The Storyteller The Good Samaritan Day 3

Consider Each Character

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance …” Luke 10:30–31 (ESV)

No less than six individuals are part of this rather well known story. Our Lord told the story as an answer to a young lawyer’s question. He asked the question to which he was sure he already knew the answer. There was a person in the story our Lord told, who was beaten by robbers on the road. A priest came by and ‘passed by on the other side’. A Levite also ‘passed by on the other side’. Then there was that Samaritan, who stopped and took care of the man’s immediate and long term needs.
Several questions help us get at the heart of the matter.

  • First. Are there times in my life when I have acted like the young lawyer, wondering what ‘I need to do to be saved’?
  • Second. When confronting people in need have I been more like the Priest and Levite, or like the Samaritan?
  • Third. When I hear our Lord’s clear words “Go and do likewise,” how do I find the power to respond in mercy and care for those who are neighbor to me?

The answer is: I don’t find it – at least not in myself! I find it in Him alone who is my Lord and Savior. He enables me by His grace to respond to His word and will. St. Paul makes it clear in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”