characters in this parable, it is the guy with whom we should all be identifying.

Yes, that wounded, beaten, side-stepped, ignored guy is you and me. Oftentimes we find ourselves in such a messy situation, downtrodden and broken that even when we try to get back on our feet, we feel so beaten up that we just cannot seem to stand. We simply cannot do anything for ourselves and the persons we think we can depend on, upon seeing our state, just keep on walking. They prefer not to get involved; they want no part of you when you are down. But not Jesus. He attends to all our needs. He bandages our wounds and takes good care of us. Jesus is the Good Samaritan. He picks us up and takes us into that place where we can feel safe, heal and re-gain our strength.

We have to trust Him and not rely on our own efforts. We have to trust Him and not place so much dependence on others. We have to trust that when we are attacked, Jesus will show up.

Beloved, no matter what, Jesus will not pass you by.

Amen

Shelley Johnson “The Good Samaritan” © January 13, 2025