GO AND DO THOU LIKEWISE

Luke 10:29-35,37

Morning Meditation 12/5/14

"But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee . . . Go, and do thou likewise."

The Parable of the good Samaritan came out of His teaching that we should be good Samaritan's and help those who lie near death by the roadside. A certain lawyer asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" Then gave the above in answer to that question.

First of all, Jesus calls attention to the fact that a certain priest came by the wounded man, who had been so severely beaten that he could not rise, and make it to a place where he could receive help.

John Gill says, "The priest had been at Jerusalem, to take his turn in the courses, and was now returning to Jericho, where the stationary men were, to which he belonged: for it is said, that So that it is no wonder to hear of priests and Levites passing to and fro in this road. Nor was this a chance matter with respect to God, by whose providence all things are ordered, directed, and governed; nor any wonderful thing with respect to men, which fell out in an uncommon way, beyond expectation; the phrase only signifies, that so it came to pass." Jesus shows the hardness of the hearts of the spiritual leaders in Israel at the time. This priest simply went around him and offered no help.

Second, Jesus mentions the Levite. Luke 10:32, "And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side." You will notice that the Levite went so far as to look on him. This makes his neglect to be a neighbor unto this wounded man left half dead much worse. He saw the man's condition clearly.

Third, Jesus calls our attention to a Samaritan who came to the aid of the wounded man. Compassion motivated him to help. First, he gave the man immediate treatment. Our text says that the Samaritan "bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine." The story could have ended there. But the Samaritan finished the job he had begun. He put him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. Jesus tells us, "And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again I will repay thee."

This is called the Parable of the good Samaritan. It could easily be called the parable of the priest, Levite, and the good Samaritan.

We need to ask ourselves, "Which one of these men represent us?" If we are saved we all have a classification that is identical to those mentioned in this parable. The people of this world have been attacked by the robbers of Satan. They have left the unsaved man half-dead, i.e., spiritually dead and physically alive. The two men who should have been compassionate, just passed him by. They did not want to be detained. They also knew that it would cost them something to help this poor dying man. Then the unsuspecting good Samaritan came along. He allowed his time to be interrupted. He took his own oil and wine and poured it in the wounds and then bound them up. On top of all this, he took the half-dead man, and put him on his own beast, and took him to an inn where he could recover. He paid for his room, and gave the inn keeper money to get him further medical help, and promised to repay the inn keeper, if he had to spend more.

Jesus tells the lawyer and those present, "Go and do thou likewise." May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White