A Hidden Picture

 We are all familiar with the story of the good Samaritan, right?

In Luke 10:25, a lawyer asks Jesus how to get eternal life. Jesus answers him with a question about his profession (don't you love how Jesus always meets us where we are and speaks to us using our own language?) and the man answers correctly. But Jesus sees his heart and his motivation, so he tells him a story: 

30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant[a] walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins,[b] telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked
37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”  (New Living Translation)

This story speaks a lot about prejudice and mercy, and those are the lessons that I have always seen in it. However, the more I study the Bible, the more I discover that there are hidden messages in it everywhere, and most of them speak about Jesus.

Yes, I'm going to present to you that Jesus was also telling a story about you and me here, with Himself, of course, as the main player. Let's look at it this way.

The man is us. The NLT is the only translation that says he was Jewish, all the other translations say "a man" or "a certain man". Since Jesus was in Isreal, it would make sense that it was a Jewish man, but I really feel like it could apply to Isreal or to you and me. Isreal spent very little time being its own, independent nation. You can see the timeline of how they went from being conquered by one nation to being conquered by another and another and so on. 

Now, the Bible is clear that all this trouble was a result of their sin. They thought they could live independent of God and that never turns out well. Did you notice how the victim in this story is travelling alone, as though he didn't need protection? 

Has your traveling without God after left you feeling abandoned, wounded, half-dead?

The man is Isreal and us.

In verse 31, who comes along first? The Priest. The man who was ordained to guide, serve, and teach God's people. He sees a man "half dead" and probably assumes that the man is all dead. If he touches a dead man, he would become unclean and have to undergo a cleansing process in order to resume his priestly duties. He doesn't think the man is worth it, so he hastens to the other side of the road and avoids him. Have ever been hurt by a church leader who didn't want to get tainted by your mess?

The priest represents the Jewish priests as well as some of the church leaders of today.

In verse 32 a Levite comes along and sees the man. The Levites had a very important job, and if this one touched a dead man he would not be fit to perform his work in the temple without undergoing a cleansing process. His job is more important that helping this guy. Have you ever been around someone who is more interested in their work than ministering to you?

The Levite is someone who doesn't make helping the hurt a priority.

Now who comes along next? The NLT is the only translation that calls the Samaritan "despised", but I like that because it reminds me of another verse:

Who is this verse talking about? That's right, it's Jesus! Jesus is actually telling this lawyer a story about himself.

Samaritans where half-breeds (Jewish/Assyrian) and Jesus was a half-breed (human/God). What did the Samaritan pour on the victim in verse 34? Oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit all throughout the Bible. Wine is a symbol of Jesus' blood. What kind of animal did the Samaritan put the man on? A donkey, just like Jesus rode a donkey to show that he was a King of Peace. Was the donkey a picture of Jesus bringing us peace?

In the story of the beginning of Jesus' life as a man, there was no room for Him in the inn. In this story, He is taking another into the inn and caring for him. Jesus always has room for you! He is always willing to take you in! 

What does Jesus do next in the story? In verse 35 He not only pays the man's current debts, but He pays for all the future ones as well! Our debt is our sin, and He is telling us here that He pays for all of it.

The last evidence that the Samaritan is Jesus is that He says He will be coming back, just like Jesus does. Isn't that just gorgeous????

This story is about showing mercy, just like Jesus showed mercy to the whole entire world. He tells us to go and do the same as He has done for us. He just wants us to love God and love others. That is all He is asking. And He gives us a really good example to follow!

Lots of love,

Lee