All of the parables that Jesus spoke were wonderful, but the parable of the Good Samaritan has to be one of the most caring ones of all. It is a parable about a man who was minding his own business when he was brutally attacked, robbed and beaten, and left for dead. However, the man did not die, but was in great need of extended medical attention.
The first ones that came along and saw this man in this helpless condition were the religious folk. These were the ones who could have helped this poor man spiritually as well as physically, but they did not. Upon seeing him, they decided they did not want to get involved in this type of ministry. They simply wrapped their religious robes tightly around themselves as they smirked and walked on…leaving the man to die. They obviously missed their big opportunity to show their faith in God and their love for mankind.
Soon after, an ordinary man passed by who saw the dying man. He was filled with love and compassion and a desire to help. This should have been the response of the preachers (the Priest and the Levites), but it was not. Each of us probably face this kind of decisions in some way every day.
Once I pastured a mission in Houston, Texas. We ran this mission ministry different than most missions are run. Our building was far out from the town center. We would only go into town to pick up those whom the Lord had sent us. We would take care of these men over an extended period of time, putting the Word of God in them so they could go back into society rehabilitated. It was a very successful program.
One Sunday morning I sent our ministry helpers downtown to pick up a van load of drunks and street people for the morning service. After a while the back door of the church opened and my helpers were dragging a drunken bleeding man into the building. The man’s name was Johnny. He was the third generation in his family who slept under a bridge in Houston. The reason Johnny was bleeding and crying was because when he saw the mission van coming to pick up people, he fell on his face in the middle of the street as he tried to run away. His face looked as if it had been run through a meat grinder, and his nose was badly broken. He was in such pain that he was weeping out loud.
When I saw him, I remembered the story of Elisha and how he laid his body across a dead boy’s body that had been dead for hours and he came back to life. I felt the Lord tell me to lay my body across Johnny’s body and He would heal him. I had never done such a thing before. Besides that, I was not sure Johnny had ever taken a bath because he stunk to high heaven and he was covered with blood.
I reluctantly told the men to go get an old army cot we had and lay Johnny on the cot. After they put Johnny on the cot I asked them to step back and I walked over and laid my body across Johnny’s body…nose to nose and toes to toes. As I did this, the power of God surged through Johnny’s body like a bolt of lightning and Johnny was instantly healed. His broken nose was healed and his scarred torn up face was immediately healed. Johnny sobered up immediately, as the power of God went through his body. Through his tears he reached up and kissed me on the cheek.
I got up off Johnny and everyone in the building was celebrating Johnny’s miracle. The men who had been brought in from the streets with Johnny were also celebrating because the fear of the Lord had filled the building and they had seen their first miracle. In that morning service all of those wayward men praised God, repented of their sins, and wept their way into the throne room of God.
What I like about the Good Samaritan is that he did not just take the wounded man to town and leave him. He paid his medical bills and promised he would take care of any additional costs when he returned to that town.
Johnny came to know the Lord that day at the mission, and for the first time in his life he met the Good Samaritan of all times, Jesus Christ.
Father,
Help all who read this ‘Meditation’ to recommit themselves to being a Good Samaritan. Lord, help us all to be more conscious of those who are hurting and need a Good Samaritan.
Amen
A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.(Luke 10:30 KJV)
Apostle John Dean Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved
Alliance International Ministries