The Samaritan in All of Us

"But behold a certain lawyer stood up and put Him to the test...'But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him'" (Luke 10:25a, 33a)

Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan is without a doubt one of the most well-known and even popular illustrations of biblical truth in all the ministry of our Lord, beloved! Few people have not been exposed to it either in sermon form or Sunday school lesson or Bible study notes of some kind somewhere. And it is that very same parabolic passage to which I invite you to turn with me for the next several weeks as we take a closer look at a number of powerful lessons for living.

In this edition of "Gleanings," however, I would like for us to focus our attention upon the characters in the actual group surrounding Jesus that day as well as upon those the Master chose for His parable with which He answered the question put to Him. Specifically, I want to point out the contrast between the lawyer and Jesus which parallels the contrast between the priest and Levite and the Samaritan traveler of Jesus' story.

Note first, then, the contrast between the lawyer who asked the question and Jesus who answered it. The lawyer was an acknowledged "expert" in the laws of Judaism, a man who in his own estimation stood head and shoulders religiously above the rest of the Hebrew population. He demanded respect and even curried special favor wherever he went and was probably accustomed to getting it. And as he put his question to the Nazarene that day, he likely did so with the attitude of one with a Doctor of Divinity in biblical law asking a question of a first-year Bible college student!

On the other hand, Jesus was not religiously his equal, not according to the structure of Judaism nor even of Hebrew society. He had been born into a humble home, raised to work with His hands, and had only recently come into the spotlight as a teacher of spiritual truth. He was not of the tribe of Levi, so had no standing among the then religious elite of Israel. He was to them just a "carpenter turned preacher" with a ragtag following of common ordinary people. He was to them a nuisance to be brushed aside as one would a gnat or mosquito.

Isn't it interesting, then, that in Jesus' parable, as He sought to explain eternal truth to the lawyer and other listeners that day, the "hero" of His story would be a Samaritan? No people-group of that day were more despised and rejected than the Samaritans! The Jews called them "dogs" because of their pagan blood and the Gentiles cursed them because they were half-Hebrew. Yet it was a Samaritan whom Jesus chose to be the one who would reach out and minister to the wounded traveler in His illustration.

And it will be the "Samaritan" in us that will qualify us to serve the needs of others in Jesus' name today, beloved. You see, the Samaritan knew what it was to suffer - to be hated, ill-treated and rejected. And today you and I who are followers of Jesus Christ are those who are most aware of where we were in our sins when Jesus came along and met our needs in love and mercy. It will be those who have been rescued who are enabled to become rescuers of others! Until we can see and appreciate fully the working of God's grace in our own lives, we will never care enough to stop alongside the road of life and help those fallen and cast aside whom Jesus loves. We will likely just look upon them, at most say that "someone ought to do something," and then just pass on by.

So I appeal to the "Samaritan" in you, beloved, as we begin this series of devotionals together. What has Jesus done for you in your journey through life? If He has rescued you by His grace and transformed your life by the power of His shed blood, then you are eligible to become one who rescues in His name. If we are truly saved, then there ought to be something of the Samaritan in each one of us!

Ron