Thurs.’s Devo - The Man on the Road to Jericho

Read Luke 10:29-37 This is the rest of the conversation with the lawyer. The lawyer has no doubt followed the law by the “t” and wants to further justify himself. Since he got Jesus’ approval on his first answer he decided to further his right standing by asking Jesus who his neighbor was. I’m sure he was not ready for Jesus’ answer. Jesus tells him the story of the man who traveled to Jericho. Along the way he got accosted, robbed, beaten almost to death and left on the side of the road. The first man to walk past him was a priest. If he helped the man he would get blood on himself and become unclean so he passed him. Next came a Levite who did the same. But the third man was a Samaritan who saw him and had compassion. He had no law to break by helping the man so he attended his wounds with medicine and sedatives and bandaged them up. Then he put him on his beast and walked beside it the whole way to the next inn and took further care of him. When he had to leave the next day, he left enough money for the inn keeper to care of the man and told him if he spent more, he would pay him back when he returned. Then Jesus asked, which of the three do you think was a neighbor to the man? The lawyer said, to the one that showed him mercy, to which Jesus said, “Go, and do the same.” Jesus took the word “neighbor” and transcended geography, race, and religion. The Samaritans were hated by the Jews yet Jesus made him the hero in the story. He was also trying to show them that their laws and priesthood had become so religious they had lost their real purpose. If we are going to reach our world for Jesus we are going to have to realize that our neighbor is anyone who needs help whether they are in Africa, another race or in a cult. To be a good neighbor we have the learn the secret of the next story… tomorrow. Lord, give us hearts of compassion and open our eyes to see the needs we are to meet.