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The Stolen Wardrobe

By June Smith

Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. “ (Luke 10:30)

The verse above is the beginning of a response by Jesus to the question, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied to this question by telling a story about a “certain man. “ We are not told who the man was nor of his race or nationality. Some suppose that he was a Jew, however, he is only identified as “a certain man.“ The man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho and he was robbed of his raiment and wounded severely. As he lay there half-dead, a priest, and a Levite saw him, but sadly, both men choose to pass by on the other side of the road. The priest was supposed to be a holy man of God and the Levite was a temple minister or servant. One would expect that religious men such as these two would see the need to stop and help a wounded man who had been stripped of his clothing, but they choose not to do so. We are not told why they made their choices, but that they chose to avoid him. Perhaps they feared for their own safety or maybe they were in a hurry to take care of their own affairs. We do not know why they did not view this man as their neighbor, but rather they passed by him and left him there in his hour of need.

There was a third man that came by the scene of the crime. He was a Samaritan. In Luke 10:33-35 it reads “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him.” If anyone might have passed by this man without helping, you would have thought that it would be the Samaritan. There was bitterness between the Jews and the Samaritans. The Jews did not have dealings with the Samaritans. (John 4:9)

As the story continues, we read. “And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him." The Samaritan seems to show no concern for self. He immediately evaluates the needs of the fallen man and begins to treat his wounds and give him care.

"And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host and said, unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee." The Samaritan’s compassion led him to forget himself and his inconvenience. He was probably on some errand of business, but not only did he stop and help, but he took the man to a place of safety and paid someone to care for him. He even said he would be back and it there were additional cost for this man’s care he would pay the bill later. It cost the Samaritan time and money to care for a man that he did not know and yet, he made that sacrifice.

In Luke10:36 Jesus now poses a question back to the one who had ask him “who is my neighbor?” He said, “Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves?” Then Jesus gave the answer and he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, "Go and do thou likewise.” (Luke 10:37) The man, who had had his clothing stolen, had gained a neighbor and had been shown mercy and kindness. The admonition given to the questioner was “go and do likewise.” That advice is still valid for us to day. When we see someone in need, we are to show mercy and compassion to that person because he is our neighbor. Truly, this Samaritan loved his neighbor as himself and we must do likewise.

Questions

1. Tell about the man traveling from Jericho to Jerusalem.

2. Why do you think the Priest and the Levite passed by the wounded man without helping?

3. Do some research and find out why the Jews and Samaritan were enemies.

4. What does the scripture give as the reason for the Samaritan stopping to aid the wounded man?

5. What did the Samaritan do for the wounded man?

6. Where did the Samaritan take the wounded man?

7. Did it cost the Samaritan anything to be a good neighbor?

8. What did the Samaritan do when he returned to the inn?

9. Jesus asks the question, “Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves?” What was His answer?

10. What did Jesus say that we should “go and do likewise?”