Luke 10:25-37
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’;
and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself,so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.
31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.
32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him.
35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
I always thought the moral we learn from this story is that we should help others like the Good Samaritan and not like others ignoring the pain of others.
But actually the Inn Keeper is more important than the Good Samaritan. He takes care of the patient with the two shekels entrusted to him by the Good Samaritan, waiting for his return, if he had to spend more than two shekels. So try to be sincere like the Inn Keeper.
Whether the Samaritan will come back or not, whether two shekels were enough for the expenses, if more money is spent to take care of the patient, no guarantee is there, that the Samaritan will come back and give back the extra money spent on the patient.
Yes, we should be like that Inn Keeper, doing what we can do for the poor and the needed, from what we we are given by the good Lord, not knowing whether or when we will get back anything in return.
In your opinion the innkeeper is more important. Here, I am sorry, that I have to disagree with you Gigi.The Samaritan had done everything possible by him. He was going somewhere for his personal work. But when he saw that his fellow being was in need of immediate help, without thinking of his own work, he took care of the poor man, nursing the man’s wounds and taking him to the inn.Whatever amount he could spare, he gave to the innkeeper and promised the innkeeper that he would reimburse if the innkeeper incur any extra expenditure.Agreed, the innkeeper was also a good man and agreed to take care of the sick man.But he knew that such a good man as the Samaritan, who took this much trouble to save a man in need, who was a total stranger to him, would surely keep his words and would reimburse him.
Although I want to be like the good Samaritan, I cannot. The maximum I can be like the innkeeper.
That’s more than enough, Santha.
I still don’t know who I am?
I think I am trying to be a little of all three Characters.
Gigi