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The guy who was robbed

  • Jun 6, 2018
  • 2 min read

Have you ever wondered about the man who was helped by the good Samaritan in Luke 10? I mean, it is known as "the story of of the good Samaritan", right? All we know about this guy is that he was leaving Jerusalem for Jericho, and that he was stripped, beaten, and robbed; left for dead. What kind of guy was he? Was he in a drunken stupor from a party the night before? Was he an adulterer? Was he an up-standing Jew who had been in Jerusalem for temple worship? You did notice that two "church guys" passed him by. Doesn't that strike you as odd? Maybe because he wasn't one of them.

Seriously though, who was this guy?

I thought about that as I processed through someone's judgment of me recently. I was accused of being naive and blind to someone else's sin; seemingly accepting the behavior along with the person. As I thought about their words, I reflected back on this story. It all began with a question a lawyer asked Jesus, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus' answer? "What does the Law say?" The man's response was to quote the two greatest commandments, "Love the Lord; love your neighbor". Jesus said, "Good answer".

But the lawyer, wishing to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

Interesting words...wishing to justify himself, because isn't that what we do? If I can call out someone else's sin then maybe no one will notice my own; the proverbial log and speck scenario.

But, if we were to summarize this story without the parable of the good Samaritan, I think our answer would go something like this: "Who's your neighbor? The one who needs your mercy".

That's all I need to know.

That person who's laying alongside a road that no one wants to walk on is not asking for your judgment (they have a conscience, and if the Holy Spirit is in there also they have Someone in their soul who will not let them carry their sin for long). They're not asking for your judgment of their condition; what they're asking for is your mercy.

Can we give that today? Can we love them the way Jesus loved all of those He came into contact with...the woman at the well, Zaccheus, the man at the pool of Bethesda, and countless others who church people were passing by?

The Samaritan man in this story had "the one thing that was necessary" that day, because the Scripture says "he felt compassion". The guy didn't need this man's money first, a room at the inn first, or even the bandages spread over his wounds first. He needed his compassion first and foremost.

I may not have a way to provide the material things someone needs today, but compassion? I can do that.

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About Me

I am a learner.  I have an insatiable desire to learn, so I read a ridiculous amount of books.  And, because I love to read, I process my thoughts through journal-writing. 

I guess this would also make me a writer.  

I think that a writer puts their time into something they want to read again, and hopefully invite someone else to read as well.  The words mean something to them, and they want those words to mean something to others, too.

I believe that readers and writers are also pretty good story-tellers, and there is nothing I love more than a good story.

Stories tell us the things we need to know, and not just the facts we seem to think define us.  I am more interested in someone who drives a 95 Astro van than someone who drives a new car with a personalized license plate, because I know there's a story behind it (and I love that I am married to the one who drives the van).

So I wrote a book called Tell Me a Story.  In it, you will find stories of people that most don't sit and listen to; maybe because they've never traveled out of the country in order to hear them.  Or maybe they've never really thought about the importance of just listening. 

I didn't listen because I thought I was special; I listened because I believed they were. 

I've taught high school Bible for more than 20 years, written curriculum for all of my classes, led mission trips around the world, taken lots of pictures, made lots of journal entries, and prayed every single day for the people whose faces appear in my heart.  Each blog post will take you to a story; some will be from my memory, some from my journal posts, some from people I'm around every day, and others will be from the best Story-teller I know, Who wrote a book long before I did.   His story keeps writing new stories in mine.  I hope someday to get mine published so that others will be encouraged to read more of His.

 

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