Verses 29-37 “29But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
30And 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.
31And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
33But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34And 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.
35And 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.
36Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan was prompted by a person who sought to justify himself. Two of the characters in this parable, the priest and the Levite, would have to do a real “sales job” to justify their actions. Their treatment of the wounded man was unjust, and unjust behavior can not be justified. The Good Samaritan, on the other hand, did what all of us should do. He had compassion. Now, look at the verbs. He WENT to him. He BOUND up his wounds. He POURED in the oil and the wine (soothing ointment and disinfectant, but emblematic of the Holy Spirit and of joy). He SET him on his own beast. He BROUGHT him to an inn. He TOOK care of him. He TOOK out money and paid the inn keeper. He SAID, “Take care of him. And, he said, “When I COME again, I will REPAY thee (something, incidentally, that Jesus says to us). When we look at the verbs in this story, we are reminded that compassion acts! Compassion does something about the suffering of people. Compassion does not simply take a look and “pass by on the other side.” Jesus said, “GO and DO thou likewise.”
30And 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.
31And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
33But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34And 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.
35And 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.
36Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan was prompted by a person who sought to justify himself. Two of the characters in this parable, the priest and the Levite, would have to do a real “sales job” to justify their actions. Their treatment of the wounded man was unjust, and unjust behavior can not be justified. The Good Samaritan, on the other hand, did what all of us should do. He had compassion. Now, look at the verbs. He WENT to him. He BOUND up his wounds. He POURED in the oil and the wine (soothing ointment and disinfectant, but emblematic of the Holy Spirit and of joy). He SET him on his own beast. He BROUGHT him to an inn. He TOOK care of him. He TOOK out money and paid the inn keeper. He SAID, “Take care of him. And, he said, “When I COME again, I will REPAY thee (something, incidentally, that Jesus says to us). When we look at the verbs in this story, we are reminded that compassion acts! Compassion does something about the suffering of people. Compassion does not simply take a look and “pass by on the other side.” Jesus said, “GO and DO thou likewise.”
We have to ask ourselves, with which person in Jesus’ parable would I most identify?