1Perrero
I think we have all heard the story of the Good Samaritan as a parable meant to stir us into the same kind of action and become good Samaritans to our neighbours in need. However, if we delve into this story a little deeper, I believe we will find a truth all the more interesting.
In demanding us to become good Samaritans, Jesus lead the way and became an example for us.
The story, found in Luke 10:25-37, begins with:
A) A certain man. Unidentified, unknown, ordinary or not, this certain man could have been anybody including you and me.
B) His itinerary took him from Jerusalem (Abode of Peace or City of Peace) to Jericho (a place of death, as Jericho is near the dead sea, which is a 1500 feet descent in altitude from Jerusalem). Were we not on a downhill road resulting in death until Jesus met us?
C) On that road to Jericho we witness an assault. Thieves who strip the man of his clothes (steal), wound him severely (destroy) leaving him half dead (kill). Here we see a similar work of the devil in our lives. He is a thief (John 10:10), who comes to steal, kill and destroy.
We also find ourselves in similar situations in life; alone, lost, hurt, crushed and ignored. We are beaten down looking for help, grasping for hope and there is none.
A) Satan, the thief, has stolen our peace, our finances, our health and more.
B) He literally does everything in his power to wound and destroy everything about us.
C) Finally, when he can, he will leave us for dead, and death is what will happen if we continue down that road to Jericho.
Ah, but a glimmer of hope arises in a priest who meanders by.
A) He represents the leaders in all religions, ideologies or philosophies of the world and what they might have to offer. Help, hope, restoration, can they bring this to the table. I’m afraid not. He does not have the answer to our plight. Their power is feeble, their hope shallow, their truth empty; he passes by.
B) The Levite is just as powerless. He represents a leader much closer to home. The man of tradition, a close acquaintance, a priest from our youth who might be more knowledgeable and intimate with our situation. Alas, he feigns to venture a compassionate attempt.
C) There is only Jesus, the Good Samaritan, who can 1- restore what the locust and the cankerworm had stolen from us. (Joel 2:25) He can 2- mend our wounds because He was wounded Himself. (Isaiah 53:5) And finally 3- He is the only one who can bring us back from death as He conquered death Himself. (Romans 5:10)
The Samaritan mends our wounds.
A) He pours the wine of the New Covenant (1Cor. 11:25) (Eph. 1:7)
B) and the oil of His Spirit (1Sam. 16:13) (Luke 24:39).
C) He then places us on a beast of burden so that our own burdens are relieved (Mat. 11:30 “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”)
Finally, He brings us to the inn, which can be defined as “a public place (house) for the reception of strangers”.
A) I surmise that this could be also called the “The Body of Christ” (His Church).
B) He pays 2 Dinarii, which is roughly 2 days wages
C) and tells the innkeeper that He will come again.
Notice that He did not say, “I’ll be back”, or “I’ll return soon” or even “See you tomorrow”. What he does say is that he’ll “come again”. Do you see here a reference to the Second Coming (John 14:28 KJV)? Surely it has been 2 Dinarii = 2 days wages , 2 days = 2000 years, because with God 1 day is as a thousand years. (2Peter 3:8)
Jesus set the perfect example. Now let us become Samaritans and champion the same cause. Have we not been doing so for over two dinarii? Jesus, the Good Samaritan, the perfect example is soon to come again.
From the Teachers Desk
2John5918
I don't have much truck with all this arcane symbolism about 2 denarii = 2 days = 2 millennia. Ultimately the Good Samaritan should be you and me (and everybody else). And Luke 10:29, 36 and 37 suggest that an equally important question is, "Who is a neighbour?" to which the answer is a stranger, a foreigner, a migrant we might say in today's context, an enemy even.
3timspalding
>2 John5918:
A few thoughts about the denarius from this ex-ancient history guy:
* It's not a lot of money—something like two days' wages, as the OP says. The message is, I think that everyone involved here is poor. He can pay more later; he doesn't have a lot more on him.
* It's Roman money. This fixes the story in the present. If it were a once-upon-a-time story, it wouldn't use the specifically Roman coin, he'd use drachmai or shekels.
* FWIW, contrary to what I'd have imagined, not only did Herod Antipas not mint silver coins, but Herod the Great didn't either. The former probably didn't have the right to.
To add to >2 John5918:, the Samaritan should be you and me, but the specifically Samaritan context is important. The Samaritans were—and are—a Jewish splinter group. Among other things, Samaritans only acknowledge the Torah as law, not other books, let alone rabbinic texts. They also kept their temple on Mt. Gerizim, not in Jerusalem. As often in such things, the heretic is hated more than the alien. In other words, the point is that a Samaritan—of all people!—knows how to treat someone well, not others allegedly upright and fully Jewish.
A few thoughts about the denarius from this ex-ancient history guy:
* It's not a lot of money—something like two days' wages, as the OP says. The message is, I think that everyone involved here is poor. He can pay more later; he doesn't have a lot more on him.
* It's Roman money. This fixes the story in the present. If it were a once-upon-a-time story, it wouldn't use the specifically Roman coin, he'd use drachmai or shekels.
* FWIW, contrary to what I'd have imagined, not only did Herod Antipas not mint silver coins, but Herod the Great didn't either. The former probably didn't have the right to.
To add to >2 John5918:, the Samaritan should be you and me, but the specifically Samaritan context is important. The Samaritans were—and are—a Jewish splinter group. Among other things, Samaritans only acknowledge the Torah as law, not other books, let alone rabbinic texts. They also kept their temple on Mt. Gerizim, not in Jerusalem. As often in such things, the heretic is hated more than the alien. In other words, the point is that a Samaritan—of all people!—knows how to treat someone well, not others allegedly upright and fully Jewish.
4jburlinson
It seems to me that the placement of this story within a story holds some significance. In the first part of the chapter, Jesus has commissioned his disciples and instructed them how to behave as they travel about preaching the gospel. Then here comes a lawyer, one of several characters in the gospels who try to "test" Jesus. What follows is a demonstration by Jesus to the disciples of how to handle such situations, which is basically to turn the tables and get the interlocutor to declare some clear and well-known truth and then agree with him or her. When the lawyer persists in trying to "justify" what he's doing, Jesus persists in forcing the lawyer again to give an obvious answer to a question and then agreeing with him. It's basically an object lesson for any evangelist in training.
5Perrero
>2 John5918: You missed the whole point because you didn't read the first sentence. There is no doubt that this story is meant to spur us to becoming good Samaritans. That is the obvious interpretation at first glance. What I was trying to point out is that within the same story we can see the hand of Jesus doing that very thing for everyone of us, thus making Him the Good Samaritan "par excellence".
He was the Great Samaritan who found us on the road of life, bruised and tattered, dead in our sin because of the thief the devil. Nevertheless, His great love brought us back to life by His care, His Spirit, His Body (Church). Christ was the perfect example of the Good Samaritan for us to emulate.
You let your distrust of Bible numerology and symbolism distract you from the main point of the OP.
Ever wonder why Nebuchadnezzar said to heat up the furnace 7 times more? Not 5 times, 6, 8 or 10 but 7? God used him to say 7 as a reminder, to the three Hebrew young men, that He was still in charge and in control before anyone got thrown in the fire. 7 is used all through scripture as the perfect spiritual number reserved to God.
What about the #6, it's well known amongst scholars as being the number relating to man. Man was created on the 6th day, the "Man of sin's" number is 666.
Now go the John 2 and read the story of the Wedding of Cana with that number in mind.
Also you want to be reminded that Urns or Waterpots are just receptacles or VESSELS.
Vessels of stone, not clay, because stone speaks of the heart that needs a changing into flesh.
And then water, as seen in John 3, can be a symbol of our life that needs a miracle to change it into the life of the Spirit which is wine.
And when you've done all that, go back to the beginning of the story to find out on which day of the week this wedding account happened. Could the number symbolize resurrection day which is what happens to us when we come to Christ (Born again).
So we see in this FIRST miracle of Jesus, just a changing water to wine, which is spectacular, but allows a hidden meaning of the very reasons He came to earth. His mission to change mankind's hearts.
I leave that with you.
Cheers
He was the Great Samaritan who found us on the road of life, bruised and tattered, dead in our sin because of the thief the devil. Nevertheless, His great love brought us back to life by His care, His Spirit, His Body (Church). Christ was the perfect example of the Good Samaritan for us to emulate.
You let your distrust of Bible numerology and symbolism distract you from the main point of the OP.
Ever wonder why Nebuchadnezzar said to heat up the furnace 7 times more? Not 5 times, 6, 8 or 10 but 7? God used him to say 7 as a reminder, to the three Hebrew young men, that He was still in charge and in control before anyone got thrown in the fire. 7 is used all through scripture as the perfect spiritual number reserved to God.
What about the #6, it's well known amongst scholars as being the number relating to man. Man was created on the 6th day, the "Man of sin's" number is 666.
Now go the John 2 and read the story of the Wedding of Cana with that number in mind.
Also you want to be reminded that Urns or Waterpots are just receptacles or VESSELS.
Vessels of stone, not clay, because stone speaks of the heart that needs a changing into flesh.
And then water, as seen in John 3, can be a symbol of our life that needs a miracle to change it into the life of the Spirit which is wine.
And when you've done all that, go back to the beginning of the story to find out on which day of the week this wedding account happened. Could the number symbolize resurrection day which is what happens to us when we come to Christ (Born again).
So we see in this FIRST miracle of Jesus, just a changing water to wine, which is spectacular, but allows a hidden meaning of the very reasons He came to earth. His mission to change mankind's hearts.
I leave that with you.
Cheers
6Perrero
>4 jburlinson: I very much agree with your statement. Jesus always had a way of reaching out to people without being antagonistic. He firm firm and truthful but never degrading. He knew man had a hard time to relinquish religion, philosophies or other tenets that were deeply entrenched. Therefore the need to lead them down a certain "garden path".
Cheers
Cheers
7Perrero
>3 timspalding: Yes, "the Samaritan should be you and me" as you say and is the what I premise in the first sentence of the OP. My point is that in the same story, and we could say throughout scripture, we see Jesus as the prime example of what He is trying to teach.
Cheers
Cheers
8Reality1843
>1 Perrero: “We also find ourselves in similar situations in life; alone, lost, hurt, crushed and ignored. We are beaten down looking for help, grasping for hope and there is none.”
What are you talking about? This does not describe anyone I know – many of whom are Agnostics living wonderful fulfilling lives without having to put in all that effort, tithing, praying, Bible Studying, and churching – who help each other through life’s trials and tribulations, often share in each other’s pains and successes without a second thought.
The human mind is capable of such tortured logic and altered realities. You wrote a well-spun attempt to cast Jesus as a “Good Samaritan” with your tortured attempt at proselytizing but it is pretty irrational. Jesus was sent by God to do a job – everything he did was controlled by God. Right?
Then there are the self-righteous self-deluded misguided religious charlatans who keep quoting Bible verses as nuggets of wisdom while being too irrational or ignorant to notice that because it is a book of fallible human opinions, their takes on experiences, myths, and superstitions, it often contains diametrically opposed moral instructions rendering it unreliable and useless. To compensate, people follow the interpretation that is convenient to them at any given time thereby rendering any such exercise foolhardy instead of foolproof. It becomes even more bizarre when mismatched pieces are forced together as in this post. “Satan, the thief, has stolen…C There is only Jesus, the Good Samaritan…” That analogy does not pass the reality test! God gave people freewill to choose. Nothing was stolen!
Then there are those who waste valuable time praying to God to spare them, desperate for a savior, instead of escaping the natural disaster. They are usually end up being called causalities afterwards – when the bodies are counted.
Do not worry. You are not alone. “Smart and knowledgeable” people have been around before the Bible or any other religious books existed. From early man, there have been those who tried to convince the scared, desperate, or gullible that they - the communicators – have intimate knowledge and wisdom about all things god(s)-related. That has always been the big lie. Sophistry has been the primary tool of these charlatans and sciolists for centuries. So, just like telling more lies in attempts to buttress a previous one, believing a lie often forces one to believe other lies to support the original one. The fantasies get out of control to the point where reality is left far behind. Self-delusion becomes easy and normal for the “believers”!
The Bible is a collection of human writings from human perspective waiting for the gullible to take as the iron-clad “Words of God!” Readers beware how deep and dark the rabbit hole your religion takes you away from reality.
My eyes were opened; I escaped years of religious indoctrination decades ago. You can open your minds too.
What are you talking about? This does not describe anyone I know – many of whom are Agnostics living wonderful fulfilling lives without having to put in all that effort, tithing, praying, Bible Studying, and churching – who help each other through life’s trials and tribulations, often share in each other’s pains and successes without a second thought.
The human mind is capable of such tortured logic and altered realities. You wrote a well-spun attempt to cast Jesus as a “Good Samaritan” with your tortured attempt at proselytizing but it is pretty irrational. Jesus was sent by God to do a job – everything he did was controlled by God. Right?
Then there are the self-righteous self-deluded misguided religious charlatans who keep quoting Bible verses as nuggets of wisdom while being too irrational or ignorant to notice that because it is a book of fallible human opinions, their takes on experiences, myths, and superstitions, it often contains diametrically opposed moral instructions rendering it unreliable and useless. To compensate, people follow the interpretation that is convenient to them at any given time thereby rendering any such exercise foolhardy instead of foolproof. It becomes even more bizarre when mismatched pieces are forced together as in this post. “Satan, the thief, has stolen…C There is only Jesus, the Good Samaritan…” That analogy does not pass the reality test! God gave people freewill to choose. Nothing was stolen!
Then there are those who waste valuable time praying to God to spare them, desperate for a savior, instead of escaping the natural disaster. They are usually end up being called causalities afterwards – when the bodies are counted.
Do not worry. You are not alone. “Smart and knowledgeable” people have been around before the Bible or any other religious books existed. From early man, there have been those who tried to convince the scared, desperate, or gullible that they - the communicators – have intimate knowledge and wisdom about all things god(s)-related. That has always been the big lie. Sophistry has been the primary tool of these charlatans and sciolists for centuries. So, just like telling more lies in attempts to buttress a previous one, believing a lie often forces one to believe other lies to support the original one. The fantasies get out of control to the point where reality is left far behind. Self-delusion becomes easy and normal for the “believers”!
The Bible is a collection of human writings from human perspective waiting for the gullible to take as the iron-clad “Words of God!” Readers beware how deep and dark the rabbit hole your religion takes you away from reality.
My eyes were opened; I escaped years of religious indoctrination decades ago. You can open your minds too.
