"Go, and do thou likewise"

Luke 10

vs. 25 "And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him,...."

vs. 29 "But he...said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?"

At this point, Jesus begins his famous parable about the good Samaritan.

Here is a great video of  The Good Samaritan.

The parable ends with Jesus Christ telling this certain lawyer to "Go, and do thou likewise."

So how can we follow the Lords command to "Go, and do thou likewise."? Are there people like that man who fell victim to such harsh treatment? Are there people around us that have been wounded emotionally or spiritually that are in desperate need of a Good Samaritan to help them on their way?

Let's look at this parable in a different light and that instead of a man that "fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead," we see a friend or family member who has maybe lost their way; they may feel as if their spirit has been wounded or they have been left spiritually half dead. We need to go to the aid of those people. We need to be willing to sacrifice some of our time and effort to help those who may be in distress. We need to be as the Samaritan who "had compassion on him" and went to the aid of the man.

Many people passed by the harmed man, a Jew,  including a priest and a Levite. "Then came a man from Samaria. He was “despised and rejected” of the Jews. He was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and [they] hid as it were [their] faces from him; he was despised, and [they] esteemed him not.” The Jews considered the Samaritans “stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” (These quoted words were not originally intended to describe Samaritans but rather the promised Messiah. Yet the application fits remarkably well. See Isa. 53:3–4.) This Samaritan saw the wounded and fallen man and “bound up his wounds,” anointed him with oil and wine, paid a ransom for his healing, and indicated that whatever the caretaker spent in his task would be justly rewarded. Could the parable be seen as a picture of the Savior and his mission?" (Sept 1991 by Dan Hogan).

Jesus Christ gave us a perfect example. Though he was hated and despised by those who were around him, he still sought out those who were in desperate need of physical and spiritual healing. He didn't allow his social "status" get in the way of helping those who were in need. "The parable of the good Samaritan teaches us many things. It gives us a model of behavior to follow in being good to all mankind, regardless of their physical—or spiritual—condition. It teaches us that not all who profess goodness have the power to save. It tells us that those who assist in this work, as did the host at the inn, will be rewarded for what they do to help the less fortunate. But perhaps it also offers a powerful testimony of him who alone can show eternal mercy, who paid a dear ransom for us, and who offers life eternal." (Dan Hogan) Let us remember that there are people who are desperately looking for help and we need to come to their aid. Let us never forget the perfect example the Saviour set for all of us.

Elder Todd Sparks