Voices from the Past

Anna shifted her legs. Sitting in the crowded marketplace was hot, but she had come with many other people wanting to hear from this man named Jesus, who some said was the Messiah. Dust blew across her lap as a man stood up. Anna almost gasped, recognizing an expert of the law. She listened intently as he and Jesus spoke. “Who is my neighbor?†the expert asked.

Jesus described a man attacked by robbers, and Anna looked around at the people sitting near her. “By chance a priest came along.†Anna smiled. A priest! Of course a priest would help him! “But,†Jesus said, “when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by.†Anna’s eyes widened. How could a priest be one of the bad guys?

“The priest cannot touch anything unclean; he must have thought the man was dead,†a lady beside Anna whispered to her neighbor. Anna nodded. That would make sense.

Jesus continued, “A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.†Anna frowned; it didn’t make sense for a Temple assistant—a Levite—to ignore a man in need. Who would be the one to help this man? Whoever the hero was going to be, they must have been very wise.

“Then a despised Samaritan,†Jesus started. Anna heard loud gasps from the people around her. A man in front of her looked angry; he stood up and left. Anna watched a couple more people stand up and leave. “A Samaritan?” Anna thought. Samaritans were the enemy; it was hard to believe they would be the one to help the poor man! Anna turned her attention back to the story.

“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?†Jesus asked.

“The one who showed him mercy,†the expert in the law replied reluctantly.

Jesus told him, “Yes, now go and do the same.†• Kimberly Brokish

• This parable would have been shocking to Jesus’s audience. The Israelites thought the Samaritans were totally corrupt, but the Samaritan in this story showed God’s love and care. Have you ever received God’s love and care from unexpected places?

“But I [Jesus] say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!†Matthew 5:44 (NLT)

Read Verses:

Ps.119.73|Prov.16.24|Rom.8.1|Rom.8.31-Rom.8.34