The Good Samaritan - Jesus teaches compassion for all in need

JESUS WAS URGING-BE A GOOD SAMARITAN
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Luke 10:37 37The expert in the law replied, "The one
who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do
likewise."
GreatTexts of the Bible
The GoodSamaritan
And Jesus saidunto him, Go, and do thou likewise.—Luke 10:37.
The story of the goodSamaritanis one of our Lord’s greatestand most typical
parables. It is so simple that a child can read its meaning; yet it is in truth a
treatise on practicalethics more profound in thought and more powerful in
effectthan any other in the world. Is it too much to say that in these few
verses there is containedthe essentialtruth of man’s relations with his fellow-
men? Our very familiarity with the parable blinds us to the greatnessofits
mingled simplicity and depth and—let us add—to the greatnessofthe claim
which it makes upon us.1 [Note: Archbishop C. G. Lang, The Parables of
Jesus, 123.]
As we grow older and as things change around us, the old becomes evernew.
We look upon the record from a different point of sight, and the parts group
themselves togetherin new combinations. We look upon it in a new light, and

what perhaps we had not noticed before grows radiant with unexpected
brightness. It is so with the parable now before us. I suppose that we can
never read it thoughtfully without finding some fresh power in it to meet new
circumstances;and at the same time the central truths of the Divine narrative
always rise sharp and clear before us to crowneachspeciallessonwhichit
supplies.2 [Note:Bishop B. F. Westcott, Village Sermons, 342.]
In order to understand the parable we must first of all understand the
question with which the lawyer came to Jesus and His reply. Then will follow
the truths taught in the parable itself. When we understand the parable we
shall see the meaning and feel the force of the exhortation contained in the
text.
I
The First Questionand its Answer
The lawyerput two questions to Christ. The first question he came for the
purpose of asking, the secondhe found himself compelled to ask.
1. Christ was in Capernaum. And while He was there a certainlawyer stood
up and tempted Him, saying, “Master, whatshall I do to inherit eternal life?”
This lawyer was not a lawyer in our acceptationof the name; he was a man
versed in the precepts and ceremonies ofthe Mosaic law, and also in the
commandments and traditions with which meddling priests and scribes had
thickly incrusted that law until it became a burden too heavy to be borne. He
stoodup before the Saviour to tempt Him. The word clearlyshows—forits
meaning is always a bad one in the New Testament—thathis aim was not to
elicit truth but to lay a trap for Christ, to entangle Him in His talk. He was a

type of the captious critic, whom you canstill find in every street and lane of
the city. Nothing could be more solemnand profound than his question; and
nothing more unseemly and self-defeating than the spirit in which it was
propounded.
He who came to sneermay have departed to pray. Many an incautious seeker
has found more than he really sought. The light of conviction has broken in
upon men who were not even honestin their doubt. Paul was never more
furious againstJesus than on the day of his conversion. More than one scoffer
has gone to church to ridicule his wife’s religionand has gone home to beseech
his wife’s God for mercy. One of the most remarkable preachers of early
Methodism was convertedat a meeting which he attended solely for the
purpose of breaking it up. He meant to drive out the preacher, but the truth
hookedin his soul. Contestagainsttruth is never hopeful. The keenestblade is
soft metal againstthe “swordof the Spirit.” God is a terrible antagonist. So,
howeverbitter or cynicalthe spirit of this lawyer may have been, I am
confident he carriedaway in his soul the barb of conviction.1 [Note:G. C.
Peck, Visionand Task, 259.]
(1) The question is one which has been askedmany times, springing to the
heart and to the lips of many people, distressed, perhaps, by the consciousness
of wrong, or lifted up perhaps to catch, as it were, the faint murmurs of some
more beautiful world in some more beautiful time; or perhaps in the hour in
which, conscious ofthe transitoriness of this life and the hateful persistence of
material things, we have askedwhetherit is possible for us to take hold of
some abiding vitality which will remain with us among the perishing things of
this world.
The answerof Christ was in the form of a question, the bestform in most
caseswhere the motive of the inquirer lacks genuinenessand reality. “Whatis
written in the law? how readestthou?” Here was a lawyer, who read the law,

studied the law, expounded the law, and he was sentto the law for an answer
to his query. “How readestthou?” There seems to have been no hesitationin
his reply. With wonderful coolnesshe gives the condensedsummary and
essenceofthe moral law, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind;
and thy neighbour as thyself.”
(2) The man’s question was far too urgent and important to be dealt with
merely by describing what would be intellectually in harmony with the
question at issue, and therefore Jesus Christ immediately made an appealto
the man’s conscience. He said: “Thoushalt love the Lord thy God”;then said
Jesus Christ: “Thatis right; this do, go on doing this, and thou shalt live.”
That is the appealto the conscience.
When we were leaving Liverpool, after my father’s death, I went with my
mother, as she wished to bid “Good-bye” to Dr. McNeile. As we were leaving,
my mother mentioned that I was to be ordained before long. “Oh!” he said, “I
wish I had knownthat.” Then, coming near to me, he laid his hand upon my
shoulder, and he said, “At first you will think that you can do everything, then
you will be tempted to think that you can do nothing; but don’t let yourself be
castdown: you will learn that you can do what God has for you to do.”1
[Note:Bishop Boyd Carpenter, Some Pages ofMy Life, 117.]
2. Christ has touched the man’s conscience;He has pricked the side of his
moral sense, and you will see the indication of that in a moment. What is the
refuge—the almost continuous refuge—ofthose whose consciencesare just
slightly disturbed? The refuge usually is a resortto a dialecticalargument,
and therefore the man immediately begins to enter into an argument. He
wishes now to raise a side-issue, and he asks:“Who is my neighbour?”

(1) Here is a question which might be debated for days, for years, and yet not
be fully answered, for it was exactlyone of those questions which were so dear
to those who in the Jewishworld were anxious to make out that the privileges
of Israel still existed. It is written: “Thoushalt love thy neighbour”; but “if all
the Gentiles should fall into the sea you are not bound to draw them forth, for
these are not thy neighbours”—thatwas the idea of the Jew. Therefore the
question of what was the line of demarcation, the line of locality, or blood, or
personality, or geographicalor racialclaim that constituted the difference
betweenthe man who was a neighbour and the man who was not a
neighbour—those were the little dialecticalquestions which delighted the
Jewishmind; and so the man, feeling that Christ has winged a shaft right into
his conscience,begins immediately to turn the flank of the argument, as it
were, and to enter upon a dialecticaldiscussion. It is the refuge of the stricken
consciencewhichwishes to evade that which is brought straightbefore the
moral sense. This is the next step. When Jesus Christperceives that He has
strickenthis man’s conscience, andthat he does not realize that the real
difficulty of his life is that he has had magnificent theories which as yet have
not been fully translatedinto action, then, knowing that the man’s conscience
is awake, He begins to strike for the man’s heart.
(2) In answerto his secondquestion, “Who is my neighbour?” Christ told him
the parable of the goodSamaritan. Now considerthe deep principle of human
conduct—we might almostcall it the philosophy of life—which the parable
contains. We discoverthe clue to it when we notice that the parable does not
answerthe lawyer’s question. The question was:“Who is my neighbour?”
The parable tells what it is to be neighbourly. It seems to be a case oflogical
non sequitur. In fact, it is a case of the truth which is deeperthan logic. Our
Lord could not teachthe truth by answering the question. For the question
itself was wrong; it revealeda wrong temperament of mind. It was facing not
truth but fundamental error; to follow it would therefore have been to lose the
truth. The lawyer, steepedin all the traditions and instincts of his class,
wanted our Lord to give him a clear and precise definition of his neighbour;
to mark him out, and set him apart from the generalmass of mankind. But
definition means limitation. If our Lord had said, “This man is your

neighbour,” the inference in the lawyer’s mind would have been, “Thenthat
other is not my neighbour; I need not concernmyself with him; I can pass him
by.” But this conclusionwould have been the very error which Jesus came to
banish. He could put the man right only by declining to answerthe question;
by taking him to a wholly different standpoint, and making him start there,
namely—“Be in your own spirit neighbourly, and then every man will be your
neighbour.”
In our religious and moral difficulties we throw out some question as a sort of
challenge, persuading ourselves that it is really decisive. Often it remains
unanswered. We are disappointed, discomfited. Under such failure of their
self-chosentestquestions, men often give up their faith or surrender their
moral struggle. But, apart from the petulance, the impetuosity, or the effort to
“justify oneself” whicha little honest self-scrutiny would often discoverin our
questions, and which are sufficient to deprive them of any right to an answer,
God’s wisdom may see that they spring from a wrong attitude of mind, that
they are not facing the line of truth, and therefore may refuse to answerthem.
But all the while in some other way, at the moment perhaps not discerned, He
may be leading us to the truth. While our mind remains a blank as to that
particular difficulty which we thought of such crucial importance, He may be
bringing some other truth before us, or shaping our lives by some special
experience, so that after a time we shall find, perhaps without knowing how,
that that old question has been answeredin some other way, or has been
proved futile or superfluous.1 [Note: C. G. Lang.]
There are, who darkling and alone,
Would wish the weary night were gone,
Though dawning day should only show

The secretoftheir unknown woe;
Who pray for sharpestthrobs of pain
To ease them of doubt’s galling chain:
“Only disperse the cloud,” they cry,
“And if our fate be death, give light and let us die.”
Unwise I deem them, Lord, unmeet
To profit by Thy chastenings sweet,
For Thou wouldst have us linger still
Upon the verge of goodor ill,
That on Thy guiding hand unseen
Our individual hearts may lean,

And this our frail and foundering bark
Glide in the narrow wake ofThy beloved ark,
So be it, Lord; I know it best,
Though not as yet this waywardbreast
Beatquite in answerto Thy voice;
Yet surely I have made my choice:
I know not yet the promised bliss,
Know not if I shall win or miss;
So doubting, rather let me die,
Than close with aught beside, to last eternally.1 [Note:John Keble, The
Christian Year.]
II

The Lessons ofthe Parable
The road from Jerusalemto Jericho, which nature has blasted with sterility,
Christ has refreshed with a tale of the most delicious humanity. That tale, if
regardedmerely as a picture of the time—as painting with a few strokes its
most marked forms of character, anddistributing their genuine colours over
its peculiar prejudices, vices and miseries, possessesinimitable beauty. There
is the Priest, whom we are accustomedto see amid the stir of Jerusalem—the
very model of pompous piety, the master of sanctimonious ceremonies,
beating his breast in the market-place, and stretching forth his hands at the
corners of the streets, the scrupulous adviser of the people’s conscience.We
are invited to see him on the solitary ride. His back turned to the metropolis,
he is a saint no more; he performs no charities among the hills; delivered from
the public eye, he breaks loose fromthe moralities of life and the reverence of
God. There is the Levite, a kind of menial of the sacerdotalorder, whose
conduct towards “him that fell among thieves” is true to his usual mimicry of
the priests, with whose interests his own are interwoven, and whose habits and
hypocrisy he copies to the life. And there is the Samaritan—half foreigner,
half apostate, andmore wholly outcastthan if he had been idolater
downright—the object of irritating historical recollection, the living memorial
of captivity and schism, the centre of a hate both national and religious. With
no office, or dignified caste, like the others, to protect him from peril by their
sanctity, but traversing a hostile country, he stops to bind the wounds of a
stranger.
No one has made the “GoodSamaritan” so realto the soul’s eye as Watts in
his picture of that name. It ceasesto be a parable; it becomes a vivid incident
of daily life. The naked, dead-alive condition of the Jew who had fallen among
thieves, clinging with a despairing grip to the supporting arm of the stranger
who has come at the last extremity to his help; the benevolent face of that
strangerand alien—so full of pity, so capable to save, so prompt to interpose,
could not possibly have been presentedin a more graphic way; while the

lonely, desolate region, half-waybetweenJerusalemand Jericho, is depicted
with a magic touch which adds immensely to the pathos of the scene. The
whole story is seenas by a lightning flash, and it makes its appeal to the heart
in a manner which cannotbe resisted. “Go, anddo thou likewise”is felt with
irresistible powerby every one who gazes upon that moving sight, and the
selfishness that would make one pass by on the other side, and disclaim all
connexion with a human brother in distress, whose creed and conditions of life
are different from ours, becomes impossible.1 [Note:Hugh Macmillan, Life-
Work of George Frederic Watts, 163.]
A Priestand Levite both passedby,
Sent out perchance, to vainly try
To do some good, in fashion high,
Upon the road to Jericho.
But praises of Jerusalem
A wounded sinner would condemn.
This fallen soul was not for them,
Nor journeys down to Jericho.

Their words he would not understand,
Their solemn priestly reprimand.
He needed but a helping hand
Upon the road to Jericho.
So both passedby on the other side.
But soon, a man who dare not chide
Came by, then stopped to save and guide
This traveller to Jericho.
He helped him up; he cheeredhim on;
He bound his bruises one by one;
And ere the daylight quite was gone

Their backs were turned to Jericho.
And still the goodSamaritan,
With friendly words, as man to man,
And deeds which mercy far outran,
Stayed him who’d go to Jericho.
Oh, more than ritualistic power,
To guard and help in danger’s hour,
When clouds of sin and trouble lower
Upon the road to Jericho,
Is th’ goodSamaritan’s command.
And may we all wellunderstand
The value of this friendly hand,

Should we go down to Jericho.1 [Note:M. A. B. Evans, The MoonlightSonata,
45.]
1. Religious professionandservice have no necessaryconnexionwith real
goodness.—This lessongleams through the whole narrative. Here, for
example, we have two Jews, both of them occupying officialpositions in the
Temple worship and service, and yet neither of them possessedofthe common
sympathies of humanity, but both of them capable of seeing a fellow-mortalin
suffering, extreme and possibly fatal, without devising for him any succour.
Where should pity have been found if not in a priest of the Most High God?
What did his very priesthood signify? In what had it its birth? Was he not a
symbolic mediator between Godand men? Had he not to dealwith a service
which culminated in a mercy-seat? A true priesthoodimplies a compassionate
and forgiving God. A true priest was takenfrom among the people that he
might have compassionon the ignorant and on them that were out of the way.
As the representative of Him who pities the distressed, and whose tender
mercies are over all His works, it was natural to expect that he would have
succouredthe pillaged and bleeding traveller. But it is clearthat men may
have much to do with religious service and have nothing to do with religion.
The deadening influence of mere officialism was so keenlyfelt and fearedby
the Apostle Paul that he rousedinto activity every energy of his nature that he
might vanquish it. He was an apostle, but he was fearful lesthe should forget
that he was a man. He had to blow the trumpet, and summon others to the
battle with self and sin, but he was apprehensive lest he should neglecthis own
soul; and hence, with stirring earnestnessandsubduing pathos, he says, “I
therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
but I keepunder my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any
means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”1
[Note:E. Mellor, The Hem of Christ’s Garment, 185.]

ProfessorD. B. Towner, who was associatedwith Mr. Moody for the last
fourteen years of his life, says:“After his meetings in Oakland, Cal., in the
spring of 1899, whenI accompaniedhim as a singer, we took the train for
Santa Cruz. We were hardly seatedwhen in came a party of young men, one
of whom was considerablyunder the influence of liquor and very badly
bruised, with one eye completely closedand terribly discoloured. He at once
recognizedMr. Moody, and began to sing hymns and talk very loudly for his
benefit. Mr. Moodycaught up his bag and said, ‘Towner, let us get out of
this.’ When I reminded him that the other carwas full, he settleddown,
protesting that the company should not allow a drunken man to insult the
whole car in such a manner. Presentlythe conductorcame, and Mr. Moody
calledhis attention to the poor fellow in the rear of the car. The conductor
attended to his duty, and when he reachedthe young man he said a few words
to him in a low voice, and the fellow followed him into the baggagecar, where
he bathed his eye and bound it up with his handkerchief, after which the
young man soonfell asleep. Mr. Moody sat musing for a time, and then said,
‘Towner, that is an awful rebuke to me. I preached againstPharisaismlast
night to a crowd, and exhorted them to imitate the GoodSamaritan; and now
this morning God has given me an opportunity to practise what I preached,
and I find I have both feetin the shoes ofthe priest and Levite.’ He was
reticent all the way to Santa Cruz, but he told the incident that night to the
audience, confessing his humiliation.”2 [Note: W. R. Moody, The Life of
Dwight L. Moody, 439.]
2. Men may be neighbours though of different religious beliefs.—OurLord
does not saythat to be neighbourly a man must be of the Jewishreligion, or of
the Samaritanreligion, or of any other religion. The Priestand the Levite
were very religious;but, in spite of their religion, they were grossly
unneighbourly. Notwithstanding their high religious rank, they were as cold
and heartless as the most blatant infidel could be. On the other hand, the
Samaritan was neighbourly, not because he was a religious man, but right in
the teeth of his religious teaching. The best Samaritan lover of God, according

to his creed, was the best Samaritanhater of the religion of his neighbours in
Judæa; just as among ourselves, the most approved Protestantis by some
thought to be the most bitter anti-Catholic demonstrator.
A clergyman wrote to me, “I am a Calvinist; belief in the Incarnation appears
to me indispensable to salvation, and to my recognitionof any one as a child of
God. But I confess that the enormous difficulty of at leastapparent facts
staggersme; one of the most perfect characters I know is an agedUnitarian
lady; but then are there not most exemplary people to be found who deny all
Christianity in every shape and form? The more I think of it the more
perplexed I am.”1 [Note: J. Martineau, NationalDuties, 184.]
Some time ago, dismastedand waterloggedonthe boundless sea, a barque
had drifted about, until it was one thousand miles from any land, and all hope
of relief had died out from the minds of her starving crew. The cry, “A ship! a
ship!” roused the dying energies ofthe men, and at once shawls and shirts on
the ends of oars and boat-hooks were wavedas signals of distress. The
strangervesselchangedher course and bore down upon the miserable wreck.
The wretchedsufferers tried with united voice to send a cry of welcome over
the waves, andwhen they recognizedtheir country’s flag they rejoicedat the
sure prospectof relief. We cannotrealize what they felt as help drew near,
after having for days anticipated an awful death, but still less canwe imagine
their awful revulsion of feeling, and the howl of despair which rent the air,
when the vessel, sailing nearenough to see the ghastly wretches in their
destitute condition, stayed in its course, tackedabout, and sailedaway, leaving
them to their fate. Nor was this all; the same thing had been done by another
vesselpreviously, which also bore their country’s flag and colours. So they
endured the tortures of Tantalus, and abandonedthemselves to despair.
When death had thinned their numbers, and all were laid helpless, suddenly,
by God’s pity, a Norwegianvesselsailedacross theirpath. Compassionfilled
the hearts of the foreign sailors, and tender succourwas afforded them. Nor
was it until the last survivor had been carried on board the ship that they left

the wreck to drift away, a derelict coffin, with its unburied dead.2 [Note:W. J.
Townsend.]
3. Needis the measure of neighbourliness.—MaxMüllersaid that to the
Greek every man not speaking Greek was a barbarian; to the Jew every man
not circumcisedwas a Gentile; to the Muhammadan every man not believing
in the prophet of Arabia was an infidel. “It was Christianity that struck the
word ‘barbarian’ from the dictionaries of mankind and replacedit with the
word ‘brother.’ ” Under the influence of the teaching and spirit of Christ we
are coming to see that all men everywhere are neighbours, and that it is open
to us to do something to help the wounded pilgrim on life’s highway.
Longfellow spoke ofhis feelings at a banquet when so many were in the outer
darkness and in direst need. He spoke ofthe poverty-strickenmillions who
challenge our wine and bread; and impeach us all as traitors, the living and
the dead.
And wheneverI sit at the banquet,
Where the feastand song are high,
Amid the mirth, and the music
I can hear that awful cry.
And hollow and haggardfaces,

Look into the lighted hall,
And wastedhands are extended
To catch the crumbs that fall.
For within there is light and plenty,
And odours fill the air;
And without there is cold and darkness,
And hunger and despair.1 [Note: A. McLean, Where the Book Speaks,83.]
We cannotread John Woolman’s Journal without seeing how—to use his own
quaint and beautiful phraseology—hewas “baptizedinto a feeling sense ofall
conditions.” His sympathies knew neither barrier nor boundary. His devotion
braced itself to the expenditure of any energyand the endurance of any
sacrifice. Whereverhe discovereda weary and oppressedman or woman, he
recognizedhis neighbour and his brother. Whateverhe could do for these
forlorn and broken travellers, lying wounded by the wayside of life and
forgottenby the majority who passedby, was done cheerfully,
unpretentiously, graciously. “In Pharais,” Fiona Macleodtells as—and
Pharais is Celtic for Paradise—“there are no tears shed, though in the
remotestpart of it there is a grey pool, the weeping of all the world, fed
everlastinglyby the myriad eyes that every moment are somewhere wetwith
sorrow, or agony, or vain regret, or vain desire. And those who go there stoop,

and touch their eyelids with that greywater, and it is as balm to them, and
they go healed of their too greatjoy; and their songs thereafterare the
sweetestthat are sung in the ways of Pharais.” This was the paradise in which
John Woolman sojournedthrough all his fifty years of life. He was always
stooping and touching his eyelids with the grey water. His pity overleapedthe
fences and trammels which hem ours in.1 [Note: Alexander Smellie, in
Introduction to The Journal of John Woolman, xxiii.]
(1) Martineau denies that we are bound to be neighbourly to those who are in
need. He says, “We are under no obligation to love as ourselves the selfish, the
malignant, the depraved. Such are not our neighbours, but occupy the same
position with respectto us as the Priestand the Levite in the parable, from
whom, it is plain, Jesus withheld the appellation. That Christian morality is
hostile to personalresentment, that it softens the irritations of natural passion
by the memory of our common nature and common immortality, that it so
lifts the eye above the little orbit of our earthly life that we may serenelystudy
its seeming disorders, that it so enfolds us in consciousnessofuniversal
providence that nothing canseemtotally derangedin the affairs of men, is
perfectly true; but it does not stifle, it rather quickens our moral indignation
and aversionagainstwrong;and while it disposes us to patient and practical
exertion for the debased, while it creates forus new moral obligations towards
them, which no other religion ever recognized, it yet renders the sentiment of
interior affectionfor them more unattainable than ever. In spite of all the
refinements of a sentimental morality, it is impossible to separate in our
regard the agentand the act;disgust at intemperance is disgust at the
intemperate; aversionto hypocrisy is aversionto the hypocrite; indignation at
tyranny is indignation at the tyrant. That honour, which, for the sake ofour
universal Father, is due to all men, that respectwhich, in considerationof its
greatfuturity, is to be rendered to every human soul, and that promptitude of
beneficent effort which, in hope of abating misery, must be ready for every
occasion, are never to be withheld from natures the most lost; but emotion of
love like that which springs upward to God, the affectionwhich even our self-
respectmust not be permitted to exceed, is too holy to be squandered on any

but those who bear on them the signature of Divine approval.”1 [Note:J.
Martineau, National Duties, 183.]
(2) But on the other hand let us hear what Dr. Whyte has to say: “It has been
said of Goethe that, like this Priestand this Levite, he kept well out of sight of
stripped and wounded and half-dead men. I hope it is not true of that great
intellectual man. At any rate it is not true of Jesus Christ. ForHe comes and
He goes up and down all the bloody passes ofhuman life, actually looking for
wounded and half-dead men, and for none else, till He may well bearthe
name of The one and only entirely Goodand True Samaritan. They are here
to whom He has said it and done it. ‘When I passedby thee, and saw thee
wounded and half-dead, I said unto thee when thou wastin thy blood, Live;
yea, I said unto thee when thou wastin thy blood, Live. Now when I passedby
thee, and lookedupon thee, behold, thy time was a time of love. Then washedI
thee with water, and I anointed thee with oil.’ And we ourselves are the proof
of it.”2 [Note:A. Whyte, Our Lord’s Characters, 237.]
O Christ the Life, look on me where I lie
Ready to die:
O GoodSamaritan, nay, pass not by.
O Christ, my Life, pour in Thine oil and wine
To keepme Thine;

Me everThine, and Thee for ever mine.
Watch by Thy saints and sinners, watch by all
Thy greatand small:
Once Thou didst callus all,—O Lord, recall.
Think how Thy saints love sinners, how they pray
And hope alway,
And thereby grow more like Thee day by day.
O Saint of saints, if those with prayer and vow
Succourus now.…
It was not they died for us, it was Thou.3 [Note:Christina G. Rossetti, Verses,
207.]
4. Neighbourliness means sacrifice.—Itis not difficult to imagine that the
priest who passedthe wounded man so heartlesslymight say to himself, “Poor
man! he has been roughly handled by some highwaymen, but he has not long

to live now, that is clear, and he might as well die where he is as anywhere
else.” Orhe might say: “Ah! this is a pitiable case;but really it is not the place
for any man to linger in; and if I encumber myself with the care of him, the
robbers, who may even now be hiding beneath some bush or behind some
rock, may swooplike vultures down on me, and make of me another victim.”
Or he might say: “I am anxious to get home, and if I charge myself with the
duty of taking this poor man to Jericho, it will greatly retard my progress.”
All of which means that he would have been neighbour to him that fell among
thieves if it had costhim nothing—if it had left untouched his time, his
comfort, and his ease. And there are thousands who would be neighbours on
the same easyconditions, but such is not the spirit which our Saviour
commends. The man who would be a followerof the goodSamaritanmust be
one who is endowedwith the spirit of sacrifice.
January 23rd, 1827.—Sleptill, not having been abroad these eight days. Then
a dead sleepin the morning, and when the awakening comes, a strong feeling
how well I could dispense with it for once and forever. This passesaway,
however, as better and more dutiful thoughts arise in my mind. I know not if
my imagination has flagged;probably it has; but at leastmy powers of labour
have not diminished during the lastmelancholy week.… Wrote till twelve
a.m., finishing half of what I call a goodday’s work—tenpages ofprint, or
rather twelve. Then walkedin Princes Streetpleasure-groundwith Good
Samaritan James Skene, the only one among my numerous friends who can
properly be termed amicus curarum mearum, others being too busy or too
gay, and severalbeing estrangedby habit.1 [Note: Journalof Sir Walter Scott,
90.]
III
The Exhortation

Now look more narrowly at the words of the text. Their exposition is the story
which precedes, with its circumstances andits lessons.
“And Jesus saidunto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”This is the only human
example commended to us. In what the Samaritan did our Lord saw no flaw.
The Samaritan is for all times the model neighbour. What was it in the
conduct of the Samaritanthat won from our Lord this unique eulogium? It
was the all-round love of a neighbour. He gave time, service, money’s worth,
money. He gave everything. He kept back nothing. He grudged nothing. The
Samaritan’s benevolence was all-rounded. He by the wayside had no further
claim upon the Samaritan than this—he was a man.
1. Thus we have, first of all, an encouragementto a life of service like the
Samaritan’s. Considerthe characterofthis service.
(1) It is unselfish.—There is a compassionwhich is selfish;and it is very
common. Its motive sometimes is the indulgence of sentiment. The sentiment
of compassionlike other natural emotions craves satisfaction. Itis really
selfishwhen its primary motive is to satisfy itself rather than the need of its
recipient. The charity which relieves itself by giving an alms to any beggar
who asks, withoutthought or care for his realneed, which does not consider
that that alms may be a means of encouraging thriftlessness andimposture,
may be thus a cruel wrong both to the beggarhimself and to the really
deserving poor; the charity which, moved by some sentimental appeal, takes
no trouble to see whether that appealis true to facts, or likely to do more
harm than good—this charity is fundamentally false;it is a form of self-
indulgence. Or, again, the motive may be one’s own spiritual good. To give an
alms as a means of relieving one’s conscience, orof acquiring credit in the
eyes of God, is really a selfish act. It is not admirable, it is merely pitiable, to
see the crowds of beggars atsome church door in Italy, maintained in beggary
rather than lifted out of it, encouragedto trade in the apparatus of misery, by

the alms of the faithful. True charity, true neighbourliness, considers first not
the indulgence of sentiment or the satisfactionofconscience, but the true need
of the poor. And it has come to pass, through the abuse of charity, that the
true need of the poor is often best servedby withholding, not giving, the
heedless and casualdole.
It is simply and sternly impossible for the English public, at this moment, to
understand any thoughtful writing,—so incapable of thought has it become in
its insanity of avarice. Happily, our disease is, as yet, little worse than this
incapacity of thought; it is not corruption of the inner nature; we ring true
still when anything strikes home to us; and though the idea that everything
should “pay” has infected our every purpose so deeply, that even when we
would play the GoodSamaritan, we never take out our twopence and give
them to the host without saying, “When I come againthou shalt give me
fourpence,” there is a capacityof noble passionleft in our heart’s core.1
[Note:Ruskin, Sesame andLilies (Works, i. 31).]
(2) It is thorough.—The service ofthe goodSamaritan was thoroughgoing. We
modern Samaritans reflectthat the inn stands hard by, where this patient can
get every attention, and that it must be his own fault if he does not go there; so
we ride on with the comforting conclusionthat “so much is being done for
people of that class.”The ancientSamaritan did not pause to think whether
he would soilhis hands or stain his saddle. He understood that the rights of
property must give way before the claims of necessity. His beast was “his
own” no longer;for the time being it belongedto the man who was half dead.
Here is the Christian law of possession. The thieves had said, “All thine is
ours,” and had snatchedit violently. The Samaritan says, “All mine is thine,”
and yields it generously;because—as Philip Sidney said when he gave up his
cup of cold waterto the dying soldier—“Thynecessityis greaterthan mine.”

“Some years ago I lay ill in San Francisco, anobscure journalist, quite
friendless. Stevenson, who knew me slightly, came to my bedside and said, “I
suppose you are like all of us, you don’t keepyour money. Now, if a little loan,
as betweenone man of letters and another—eh?” This to a lad writing
rubbish for a vulgar sheetin California!”2 [Note:Quoted from The Times by
Graham Balfour in Life of R. L. Stevenson, ii. 40.]
(3) It is personal.—The servicewhichthe Samaritan rendered was personal.
He himself bound up the wounds, himself set the strangeron his own beast,
himself brought him to the inn and took care of him. Charity is always
incomplete unless it involves this element of personalservice. We have become
too much accustomedto acting the neighbour by deputy. We give money: we
leave it to others to give personalservice. Of course, to a large extent this is a
necessityofmodern life; and we can keepeven this second-handcharity at
leastin touch with true principles if we take pains to follow our money with
personalinterest and sympathy. But we must never be satisfiedwith this. No
amount of subscriptions cancompensate for this want of the touch of person
with person; of heart reaching heart; of will encouraging and strengthening
will. Each one of us ought to be able to think at once of some individual or
family in the ranks of the poor, the sick, the distressed, whomby personal
thought and care and act we are trying to comfortand cheerand raise.
“What is to be done for the unsaved masses?”Mr. Moody askedwhile in
Sheffield. In answering his own inquiry, he said that he had found a spiritual
famine in England such as he had never dreamed of. “Here, for instance, in
this town of Sheffield,” he said, “I am told that there are one hundred and
fifty thousand people who not only never go near a place of worship, but for
whom there is actually no church accommodationprovided, even if they were
willing to take advantage of it. It seems to me, if there be upon God’s earth
one blackersight than these thousands of Christless and gracelesssouls, it is
the thousands of dead and slumbering Christians living in their very midst,
rubbing shoulders with them every day upon the streets, and never so much

as lifting up a little finger to warn them of death and eternity and judgment to
come. Talk of being sickenedat the sight of the world’s degradation, ah! let
those of us who are Christian hide our faces because ofour own, and pray
God to deliver us from the guilt of the world’s blood. I believe that if there is
one thing which pierces the Master’s heartwith unutterable grief, it is not the
world’s iniquity but the Church’s indifference.” He then argued that every
Christian man and woman should feelthat the question was not one for
ministers and elders and deacons alone, but for them as well. “It is not
enough,” he said, “to give alms; personalservice is necessary. I may hire a
man to do some work, but I can never hire a man to do my work. Alone before
God I must answerfor that, and so must we all.”1 [Note:W. R. Moody, The
Life of Dwight L. Moody, 195.]
2. Lay emphasis on the necessityofdoing—“go, and do thou likewise.”Which
of us has never allowedsensibility of feeling to pass muster with his conscience
in the place of merciful action? The glow which warms our hearts when we
are rousedby a tale of oppression, orshed a tear over another’s woe, is so like
the comfortof a self-approving conscience whena duty has been done that we
need reminding roughly that in Heaven’s chanceryfine feeling counts for
nothing; that it is precious only so far as it leads to noble action; that the
sensibility which ends where it began makes inactionmore inexcusable;that
Faith’s meanestdeed more favour wears
Where lives and hearts are weighed
Than keenestfeelings, choicestprayers,
Which bloom their hour and fade.

Action is the test of feelings. The pity raised in us by the sight of suffering
must pass into the prompt energy which relieves it before we can claim a place
in that noble army typified by the Good Samaritan.
Shall I tell you what I saw the other day? It made me laugh, and yet it made
me sad. I saw, in one of your parks, a poor little raggedboy, who was
evidently hungry, and who was anxious to appeal successfullyto the pity of
the public. He was met by a tall, lean, cleanman, who sethis long, bony
fingers togetherstiffly and impressively, and lectured the child in very
suitable language. I overheardhim say, “This is not proper. You ought to
have been at school;you should not be prowling about here in this way; there
are places provided for such as you, and I earnestlyadvise you to getaway
from this course of life.” Every word he said was grammaticallycorrect, and
sociallyvery true. As he was delivering his frosty lecture to the poor lad, there
came a boy—a school-boyhastening to school—who was carrying a large
lump of bread and butter in his hand, while he was eating as only school-boys
can eat;and when he saw the poor raggedchild, he pulled his bread and
butter in two, put one half into the boy’s hand, and went on. “Notevery one
that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.” That
boy who gave his bread and butter awaywill stand a better chance than the
ninety-nine legallyupright, who apparently need no repentance!1 [Note:
JosephParker.]
3. Finally lay stress on the example—“go, anddo thou likewise”—forhere lies
the moral of the whole. Schooland train the sensibility and tenderness of
heart which God has given to you into the practice of active mercy towards
those who stand in need of it! Do, by ready and ungrudging bounty if God has
blessedyou with affluence; in any case by active kindness towards the sick
and sorrowing and helpless who shall cross your path, strive in some small
measure to pay back to Christ His own unspeakable compassionupon you!
For the one prevision of earth’s final judgment let fall by Him in talk with His

disciples measures acceptance orrejection, wealor woe, the right hand or the
left, not by Godward consciousness,integrity of conduct, purity of life, but
solelyby the loving succourextended to the wounded on life’s way, to the
suffering, the needy, the forlorn, imaged in whom He saw, and commanded
them to see, Himself.
This day lastyear Livingstone died—a Scotchmanand a Christian, loving
God and his neighbour, in the heart of Africa. “Go thou and do likewise!”—
Mackay’s Diary, Berlin, May 4th, 1874.1[Note:Mackayof Uganda, 10.]
Have you had a kindness shown?
Pass it on;
’Twas not given for thee alone,
Pass it on;
Let it travel down the years,
Let it wipe another’s tears,
Till in heav’n the deed appears—
Pass it on.

Did you hear the loving word?
Pass it on;
Like the singing of a bird?
Pass it on;
Let its music live and grow,
Let it cheeranother’s woe;
You have reaped what others sow,
Pass it on.
’Twas the sunshine of a smile,
Pass it on;
Staying but a little while!

Pass it on;
April beam, the little thing,
Still it makes the flow’rs of spring,
Makes the silent birds to sing—
Pass it on.
Have you found the heav’nly light?
Pass it on;
Souls are groping in the night,
Daylight gone;
Hold thy lighted lamp on high,
Be a star in some one’s sky,
He may live who else would die—

Pass it on.
Be not selfish in thy greed,
Pass it on;
Look upon thy brother’s need,
Pass it on;
Live for self, you live in vain;
Live for Christ, you live again;
Live for Him, with Him you reign—
Pass it on.
The GoodSamaritan

BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(37) Go, and do thou likewise.—This was the practical, though not the formal,
answerto the question of the lawyer. If he actedin the spirit of the Samaritan,
he would need no “nicely-calculatedless ormore” of casuistic distinctions as
to who was and who was not his neighbour. Fellowshipin the same human
nature, and any kind of even passing contact, were enoughto constitute a
ground for neighbourly kindness. Of such a question it may be said, Solvitur
amando. We love, and the problem presents no difficulty.
Nothing should lead us awayfrom recognising this as the main lessonofthe
parable. But there is anotherapplication of it which, within limits, is
legitimate enough as a development of thought, and which has commended
itself to so many devout minds, both in ancient and modern times, that it at
leastdeserves a notice. Christ Himself, it is said, is the greatpattern of a wide,
universal love for man as man, acting out the lessonwhich the parable teaches
in its highestform. May we not think of Him as shadowedforth in the good
Samaritan, as accepting, in that sense, the name which had been flung at Him
in scorn? Starting from this thought, the circumstances fit in with a strange
aptness. The traveller stands as representing mankind at large. The journey is
from Jerusalem, the heavenly city, the paradise of man’s first estate, to
Jericho, the evil and accursedcity (Joshua 6:17), the sin into which man
entered by yielding to temptation. The robbers are the powers of evil, who
strip him of his robe of innocence and purity, who smite him sore, and leave
him, as regards his higher life, half-dead. The priest and the Levite represent
the Law in its sacrificialand ceremonialaspects, andthey have no powerto
relieve or rescue. The Christ comes and helps where they have failed. The
beaston which He rides is the human nature in which the Word dwelt, and it
is upon that humanity of His that He bids us rest for comfort and support.
The inn represents the visible Church of Christ, and the host its pastors and

teachers;even the two pence, perhaps, the ordinances and means of grace
committed to the Church. There is an obvious risk, in all such application, of
an element that is fantastic and unreal; but the main line of parallelism seems
to commend itself, if not to the reason, atleastto the imagination of the devout
interpreter.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
10:25-37 If we speak ofeternal life, and the wayto it, in a carelessmanner, we
take the name of God in vain. No one will everlove God and his neighbour
with any measure of pure, spiritual love, who is not made a partakerof
converting grace. Butthe proud heart of man strives hard againstthese
convictions. Christ gave an instance of a poor Jew in distress, relievedby a
goodSamaritan. This poor man fell among thieves, who left him about to die
of his wounds. He was slighted by those who should have been his friends, and
was caredfor by a stranger, a Samaritan, of the nation which the Jews most
despisedand detested, and would have no dealings with. It is lamentable to
observe how selfishness governs allranks;how many excuses men will make
to avoid trouble or expense in relieving others. But the true Christian has the
law of love written in his heart. The Spirit of Christ dwells in him; Christ's
image is renewedin his soul. The parable is a beautiful explanation of the law
of loving our neighbour as ourselves, without regard to nation, party, or any
other distinction. It also sets forth the kindness and love of God our Saviour
toward sinful, miserable men. We were like this poor, distressedtraveller.
Satan, our enemy, has robbed us, and wounded us: such is the mischief sin has
done us. The blessedJesus had compassiononus. The believer considers that
Jesus lovedhim, and gave his life for him, when an enemy and a rebel; and
having shownhim mercy, he bids him go and do likewise. Itis the duty of us
all , in our places, and according to our ability, to succour, help, and relieve all
that are in distress and necessity.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
He that showedmercy - His "Jewish" prejudice would not permit him "to
name" the Samaritan, but there was no impropriety, even in his view, in

saying that the man who showedso much mercy was really the neighbor to
the afflicted, and not he who "professed"to be his neighbor, but who would
"do nothing" for his welfare.
Go, and do thou likewise - Show the same kindness to "all" - to friend and foe
- and "then" you will have evidence that you keepthe law, and not "till" then.
Of this man we know nothing farther; but from this inimitably beautiful
parable we may learn:
1. That the knowledge ofthe law is useful to make us acquainted with our own
sinfulness and need of a Saviour.
2. That it is not he who "professes"mostkindness that really loves us most,
but he who will most deny himself that he may do us goodin times of want.
3. That religion requires us to do goodto "all" people, however"accidentally"
we may become acquainted with their calamities.
4. That we should do goodto our enemies. Reallove to them will lead us to
deny ourselves, and to sacrifice our own welfare, that we may help them in
times of distress and alleviate their wants.
5. That he is really our neighbor who does us the most good - who helps us in
our necessities,and especiallyif he does this when there has been "a
controversyor difference" betweenus and him.
6. We hence see the beauty of religion. Nothing else will induce people to
surmount their prejudices, to overcome opposition, and to do goodto those
who are at enmity with them. True religion teaches us to regard every man as
our neighbor; prompts us to do goodto all, to forgetall national or sectional
distinctions, and to aid all those who are in circumstances ofpoverty and
want. If religion were valuable for nothing "but this," it would be the most
lovely and desirable principle on earth, and all, especiallyin their early years,
should seek it. Nothing that a young personcan gain will be so valuable as the
feeling that regards all the world as one greatfamily, and to learn early to do
goodto all.

7. The difference betweenthe Jew and the Samaritanwas a difference in
"religion" and "religious opinion;" and from the example of the latter we
may learn that, while people differ in "opinions" on subjects of religion, and
while they are zealous for what they hold to be the truth, still they should treat
eachother kindly; that they should aid eachother in necessity;and that they
should thus show that religionis a principle superior to the love of sect, and
that the cord which binds man to man is one that is to be sundered by no
difference of opinion, that Christian kindness is to be marred by no forms of
worship, and by no bigoted attachment for what we esteemthe doctrines of
the gospel.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
37. Go, &c.—O exquisite, matchless teaching!What new fountains of charity
has not this opened up in the human spirit—rivers in the wilderness, streams
in the desert!What noble Christian institutions have not such words founded,
all undreamed of till that wondrous One came to bless this heartless world of
ours with His incomparable love—first in words, and then in deeds which
have translated His words into flesh and blood, and poured the life of them
through that humanity which He made His own! Was this parable, now,
designedto magnify the law of love, and to show who fulfils it and who not?
And who did this as never man did it, as our Brother Man, "our Neighbor?"
The priests and Levites had not strengthened the diseased, nor bound up the
broken (Eze 34:4), while He bound up the brokenhearted(Isa 61:1), and
poured into all wounded spirits the balm of sweetestconsolation. All the
Fathers saw through the thin veil of this noblestof stories, the Story of love,
and never weariedof tracing the analogy(though sometimes fancifully
enough) [Trench]. Exclaims GregoryNazianzen (in the fourth century), "He
hungered, but He fed thousands; He was weary, but He is the Restof the
weary; He is saluted 'Samaritan' and 'Demoniac,'but He saves him that went
down from Jerusalemand fell among thieves," &c.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
See Poole on"Luke 10:30"
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And he said, he that showedmercy to him,.... Meaning the Samaritan; which
he was obliged to declare, though of another country and religion, and
accountedas an enemy; yet the case was so plain, as put by Christ, that he
could not with any honour or conscience,sayotherwise:
then said Jesus unto him, go and do thou likewise;such like acts of
beneficence and kindness, though to a personof a different nation and
religion, and though even an enemy; and by so doing, thou wilt not only
appear to be a goodneighbour thyself, but to love thy neighbour as thyself.
Geneva Study Bible
And he said, He that shewedmercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go,
and do thou likewise.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Luke 10:37. Ὁ ποιήσας κ.τ.λ.]Bengel:“Noninvitus abstinet legisperitus
appellatione propria Samaritae.” On the expression, comp. Luke 1:72.
τὸ ἔλεος] the compassionrelated;καὶ σύ: thou also;not to be joined to
πορεύου (Lachmann), but to ποίει. Comp. Luke 6:31.
REMARK.
Instead of giving to the theoreticalquestion of the scribe, Luke 10:29, a direct
and theoreticaldecisionas to whom he was to regardas his neighbour, Jesus,
by the feigned (according to Grotius and others, the circumstance actually
occurred)history of the compassionateSamaritan, with all the force of the
contrastthat puts to shame the cold Jewisharrogance, gives a practicallesson
on the question: how one actually becomes the neighbour of ANOTHER,
namely, by the exercise of helpful love, independently of the nationality and

religion of the persons concerned. And the questioner, in being dismissed with
the direction, καὶ σὺ ποίει ὁμοίως, has therein indirectly the answerto his
question, τίς ἐστί μου πλησίον; namely: Every one, without distinction of
people and faith, to whom the circumstances analogous to the instance of the
Samaritan direct thee to exercise helpful love in order thereby to become his
neighbour, thou hast to regard as thy neighbour. This turn on the part of
Jesus, like every feature of the improvised narrative, bears the stamp of
originality in the pregnancy of its meaning, in the insight which suggestedit,
and in the quiet and yet perfectly frank way in which the questioner, by a
direct personalappeal, was put to the blush.[138]
[138]The Fathers, as Origen, Ambrose, Augustine, Theophylact, Euthymius
Zigabenus, have been able to impart mystical meanings to the individual
points of the history. Thus the ἄνθρωπός τις signifies Adam; Jerusalem,
paradise;Jericho, the world; the thieves, the demons; the priest, the law; the
Levite, the prophets; the Samaritan, Christ; the beast, Christ’s body; the inn,
the church; the landlord, the bishop; the Denarii, the Old and New
Testaments;the return, the Parousia. SeeespeciallyOrigen, Hom. 34 in Luc.,
and Theophylact, sub loc. Luther also similarly allegorisesin his sermons.
Calvin wiselysays:“Scripturae major habenda estreverentia, quam ut
germanum ejus sensumhac licentia transfigurare liceat.”
Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 10:37. ὁ ποιήσας, etc. If the lawyerwas captious to begin with he is
captious no longer. He might have been, for his question had not been directly
(though very radically) answered. But the moral pathos of the “parable” has
appealedto his better nature, and he quibbles no longer. But the prejudice of
his class tacitlyfinds expressionby avoidance of the word “Samaritan,” and
the use instead of the phrase ὁ ποιήσας τὸ ἔλεος μετʼ αὐτοῦ. Yet perhaps we
do him injustice here, for the phrase really expresses the essenceof
neighbourhood, and so indicates not only who is neighbour but why. For the
same phrase vide Luke 1:58; Luke 1:72. This story teaches the whole doctrine
of neighbourhood: first and directly, what it is to be a neighbour, viz., to give

succourwhen and where needed; next, indirectly but by obvious consequence,
who is a neighbour, viz., any one who needs help and whom I have
opportunity and powerto help, no matter what his rank, race, orreligion may
be: neighbourhood coextensive with humanity.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
37. He that shewedmercy on him] Rather, the pity. By this poor periphrasis
the lawyeravoids the shock to his own prejudices, which would have been
involved in the hated word, ‘the Samaritan.’“He will not name the Samaritan
by name, the haughty hypocrite.” Luther.
Go, and do thou likewise]The generallessonis that of the Sermon on the
Mount, Matthew 5:44.
Bengel's Gnomen
Luke 10:37. Ὁ ποιήσας τὸ ἔλεος μετʼ αὐτοῦ)LXX. 2 Samuel 9:1, etc., has
ποιήσω μετʼ αὐτοῦ ἔλεος. It is not without design, that the lawyer refrains
from giving the proper appellation, “the Samaritan.” [He shrunk from
attributing such credit to a Samaritan, and therefore does not use the
name.]—πορεύου, go thy way) Notyet was this lawyer fit for discipleship.—
καὶ σὺ, thou also)When once the love of one’s own people and sectis removed
out of the way, the accessthen at length is the easierto the Grace, which is
free and common to all. Therefore the Samaritan, say you, has by this act of
his obtained eternallife? [Luke 10:25.]Comp. Luke 10:27-29. The answerto
this may be given from Romans 2:26.—ποίει, do) This is in consonance withὁ
ποιήσας, he that did the deed of mercy.—[ὁμοίως, likewise)We neednot he
ashamedof copying any goodexample set us, even though it be a Samaritan
who is to be imitated.—V. g.]
Vincent's Word Studies
He that shewedmercy on him. (μετά)
Rather with him: (μετά): dealt with him as with a brother. The lawyer avoids
the hated word Samaritan.

PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
Luke 10:36 "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the
man who fell into the robbers' hands?"
do you think: Lu 7:42 Mt 17:25 21:28-31 22:42
proved to be a neighbor: Lu 10:29
Multiple ResourcesonLuke 10 (includes the sermons below)
Luke 10:30-37 The GoodSamaritan - John MacArthur
Luke 10:25-37 Salvationand Good Works - Steven Cole
Multiple devotionals on Luke 10:25-37
The GoodSamaritan - Hampton Keathley IV
Luke 10:25-37 The GoodSamaritan - C H Spurgeon
Amplified - Which of these three do you think proved himself a neighbor to
him who fell among the robbers?
NET Note - Jesus reversedthe question the expert in religious law askedin Lk
10:29 to one of becoming a neighbor by loving. “Do not think about who they
are, but who you are,” was his reply.
Leon Morris - The answer, of course, is not in doubt. Jesus drove home the
lessonwith the command, Go and do likewise. The man had asked, ‘Who is
my neighbour?’ but Jesus facedhim with the question ‘To whom am I
neighbour?’ He was an expert in the Law. Now he must think whether the

priest and the Levite, who scrupulously retained the moral purity required by
the Law, really kept the Law, which likewise enjoinedlove of the neighbour.
Hampton Keathley IV - Which of these “proved to be a neighbor?”
The obvious answeris that the Samaritan proved to be the “neighbor” to the
wounded man. But the lawyer couldn’t bring himself to say the good
Samaritan. That was an oxymoron. He answered, “The one who showed
mercy toward him.” Notice the significance ofthe question. What did the man
ask? “Who is my neighbor? He was asking who and how much do I have to
love. Jesus changes the question and makes the neighbor be the subject. Love
does not ask how far do I have to go. Love asks, “WhatcanI do?” Love does
not just meet the other person half way. The old saying that marriage is a
50/50 relationshipis terrible. If you love, you give 100%. The Samaritan’s
actions were a true demonstrationof love because he had no prior
relationship with the wounded man, he would not gain anything materially
from his actions. He would instead lose time and money. And the wounded
man probably would not have done the same for him if the situation were
reversed.
The Point
How you love people shows your relationship with God. And Israelhad failed
to keepthe elementary principle of the law which was to love. I believe this is
the main messageofthe whole Bible.
Craig Blomberg teaches thatparables have as many points as they do major
characters. Ifthis is true, then the following points might correspondto the
characters in this parable:
Point 1: Even our enemies are our neighbors.
Point 2: Ethnic and socialstanding are no guarantee of right standing before
God.
Point 3: The Samaritan’s actions are an example of what it means to love.

Relationof parable to the kingdom of God
The parable relates to the kingdom program of God by demonstrating what it
means to fulfill the ethic of the law which is summed up in the command to
love one’s neighbor. The man is asking, what must I do to getin? Jesus tells
him what one who is on the inside looks like.
This is so important to understand. What Jesus is doing here is showing the
difference betweenworks and fruit. “Works” has the idea of what must I do
to get in. But “Fruit” - what you do - is the result of being on the inside.
If the lawyeris asking the question, “How do I get in?” and Jesus is telling
him what one on the inside looks like, then we can assume the lawyer is on the
outside. How he gets inside becomes the question.
And I think Jesus answers thatvery subtly.
There is an interesting analogyhere that is worth noting. Who was in the
ditch? A Jew. Whatdid it take for the Jew to get out of the ditch? He had to
trust a despisedperson to help him. The Samaritan, an outcast, paid the price
to get the man out of the ditch.
Who else was an outcastand paid the price to get men out of the ditch of sin?
Jesus
How does Jesus answerthe lawyer’s question about inheriting eternallife?
Allow one who will be calleda “Samaritan” by the religious leaders to pay the
price for him. Compare John 8:48. Jesus was calleda Samaritan by the
religious leaders.
So Jesus answeredthe man’s question about how to inherit eternal life, but it
is in a whole different way than he expected.
Principles
Three Attitudes displayed:
Robbers:
What’s yours is mine and I’m going to take it.

Priest/Levite:
What’s mine is mine and I’m going to keepit.
Samaritan:
What’s mine is yours and I’m going to share it.
We must not think that our “membership” in the body of Christ or rituals in
our church services satisfythe commands to love God and love our neighbor.
When we love our neighbor, we show that we love God.
Biblical love transcends boundaries of geography, race, religion, socio-
economic status and even convenience. We must love all men equally and well.
My neighbor is anyone with a legitimate need for which God has given me the
resources to meet that need. 2 Chr 28:5-15, Hos 6:9, Micah 6:6-8
Love means moving toward others. It is not convenient.
(The GoodSamaritan - also recommended- Hampton Keathley IV's entire
series of30 studies on the Parables)
God's Neighborhood—Luke 10:36-37 "Whichof these three do you think was
neighbor to him . . . ?" And he said, "He who showedmercy..
When Fred Rogers receiveda star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, he wore a
sweaterand tie, just as he has for 30 years as host of Mister Rogers’
Neighborhood. Insteadof focusing on his careerin public television, he talked
to reporters about why we are on this earth—not to amass fortunes or win
competitions or make greatnames for ourselves. The important things, he
said, are the small, daily acts that make our world a better place.
Is that what we considerimportant today? Do we considerthe small things
important enoughto interrupt our plans, rearrange our schedules, tapinto
our bank accounts?

In Jesus’parable of the Good Samaritan(Lk. 10:29-37), a man who was
consideredracially, socially, and theologicallyinferior showedmercy to
someone who was injured. Jesus commended this Samaritan outcastand said
that he was a “neighbor” to the man in need.
According to our Lord and Savior, the world is our neighborhood, and every
person in it is our neighbor whom we should love as ourselves.
Today, we will undoubtedly have an opportunity to show God’s love, mercy,
and kindness to someone in need. Let’s do it, and make it a beautiful day for a
neighbor.By David C. McCasland
To love our neighbors as ourselves
Is not an easytask,
But God will show His love through us
If only we will ask. —Sper
Our love for Christ is only as real as our love for our neighbor.
Luke 10:25-37
WHILE D. L. Moodywas attending a conventionin Indianapolis on mass
evangelism, he askedhis song leader, Ira Sankey, to meet him at six o'clock
one evening at a certainstreet corner.
When Sankeyarrived, Mr. Moody askedhim to stand on a box and sing. Once
a crowdhad gathered, Moody spoke briefly and then invited the people to
follow him to the nearby convention hall. Soonthe auditorium was filled with
spiritually hungry peo-ple, and the greatevangelistpreachedthe Gospelto
them. Then the convention delegates beganto arrive. Moody stopped
preaching and said,
"Now we must close, as the brethren of the convention wish to come and
discuss the topic, `How to reachthe masses.'

Moody's action that day illustrated the difference betweentalking about doing
something and going out and doing it.
One of the lessons ofthe parable of the GoodSamaritan is that the person
who puts belief into practice is the one who pleases God.
We canget sidetrackedso easilyin committee meetings and brainstorming
sessions, important as they are, while people are dying by the wayside. But
there comes a time when talking about how to witness effectivelyor how best
to help others must stop. At some point, we have to go out and do it! —D C
Egner(Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI.
Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
Neighborly Love—Luke 10:29-37
It would have been simpler just to buy a new hair dryer. But determined to
save a buck, I decided to fix it myself. In order to loosenthe screw that was
buried deep in the handle, I took out the ultimate handyman’s helper—my
pocketknife. As I put pressure on the knife to turn the screw, the blade folded
back—onmy finger.
I learned a lessonthat day: I love myself. And I am urgent about meeting my
needs. There was no thought of, “Well, I don’t really have time to stop the
bleeding now. I’ll get to it later.” Also, there was a tenderness about how the
need was met. I instructed my first-aid team (my wife and kids) to washmy
finger gently and then to put the bandage on in a way that would avoid having
the hairs on my finger pulled up when it was removed. My thoughts, words,
and actions were driven by my love for myself.
To love “your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27)requires the same urgent
kind of love. It’s a love that notices the need of another person and won’t rest
until it’s been met. It’s a gentle, tender love that thinks and acts carefully. It’s
the sacrificialand compassionate love that a nameless Samaritanhad for a
fallen traveler. It’s the kind of love God wants to share with your neighbors
through you.by Joe Stowell

Lord, help me see the heartfelt needs
Of those within my care,
And grant that through my words and deeds
Your love with them I’ll share. —D. De Haan
You cannot touch your neighbor’s heart with anything less than your own.
Stop To Help Luke 10:30-37
Dr. ScottKurtzman, chief of surgery at Waterbury Hospital in Connecticut,
was on his wayto deliver a lecture when he witnesseda horrible crash
involving 20 vehicles. The doctor shifted into trauma mode, workedhis way
through the mess of metal, and calledout, “Who needs help?” After 90
minutes of assisting, and the victims were takento area hospitals, Dr.
Kurtzman commented, “A personwith my skills simply can’t drive by
someone who is injured. I refuse to live my life that way.”
Jesus told a parable about a man who stopped to help another (Luke 10:30-
37). A Jewishman had been ambushed, stripped, robbed, and left for dead. A
Jewishpriest and a temple assistantpassedby, saw the man, and crossedover
to the other side. Then a despisedSamaritancame by, saw the man, and was
filled with compassion. His compassionwas translatedinto action:He soothed
and bandagedthe man’s wounds, took him to an inn, caredfor him while he
could, paid for all his medical expenses, and then promised the innkeeperhe
would return to pay any additional expenses.
There are people around us who are suffering. Moved with compassionfor
their pain, let’s be those who stop to help. by Marvin Williams
Reachout in Jesus’name
With hands of love and care
To those who are in need
And caught in life’s despair. —Sper

Compassionis always active.
Luke 10:36-37
Mercy - As Wordsworthput it, "The best portion of a goodman's life is his
little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love."
To a wily, JewishlawyerJesus unfolded a three-actplay about a goodman. In
a surprise ending, the story revealedan unexpectedwhite knight—not a priest
or Levite but a hated Samaritan. Know-ing that Jesus had trapped him, the
legalexpert admitted that the expectedvillain had become a hero because he
showedmercy, not because he followedthe letter of the law.
The priest and the Levite who passedby the injured man were not really the
muscle men of God's Word; they were spiritual weak-lings. Theyhad
somehow missedall the Old Testamentverses aboutGod's great mercy; they
had skipped Micah's claim that goodpeople love mercy (6:8).
Like the two religious men of Jesus'parable, we sometimes for-getthat pure
religion is looking after those who can never repay us, such as orphans and
widows (James 1:27). Our obtuseness comes fromnot appreciating the great
mercy God showedin loving us.
Paul argued that those who understand God's mercy overcome the evil of this
world with good(Romans 12:1-21). Our nameless acts ofcompassiondo not
go unremembered by Him.
Luke 10:37 And he said, "The one who showedmercy toward him." Then
Jesus saidto him, "Go and do the same.
The one who showedmercy towardhim: Pr 14:21 Ho 6:6 Mic 6:8 Mt 20:28
23:23 2Co 8:9 Eph 3:18,19 5:2 Heb 2:9-15 Rev1:5
Go and do the same: Lu 6:32-36 Joh 13:15-17 1Pe 2:21 1Jn3:16-18,23,24
4:10,11
Multiple ResourcesonLuke 10 (includes the sermons below)

Luke 10:30-37 The GoodSamaritan - John MacArthur
Luke 10:25-37 Salvationand Good Works - Steven Cole
Multiple devotionals on Luke 10:25-37
The GoodSamaritan - Hampton Keathley IV
Luke 10:25-37 The GoodSamaritan - C H Spurgeon
Amplified - He answered, The one who showedpity and mercy to him. And
Jesus saidto him, Go and do likewise.
KJV And he said, He that shewedmercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him,
Go, and do thou likewise.
YLT and he said, 'He who did the kindness with him,' then Jesus saidto him,
'Be going on, and thou be doing in like manner.'
LOVE OF ONE'S NEIGHBOR
PRACTICING MERCY
The one - Note how the lawyerstill avoids the hated word Samaritan. "The
lawyer saw the point and gave the correctanswer, but he gulped at the word
“Samaritan” and refused to say that." (Robertson)
Spurgeon- He might have said, “The Samaritan,” but he would not, for the
Jews hatedthem. Oh, you lawyer, why did you not say “The Samaritan”? Of
course, he did not like to use that word. Oh, no, we never mention them-the
“Samaritans.” “The Jewshave no dealings with the Samaritans;” so he would
not honestly say“The Samaritan”; but he made a roundabout of it and said,
“He that shewedmercy on him.” Here was a dismission, and here was a
commissiontoo. Jesus dismissedhim. “I have nothing more to say to you;
‘Go.’” Here was the commission: “Do thou likewise.” Alas!I am afraid that,
after most sermons people getthe dismission: “Go;” but they forgetthe
commission:“Go, and do thou likewise.”It is your privilege as well as your
duty, O Christians, to assistthe needy; and wheneveryou discoverdistress, as
far as lieth in you, to minister practicallyto its relief. May we all be enabled to
do so by exercising constantlove to those who are in need!

NET NOTE - The neighbor did not do what was required (that is why his
response is called mercy) but had compassionand out of kindness went the
extra step that shows love. See Mic 6:8. Note how the expert in religious law
could not bring himself to admit that the example was a Samaritan, someone
who would have been seenas a racialhalf-breed and one not worthy of
respect. So Jesus makes a secondpoint that neighbors may appearin
surprising places.
Spurgeonon showedmercy - Compassionis a great gospelduty, and it must
be hearty and practical. When we see a man in distress, we must not pass him
by as the priest and Levite did, for thus we shall show that our religion is only
skin-deep, and has never affectedour hearts. We must pity, go near, help, and
befriend. All that is needed we must do, so far as it lies in our power, and
never leave the needy one till we have seenthe matter through. The good
Samaritan has earned for himself immortal honour. Let us imitate him by
manifesting a brother’s love to those who are in trouble, even though they
should happen to be opposedto us in religion, or have been regardedas our
enemies. Such conduct will bring glory to God, and go far to recommend the
holy religion which we profess. The Lord help us to do so, for Jesus’sake.
Amen.
How beauteous are their feet
Who stand on Zion’s hill!
Who bring salvation on their tongues,
And words of peace reveal!
How happy are our ears,
That hear this joyful sound,
Which kings and prophets waitedfor,
And sought but never found.
How blessedare our eyes,
That see this heavenly light!

Prophets and kings desired it long,
But died without the sight.
Mercy (1656)(eleos)is the outward manifestationof pity and assumes needon
the part of those who are recipients of the mercy and sufficient resources to
meet the need on the part of those who show it. The idea of mercy is to show
kindness or concernfor someone in serious need or to give help to the
wretched, to relieve the miserable. Here the essentialthought is that mercy
gives attention to those in misery.
We are like Jesus whenwe practice mercy for as Wuest writes eleos is "God’s
“kindness and goodwilltoward the miserable and afflicted, joined with a
desire to relieve them” (Vincent). Grace meets man’s need in respectto his
guilt and lostcondition; mercy, with reference to his suffering as a result of
that sin. (Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament:Eerdmans)
Jesus'parable is echoedin other passagesin both the Old and New
Testaments...
“BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED (present imperative) HIM,
AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE (present imperative) HIM A DRINK; FOR
IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.” (Ro
12:20, from Pr 25:21-22)
Bear(present imperative) one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law
of Christ. (Gal 6:2)
Remember (present imperative) the prisoners, as though in prison with them,
and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body. (Heb
13:3)
“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely
return it to him. (Ex 23:3)
For the LORD your God is the Godof gods and the Lord of lords, the great,
the mighty, and the awesome Godwho does not show partiality nor take a
bribe. “He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love

for the alien by giving him food and clothing. “So show your love for the alien,
for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. (Dt 10:17-19)
Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when
he stumbles; (Pr. 24:17)
“Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosenthe bonds of wickedness, To
undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressedgo free And break every
yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless
poor into the house; When you see the naked, to coverhim; And not to hide
yourself from your own flesh? (Isaiah 58:6,7)
Robertsonon "Go, and do thou likewise"(KJV) - Emphasis on “thou.”
Would this Jewishlawyer actthe neighbor to a Samaritan? This parable of
the GoodSamaritan has built the world’s hospitals and, if understood and
practiced, will remove race prejudice, national hatred and war, class jealousy.
Then Jesus saidto him, "Go and do the same - Don't lose sight of the main
point of this parable! Jesus was answering the question of how to obtain life
and this was actuallyHis secondanswer. He had already told the lawyer "Do
this and live" in Lk 10:28. So finally the Lord says go and do the same with
the implication being that if you do you will inherit eternal life. In fact, the
lawyer is now clearlybackedinto the corner with the realization that he could
never truly "go and do the same." It was at this point he should have cried out
for Jesus to help him. The story ends without knowing whether the lawyer
ever humbled himself, repented of his sin and confessedJesus as his Savior.
We'll find out in heaven!
Go and do - Both verbs are commands in the present imperative which is a
charge to make the demonstration of mercy a "lifestyle," something we
practice at all times, something that is natural because it is supernatural. To
say it another way, the only wayto obey Jesus'supernatural commands is to
surrender to the supernatural enabling powerof the Spirit Who indwells us
and "energizes"us providing us with the desire and the power (Phil 2:13NLT-
note) "to walk in the same manner as He (Jesus)walked(also enabled by the
Holy Spirit!)" (1 John 2:6-note) Think about how it is possible to continually
go and do. This is not our natural tendency! The only one who can accomplish

this is a Spirit filled (controlled) believer! Then this individual's going and
doing are deeds that demonstrate his or her faith is genuine and therefore that
he or she truly possesseseternallife, which was the question that prompted
this parable. Now of course none of us geta grade of 100% when it comes to
showing compassionto those in need, but demonstration of compassionshould
at leastbe our general"direction" (like I often say the true Christian life is
not about perfection [that's calledGlory] as much as it is about direction!)
When we "stub" our spiritual toe, we confess it, repent and move on.
MacArthur on Jesus'commands to go and do - Obviously, Christ’s point is
that neither the scribe nor anyone else is capable of such love. This is an
indictment of the whole of fallen humanity, and the only proper response was
for him to acknowledgehis inability to save himself, and plead with God for
mercy and forgiveness. Jesus, Godincarnate, stoodbefore him ready to
extend forgiveness,grace,and mercy to him. But there is no indication that
the lawyerdid so;his pride and self-righteousnessheldhim captive and he
likely forfeited eternal life. (Ibid)
Warren Wiersbe - The lawyerwanted to make the issue somewhatcomplex
and philosophical, but Jesus made it simple and practical. He moved it from
duty to love, from debating to doing. To be sure, our Lord was not
condemning discussions ordebates;He was only warning us not to use these
things as excuses fordoing nothing. Committees are not always committed!
One of my favorite D.L. Moody stories illustrates this point. Attending a
convention in Indianapolis, Mr. Moody askedsingerIra Sankeyto meet him
at 6 o’clock one evening at a certainstreet corner. When Sankeyarrived, Mr.
Moody put him on a box and askedhim to sing, and it was not long before a
crowdgathered. Moody spoke briefly, inviting the crowd to follow him to the
nearby opera house. Before long, the auditorium was filled, and the evangelist
preachedthe Gospelto the spiritually hungry people. When the delegates to
the conventionstarted to arrive, Moody stopped preaching and said, “Now we
must close as the brethren of the convention wish to come and to discuss the
question, ‘How to Reachthe Masses.’” Touche!(Ibid)

POSB - Note a striking point: Christ still did not answerthe lawyer. There
was no need. The answerwas strikingly clear. If the lawyer wishedeternal
life, he had to “go and do likewise.” He now knew who his neighbor was:it
was any man who needed mercy, whether a friend or just an acquaintance or
even an enemy. The lawyer was forcedto admit this. However, more than just
confessionwas needed. Love was needed. The lawyerand all of us need to
demonstrate love as we go about our daily affairs. We must help our
neighbors—allthose around us who hurt and are suffering. (Ibid)
Barclaysums up Jesus'teaching on the GoodSamaritan in Lk 10:25-37 - The
scribe (lawyer) who askedthis question was in earnest. Jesusaskedhim what
was written in the law, and then said, "How do you read?" Strict orthodox
Jews wore round their wrists little leather boxes calledphylacteries, which
containedcertain passages ofscripture--Ex 13:1-10;13:11-16;Dt 6:4-9; 11:13-
20. "You will love the Lord your God" is from Deuteronomy 6:4 and
Deuteronomy 11:13. So Jesus saidto the scribe, "Look at the phylactery on
your own wrist and it will answeryour question." To that the scribes added
Leviticus 19:18, which bids a man love his neighbor as himself; but with their
passionfor definition the Rabbis sought to define who a man's neighbor was;
and at their worstand their narrowestthey confined the word neighbor to
their fellow Jews. Forinstance, some of them said that it was illegalto help a
Gentile woman in her soresttime, the time of childbirth, for that would only
have been to bring anotherGentile into the world. So then the scribe's
question, "Who is my neighbor?" was genuine. Jesus'answerinvolves three
things.
(i) We must help a man even when he has brought his trouble on himself, as
the travelerhad done.
(ii) Any man of any nation who is in need is our neighbor. Our help must be as
wide as the love of God.
(iii) The help must be practicaland not consistmerely in feeling sorry. No
doubt the priest and the Levite felt a pang of pity for the wounded man, but
they did nothing. Compassion, to be real, must issue in deeds.
What Jesus saidto the scribe, he says to us--"Go you and do the same." (Ibid)

James Smith - Well, read Luke 10:37 with Gen. 39:21. Who showedmercy?
The GoodSamaritan. What is showing mercy? Binding up wounds and
bruises, etc. But what had "mercy" to do with Josephin prison? Ah, there are
more dangerous wounds than those of the body—there are wounds and
bruises of the spirit. Joseph's reputation had been challenged;he had been
castinto prison on a false charge. His spirit was bruised and bleeding. But the
GoodSamaritan came when all doors were shut, barred, and bolted, and
ministered comfort and consolationto the distressedone. The Lord's servants
frequently require the Lord's gracious GoodSamaritanministry. (Handfuls
of Purpose)
Leon Morris - Throughout the centuries some have delighted to see in the
goodSamaritan a picture of Jesus. Undoubtedly a moving devotional study
can be made centering on Jesus as the goodSamaritan of people’s souls. It is
even possible that Luke himself thought of Jesus in this way. But it is another
thing altogetherto see this as the meaning Jesus intended. That seems
impossible to maintain.
James Smith - TRUE NEIGHBOURLINESS. Luke 10:25-37.
"I would dedicate the nation to the policy of the GoodSamaritan," was a
statementof PresidentRoosevelt, ofthe U.S.A., in his inaugural address, so
much had the parable of the Good Samaritan(in Luke 10:25-37)impressed
him. Regarding a goodman of God, his biographerremarked concerning his
philanthropies, "He never stopped to ask, Who is my neighbour." Precisely;
real love to God and man never does. Unmeasured service to all, the outcome
of true love, is the order of the day to a real man or woman of God in
following the example of the GoodSamaritan, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And by the way, note how wonderfully, by this glowing parable, our Lord has
rescuedfrom reproachthe word, Samaritan. It was the name given in derision
to the mixed folk who colonisedSamaria afterthe deportation of the nine and
a half tribes to Babylon, and was never repeatedby a Jew but in scornand
hatred. To be calleda Samaritan was considereda greatinsult. But our
Saviour, by this charming parable, has rescuedthat word from the pillory.

Another goodservice has our Lord accomplishedby this famous story. The
goodpeople of that day had divorced worship from practical service. Bythis
parable our blessedMasterunited againin holy wedlock, these two branches
of Christian conduct, so that we now never conceive them as apart, but the
one united with the other.
Who is my neighbour? The rabbis of that day taught that Jews were to "love
thy neighbour—in the Law," three words that meant all the difference in the
world. By this matchless parable the Lord Jesus taught that every needy one
whom we can help, is my neighbour; that neighbourly responsibility has
nothing to do with race, church, creed, and socialstatus;that neighbourhood
is not a matter of geography, for we can live in close proximity to other folk
without being neighbourly. Truly, sorrow, need, sympathy, and help, are of no
nationality. This parable forbids all limitations to mercy.
I. The Case.
1. "HE WENT DOWN." This is geographicallycorrect, forJericho is six
hundred feet below the Mediterranean.
2. HE WAS STRIPPED BEFOREBEING WOUNDED.This would never
happen in our country. The one attackedwouldbe felled, then robbed. But
there is no mistake here. The bandits did not want the garments damaged, as
they formed an important part of the spoil. How true to Easternlife. This
road was so dangerous that it came to be called "The Red Road"
3. THE SILENT ELOQUENCE OF THE BATTEREDAND BLEEDING
BODY.
4. THE PRIEST wouldbe on his wayback from exercising his priestly office
in the Temple at Jerusalem. Twelve thousandpriests resided at Jericho. Why
did he pass by? Was he so eagerto reachhis home after his absence? Was he
unwilling to be ceremoniallydefiled, as he may have been? Or was he looking
after the safetyof No. 1, deciding that the robbers, who had maltreated so
seriouslythis poor fellow, would be lurking behind some of the localrocks,
ready to pounce upon any one dismounting to render first aid?

5. THE LEVITE. This is the only mention of the Levites in the Gospels. He
did go up to the poor fellow, looked, and then passedby, thus he was guilty of
aggravatedcruelty.
6. "BY CHANCE." The only time in the Gospels that our Lord used the word,
indeed the only occurrence in the New Testamentof the word. Our Lord
seems to use it with a touch of irony. Really, it was a loving ordering of God.
There is no chance in the Christian vocabulary.
7. The Samaritan. The genius of true love is shown in his acts. He ignored the
possible lurking robbers; he was swift, cool, deft in his actions;he was ready
to spend and be spent; he cheerfully sacrificedthe use of his beast; the care
for the patient at the end of the journey is touching, and we all admire his
prudence in not leaving a greatsum of money in the host's hand, and his wise
hint that he would await his accounton his way back. What a combination of
compassionblended with shrewdness.
II. The Application. Ah, there is no problem in the story. Even a child can
understand it. The poor man is—well, you and me; and the GoodSamaritan is
none other than the Lord Jesus. Manhas gone down, left the City of Peacefor
the City of the Curse, turned his back on the Temple and on God, and
stripped of holiness and goodness,left lifeless. The Law, symbolised by the
priest, cannot help; and ceremony, in the person of the Levite, is of no avail.
But our Good Samaritanhas come to the rescue. "Whatdaring intelligence
would ever have suggestedthat the Lord Jesus Christ should, find 'His
neighbour' in a fallen world? Who would everhave thought that God would
have chosenus to be His 'neighbour?' That He should come where we are,
that He should bend over us with a heart glowing with love, and pour into our
wounds the sweetsolaceofHis own anointing oil, or breathe into our lifeless
being the supernatural energy of His own eternallife. Notless than this,
Divine love has actually effected."
THE CROSS AND THE INDIVIDUAL.
What fierce attacks have beenmade for centuries upon that great
fundamental fact of our Christian faith, the substitutionary aspectofthe
death of Christ. The enemies of our faith know full well, that with the fall, or

even the obscuring of that aspectof His atoning death, our Christianity will
collapse. But, thank God, the Cross it standeth fast, Alleluia! Yet we cannot
hide the fact that the silence ofour college professors,and our present-day
preachers, is giving us very greatconcern. When, think you, did you lasthear
a discourse in your Assembly Chapel, or Church, on the atoning death of our
Saviour? But further, you who minister the Word, what is the date of your
last discourse onthe Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ? The replies in many
caseswill be disconcerting. Verily, the fall of the Cross will mean the fall of
England, or of any other professedlyChristian country.
The same is true of eachindividual. We, too, shall either stand or fall
according to our relation to the Cross. Yea, we are alreadyeither still unsaved
fallen creatures, if we have not yet realisedand receivedChrist and His
atoning death.
This is clearly seenin the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, found in
Luke 18:9-14;the difference in these two men is in their relations to the Cross,
or rather to the truth that the Cross stands for. In the first, whilst there is
much to admire, we note the utter absence ofall consciousnessofsin, and of
feeling the need of the Atonement, and he was and remained an unsaved
person. In the other, there was a plea for mercy through the atonement—
God's way of salvation. This is clearly seenby consulting the RevisedVersion
where, instead of merely, "God be merciful to me a sinner," we find, "God be
propitiated to me, the sinner," or as a reliable Greek authority has pointed
out, it could be very literally rendered, "Godshow mercy through sacrifice to
me, the sinner." This we shall develop.
Please observe thatthis is not a parable about prayer, but about justification.
The parable of prayer is in the first few verses of this chapter. To whom was
this parable addressed?
(1) Those who" trust in themselves"—notthe Lord.
(2) To those who despise others, not because of a hatred of sin, but because of
an imagined moral superiority over others. The late Mark Guy Pearse toldof
visiting a home, where the father and husband, a man of culture and
education, sat drunk and acting like a fool. As he was leaving the house, the

wife with tears exclaimed, "Oh, pray to God for me, that I may be kept from
despising him!" It was not this kind of despising, our Lord had in mind; it was
what spiritual pride prompts one to think, and act, and say.
Prayer reveals character. True characteralways comesoutin this way. Let us
see how the characters ofthese two men were revealedby their prayers.
I. The Pharisee.
1. HE WAS A GOOD MAN. He could say that he was "not as other men."
Somehow the very name of Pharisee is suggestive to us of hypocrisy, but that
is a mistake. A hypocrite is an actor—one who pretends to be something he
isn't, and knows it. A goodmany profess to be what they are not, and they are
quite unaware of the fact that they are not what they profess to be. Such are
self-deceived, but certainly are not hypocrites. So with the Pharisee. This
Pharisee reallythought he was a good man, and he was, according to mere
earthly standards.
2. HE WAS AN HONEST MAN. He was "not an extortioner." That he could
truthfully say. Now the Publicans (the name in the Bible for the tax-collectors)
were notorious for this. The late ProfessorHenry Drum-mond consideredthat
"dishonestyis as greata sin as drunkenness," but this Pharisee was an honest
man.
3. HE WAS A JUST MAN. He could sayhe was "notunjust," that is to say, he
was fair in his dealings with his fellows. The Golden Rule he admired and
practised. He did unto others as he wished to be done to.
4. HE WAS A VIRTUOUS MAN. He could saythat he was not "an
adulterer," for he had full controlover his passions, andnot only respected
but obeyedthe law.
5. HE WAS A TEMPERATEMAN, BECAUSE HE COULD SAY THAT HE
"FASTED TWICE IN THE WEEK." Moses onlyappointed one fastin the
year, in connectionwith the greatday of Atonement, but this man improved
upon the Mosaic instructions, and had such wonderful control over his own
healthy legitimate appetites that he was able to fasttwice in every week!

6. HE WAS A BENEVOLENTMAN. "I give tithes of all that I possess."Now
Moses onlyenjoined the tithing of the fruits of the earth and the increase of
the cattle, and therefore the Israelites was not commanded to tithe all; but you
will observe that the Pharisee couldsay truthfully that he gave tithes of all
that he possessed.
7. HE WAS A GRATEFULMAN. "I thank Thee," and he had much to be
thankful for. By carefultraining, and by the wholesome restraintof the law
and society, he had been savedfrom much outward sin. There are thousands
of young people associatedwith our assemblies, missionhalls, churches, and
chapels, who have similarly been preservedfrom outward sinful excesses, who
have never done as much as the Pharisee, forthey have never yet thanked
God for this wholesome and blessedrestraint.
Having said all this, the reader might express astonishmentand say, "Surely
the Pharisee was a model citizen, and what more could be expectedof him?"
Ah, there was an utter absence ofany consciousnessofsin or of personal
unworthiness. His prayer was weightedwith pride, and did not rise any
higher than himself. You will observe that whilst he was grateful, he presented
no request for grace, andhe receivednone. This unfortunate state of mind
and soul was undoubtedly brought about by a wrong idea of sin, and a wrong
idea of religion. He evidently knew sin simply as transgression, whereas thatis
only one aspectofit, for it is written, not only that "sinis the transgressionof
the Law," but also that "All unrighteousness is sin." Then his idea of religion
was a mere round of duties to be observedand practised. Take care there is
no latent Pharisee in any of us.
II. The Publican. Sevenis the perfectnumber, and it is to be observed that in
our Authorised Version his prayer consists ofonly sevenwords; yet the
Authorised Version rather clouds and hides severalimportant truths. The late
Bishop DanielWilson of Calcutta directed in his will that on a tablet to his
memory in the Cathedral, should be engravedthese words in Greek as so
much more emphatic than the English. The RevisedVersion marginal
rendering is to be commended, "Godbe propitiated to me, the sinner." What
do we learn from this prayer?

1. HE ACCOUNTED HIMSELF UNWORTHY OF APPROACHTO GOD.
"He stoodafar off"—in the Court of the Gentiles. Thougha Jew, he dare not
venture any further than the Court of the Gentiles. He was "conscious that his
sins had distancedhim from God. But, blessedbe the Lord, though the
Publican stoodafar from God in consciousunworthiness, Goddid not stand
afar from him. He is nigh unto all that are of a broken and contrite spirit
2. HE CONFESSEDHIMSELF TO BE THE WORST OF SINNERS. Not"a
sinner" as in the Authorised Version, but "the sinner," as in the Revised
Version. He recognisedthe heinousness of sin, and his cry was that of a soul
terrified by the horror of sin, and a sense ofpunishment.
3. HE ACKNOWLEDGED THE ONLY CHANNEL OF MERCY TO BE
THE ATONEMENT OF GOD. Without doubt he had brought his sin
offering, and after it had been killed, was being offered up on the altar, and he
prayed in effectthat God would show mercy through that substitute already
being offered, to him a sacrifice that prefigured the greatone our Lord was to
offer.
Might we suggestto all respectable sinners that both these prayers be united.
Gratefully thanking Him for all the restraints with which He has surrounded
you, and for so mercifully preserving you from sowing the wild oats, then cry
for His pardoning and justifying mercy through the atoning death of Jesus
Christ. "Godbe propitiated, through sacrifice, to me, the sinner."
RECEIVING!
One has splendidly pointed out that:
1. To LOOK is receiving with the eyes.
2. To HEAR is receiving with the ears.
3. To TAKE is receiving with the hands.
4. To TASTE is receiving with the mouth.
5. To COME is receiving with the feet.
6. To TRUST is receiving with the heart.

7. To CHOOSE is receiving with the will.
(Handfuls of Purpose)
BARCLAY
WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR? (Luke 10:25-37)
10:25-37 Look you--an expert in the law stoodup and askedJesus a test
question. "Teacher," he said, "What is it I am to do to become the possessor
of eternal life?" He saidto him, "What stands written in the law? How do you
read?" He answered, "Youmust love the Lord your God with your whole
heart, and with your whole mind, and your neighbour as yourself." "Your
answeris correct," saidJesus. Buthe, wishing to put himself in the right, said
to Jesus, "And who is my neighbour?" Jesus answered, "There wasa man
who went down from Jerusalemto Jericho. He fell amongstbrigands who
stripped him and laid blows upon him, and went awayand left him half-dead.
Now, by chance, a priest came down by that road. He lookedat him and
passedby on the other side. In the same waywhen a Levite came to the place
he lookedat him and passedby on the other side. A Samaritanwho was on the
road came to where he was. He lookedat him and was moved to the depths of
his being with pity. So he came up to him and bound up his wounds, pouring
in wine and oil; and he put him on his own beastand brought him to an inn
and caredfor him. On the next day he put down 10p and gave it to the
innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and whatevermore you are out of
pocket, whenI come back this way, I'll square up with you in full.' Which of
these three, do you think, was neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of
brigands?" He said, "He who showedmercy on him." "Go," saidJesus to
him, "and do likewise."
First, let us look at the scene of this story. The road from Jerusalemto Jericho
was a notoriously dangerous road. Jerusalemis 2,300 feetabove sea-level;the

DeadSea, nearwhich Jericho stood, is 1,300 feetbelow sea-level. So then, in
somewhatless than 20 miles, this road dropped 3,600 feet. It was a road of
narrow, rocky deifies, and of sudden turnings which made it the happy
hunting-ground of brigands. In the fifth century Jerome tells us that it was
still called"The Red, or Bloody Way." In the 19th century it was still
necessaryto pay safety money to the localSheiks before one could travel on it.
As late as the early 1930's, H. V. Morton tells us that he was warned to get
home before dark, if he intended to use the road, because a certain Abu Jildah
was an adept at holding up cars and robbing travellers and tourists, and
escaping to the hills before the police could arrive. When Jesus told this story,
he was telling about the kind of thing that was constantlyhappening on the
Jerusalemto Jericho road.
Second, let us look at the characters.
(a) There was the traveller. He was obviously a recklessandfoolhardy
character. People seldomattempted the Jerusalemto Jericho road alone if
they were carrying goods or valuables. Seeking safetyin numbers, they
travelled in convoys or caravans. This man had no one but himself to blame
for the plight in which he found himself.
(b) There was the priest. He hastenedpast. No doubt he was remembering
that he who touched a dead man was unclean for sevendays (Numbers 19:11).
He could not be sure but he fearedthat the man was dead; to touch him would
mean losing his turn of duty in the Temple; and he refused to risk that. He set
the claims of ceremonialabove those of charity. The Temple and its liturgy
meant more to him than the pain of man.
(c) There was the Levite. He seems to have gone nearer to the man before he
passedon. The bandits were in the habit of using decoys. One of their number
would act the part of a wounded man; and when some unsuspecting traveller
stopped over him, the others would rush upon him and overpowerhim. The
Levite was a man whose motto was, "Safetyfirst." He would take no risks to
help anyone else.
(d) There was the Samaritan. The listeners would obviously expect that with
his arrival the villain had arrived. He may not have been racially a Samaritan

The Good Samaritan - Jesus teaches compassion for all in need

The Good Samaritan - Jesus teaches compassion for all in need

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