Recently, while having a discussion with a group of beautiful young ladies, it was mentioned that it’s very easy for a person to feel that their heart is in the right place. However, once put to the test, their heart’s true condition is revealed.
I was reminded of this truth when reading this story in Luketoday.
The story lists four different characters: a Jewish man, a priest, a temple assistant and a Samaritan. Let’s flip back to the part of passage where the Jewish man has been left for dead on the side of the road. The first man who discovers his condition is the priest. According to Zondervan’s Bible Dictionary, “a priest indicates one who is consecrated and engaged in holy matters.” Surely, this man assumed his heart was in right standing before God. However, when confronted with the filth of life’s harshrealities and the opportunity to make a wrong right, his heart remained unstirred. Instead, his response was to cover his eyes and remove himself from the situation all together by walking on the opposite side of the road.
The second man we see was a temple assistant. In one Bible translation, he is referred to as a “religious man”. In another, he is referred to as a “Levite”. Essentially, this was a man who accompanied the priests in matters that pertained to God’s house and his people. Notice that when this man saw the victim hewalked over to him. It appears that this man was curious and maybe even concerned over the state of the man lying in the road. But, instead of taking action, he withdrew to the opposite side of the road just as the first had.
The third man we read about was a Samaritan. I’m sure many of you have heard some history on the Samaritan. You probablyalready know that Samaritans were descendants of tribes who had intermarried with the Israelites. Let me share some information that I gathered from the Zondervan Bible Dictionary. Did you know that at the time when this story was told, enmity between the Jews and Samaritans was at its peak? In fact, since the post-exilic period the term “Samaritan” has often been used by Jews as an abusive term for “rebel”. Even so, this Samaritan’s heart was stirred for the enemy that layhelplessly before him.
Before I go further, I want to go back again and point out the response of the two men who came before the Samaritan. Remember that when these “good men” saw the disparaged man, they only saw inconvenience and social disgrace. Both men rejected what they saw because they couldn’t deal with the severity of their own heart’s condition. They couldn’t even bear to walk on the same side of the road because it reminded them of the man they had left behind!
On the other side, the Samaritan saw the man and “felt compassion for him.” He “soothed his wounds…and bandaged them.” Then, he delivered him out of the place of his defeat and into a place of restoration.
Friends, let’s ask God to show us what’s really inside, even when it’s painful. Let’s ask Him to place people in our lives andgive us an opportunity to be stirred with compassion and ultimately deliver them into a place of restoration.
Blessings,
Lauryn Everett
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