Chapter 5. 8
Good Samaritan
Revisited
The Man, Jerusalem, The Trip, Jericho, The
Robbers, The Wounds,
The Priest, The Levite, The Good Samaritan, The
Oil, The Wine,
The Donkey, The Inn, The Inn Keeper, The Money,
The Returning Good Samaritan, The Repayment
The Story
The
discourse begins with the Command of Jesus to “Love your Neighbor”. [1] The question was put to Jesus by a Lawyer; “Who is your
Neighbor”[2];
which gave birth to this parable. I know
you know the story of The Good Samaritan; about a man that was
traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho; a 15 mile trek downhill through a rocky
and dangerous gorge some 3,300 feet below Jerusalem and through what I would
call “The Bad
Lands”. A place haunted by
marauding robbers that hid behind large boulders and sharp turns in the road.
The Man fell among thieves who beat and
stripped him of his clothes and left him half dead.
“By chance”
or “coincidence”,
a Priest
and a Levite,
who were both highly respected and in the service of the temple came upon the
man; however, both of them passed him by; not even wanting to get
close. In the
providence of God there is no such thing as “Chance”.
Finally a good for nothing, low down, scumbag Samaritan came by and poured
oil and wine on his wounds, and bandaged them; then took him to an inn and paid
the inn keeper to take care of him and said on his return trip, he would
reimburse the innkeeper for whatever he spent.
The
Question was then posed; which one of the three men was the neighbor and the Lawyer replied, “The one that showed Mercy”.
The Allegory
St.
Augustine in the fourth Century embraced an allegory that the story of
the Good
Samaritan really represented THE FALL OF
The Man that was traveling represents Adam
or
Jerusalem is a state of peace and
is where God dwells; it was Adams home in Paradise
The Trip from where God dwells was downhill all the way.
Jericho is a city that
had been cursed[3]; this
represents the fallen
world.
The Robbers are Hostile influences, mischief, misery
and enemies
of the soul[4] that strip off the “Garment” of righteous and
immortality. Thieves lead a man out of God’s way so they can BIND HIM with unbelief, giving him a hardened heart and ignorance of God’s Word[5].
The thieves are
bold and cunning and come disguised as angels of light;[6]
they deceive,
beguile, and assault. Satan comes to bind you
up with sin and seeks to kill, steal and destroy.[7]
The Wounds are our evil SINS. The
wretched, miserable state and deplorable condition of all men by nature. The sinful wounds have marred the very “image of God”
that we were made in. We seek sinful pleasures, sinful profits and
sinful honors. Sin makes the Soul
spiritual dead leaving the body desperately wounded and half alive. We are to watch and pray that we will be able
to escape the lure of temptations that WILL come our way.[8]
The Priest represents The Law that could not relieve, help, cure or bring salvation.
The Levite represents the Legal Sacrifices that could not relieve, help or bring salvation.
Interestingly the Priest and the Levite both knew The Law about loving God and your neighbor.
The Good Samaritan is Jesus Christ who heals and comforts
mankind; He saw our wounds and our blood from eternity and had pity and
compassion.[9]
He assumed the nature of man and came to
him and applied His own precious blood to his wounded soul. He has disarmed the robber, the thief, by
triumphing over him with the cross and made a public spectacle of him. While we were still sinners, Christ died for
us; He found
us when we didn’t seek Him.[10]
The Oil is the soothing oil of gladness that covers
the wounds of sin.[11]
The Wine provides cheering, reviving and
strengthening of our nature.[12]
The Donkey is the
The Inn is the Church and the body of Christ; the
Disciples and followers; a place of refuge, safety with all the privileges. Come, all you who are thirsty, you who have no
money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without
cost.[14]
The Inn Keeper is the Watchman, the Overseer, Pastor or
Minister; the Shepard who takes care of the flock and was commanded by Jesus to
“Feed my Lambs”.[15]
The Money – The TWO-pence GIVEN represent the Grace Gifts and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit imparted to the Pastor; as well as represents the Old and New Testament.
The returning Good Samaritan is the SECOND COMING of Christ. Jesus Christ was manifested in order to
destroy the works of Satan. The Messiah
has loosed the pains of death. [16]
It could not hold Him.
The Repayment is the glorious reward all ministers of
the GOSPEL will
receive. I think its fun to note that
the Inn Keeper; which is the church and its followers operated on the PROMISE, that the Good Samaritan or Jesus Christ
having already made full payment would RETURN
AGAIN for
the fallen Man which is all of mankind.
By Faith, we await the
Promise of our Reward;[17]
No good thing
will He withhold from us.[18]
The Take Away
Christ has conquered Satan and death[19]
and we didn’t even fight the battle, but we got the prize and now nothing can
separate us from Him; we are more than a conqueror.[20] I know and am convinced that he will guard
and keep us until His return.[21] He who began a good work in us will carry it
on to its completion.[22] God has said, I will never leave you nor
forsake you.[23]
The Holy Spirit is like unto HOT
WATER which
causes an egg to get HARD; and
wax
to get SOFT,
NOTE: it was
the same hot water that acted on both;
IT’S WHAT’S ON THE INSIDE THAT
MAKES THE DIFFERENCE.
The thief tells young people,
it’s too soon to mind heavenly things;[24]
and when they have grown old,
the thief tells them it’s too late.[25]
Benjamin
Keach
Without regard to race or religion,
every man that “Needs Us” is our neighbor.
It’s not “Who is my Neighbor”,
but “Am I a Neighbor?
[1] Luke 10:27 – Love God and
Love your neighbor as yourself
[2] Luke 10:29-37 – Who is my
neighbor
[3] Joshua 6:26 – Joshua
cursed the rebuilding of the city of Jericho
[4] Acts 8:23 – The Robbers;
Bound by Sin; unbelief, bitterness
[5] Matthew 12:29 – Satan
binds us then steals our possessions
[6] 2 Corenthians 11:14-15 –
Satan’s servants masquerade as angles of Light
[7] John 10:10 – The Robber; the Thief is Satan
[8] Luke 21:36 – We must
watch and pray to escape Temptations
[9] Ezekiel 16:6-8 – As they
passed by, I saw you struggling in your own blood
[10] Isaiah 65:1 - I was found
by those who did not seek me
[11] Isaiah 1:6 - Soothed the
wounds, welts and open sores with oil -- Isaiah 53:5 - And
by Christ’s wounds, we are healed --Isaiah 61:3 – I will give to you the
Oil of Gladness instead of Mourning -- Hebrews 1:9 – Anointed you with the Oil of
Gladness
[12] Psalms 104:15 – Wine
gladdens the heart -- Ecclesiastes 10:19 – Wine makes you smile -- 2 Samuel
16:2 – Wine is refreshing ---- 1 Timothy 5:23 – Wine promotes healing
[13] Hebrews 13:9 – He was CARRIED away by the “Doctrine of
Grace”
[14] Isaiah 55:1 – Come you
who have NO MONEY and
eat freely -- Philippians 4:19 – God will SUPPLY all your needs. -- Psalms
23:1-5 – He PROVIDES,
guides and anoints me with oil
[15] John 21:15 – Do you love
me, then feed my lambs
[16] Acts 2:23-24 – Jesus
loosed the pains of death; it couldn’t hold Him
[17] Isaiah 43:2 – GOD WILL BE WITH
YOU;
it’s a promise
[18] Psalms 84:11 - No good
thing does God withhold from His children
[19] 1 John 3:8 – Christ was
manifested to destroy the works of Satan. -- Romans 5:8 – While we were still
sinners, Christ died for us
[20] Colossians 2:15 – Christ
has disarmed the enemy with victory over the cross -- Romans 8:37– We are more
than conquerors
[21] 2 Timothy 1:12 – I know
and am convinced that he is able to guard me. -- Romans 8:38-39- Nothing can
separate us from Christ
[22] Philippians 1:6 - Christ
began a good work in you will complete it.
[23] Hebrews 13:5 - Never will
I leave you; never will I forsake you
[24] Proverbs 4:20-27 – God’s
Word is
[25] John 8:44 – Satan is a
murderer and a LIAR
from the beginning
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