Who Is Going to Stop and Help?

Luke 10:25-37

A man had been ambushed, robbed, beaten, stripped, and left to die by the side of the road. The first passerby, it  just so happens, was a priest from the local temple who saw this beaten man. It may seem curious to us that he makes no effort at all to stop and help but this priest was probably thinking that the man was already dead and that time for help had now passed. But probably, also, in the back of his mind was the thought that according to temple law whoever touched a dead man was considered unclean for seven days. That meant that he would lose his turn of duty in the temple. His obligations to the temple obviously came before his obligations to this beaten man, a man whom he didn't even know.

It was certainly before charity for this particular priest. So he passed by on the other side.

Sometime ago on the Today Show a clergyman interviewed on the subject of Aids. His position was: These people are not victims; they got themselves into this mess. They have no one to blame but themselves. Why should we help? That might have been the position of the Priest on the Jericho Road: He took his chances. When you travel by yourself on a dangerous highway you get what you ask for. He got himself into this, let him get himself out. 

The next passerby happened to be a Levite, a man literally born to the synagogue. He slowed down and curiously approached the beaten victim. Oftentimes these  bandits had a habit of using decoys. One of their number would play the role of the beaten victim. When some unsuspecting traveler stooped over, then the others  would come running out and pounce upon him. This Levites's motto was safety first: In life, you need to be careful what you commit yourself to. After glancing over the body. and cutting his eyes from side to side to see if anyone was watching, he too passed by on the other side of the road.

I am not sure that our reasons for passing by on the other side of the road have changed too much over the years. We will look closer in the morning!

Questions to Ponder 

• Have you ever needed for someone to stop and help you?

• Have you ever stopped to help someone in need?

• Isn't it hard to get ourselves out of some things or situations? 

In His Service,

Terry Phillips