Luke 10:30

New International Version

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.

For Meditation

“Somebody help me!”

The distress call rang loud in Baba’s ears. He was ready to hang himself on the mango tree on the cliff’s edge.

“Is anybody out there? Please help me,” the distress call boomed louder and reverberated across the valley. Baba found himself strangely concerned. There he stood, ready to leap over the cliff for his last goodbye to a world he thought was unfair. So, what’s another man’s life to him? Yet, he couldn’t get the echo out of his ears. Removing the noose from his neck, he ran toward the person he thought he would save.

“Leave him alone, you scoundrel!” Baba shouted, charging at the two men who were striking the man on the ground. But things were not what they seemed to be. It was a pretense, and Baba had walked into a scam. Stripped, wounded, and left to die in the middle of the road, he had become the victim of a robbery scam.

Have you ever considered the victim’s identity in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10:25-37)? He could be a disillusioned Baba, needing help. The world has wounded him in the soul, and he needs a warm heart to embrace him. Unfortunately, our usual comment is: “Too bad it happened to him,” and we pass by. We are too busy to lend a hand. Unfortunately, criminals have no respect for age, position, or social status. Neither do accidents nor any other thing that oppresses.

In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, the priest and the Levite offered no help to the wounded man (Lk. 10:31-32). Both walked away on the other side. But thank God for the Good Samaritan (33-35). He stopped and cared. The identity of the robbery victim did not matter to him. The man needed him; therefore, his personal interest could wait.

That’s our challenge as Christians after a fantastic Sunday worship service. Every need in another person’s life is an opportunity to reveal God’s heart to them. Our response reveals the effect of God’s grace upon our lives in Christ.

As Paul says, “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy” (Titus 3:4-5). We, too, must share this love and kindness of God with others in need.

Where, then, is your heart? Where are your bandages, oil and wine, and donkey to carry this world’s desperate and dying to the Inn on Calvary (Luke 10:34-35)? Are you willing to pay the “extra expense” for treating a wounded neighbor in Christ’s hospital?