Since Jesus Passed By

The Good Samaritan
And Jesus answering said, 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. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. (Luke 10: 30-37)
The story of the Good Samaritan is one of the most read parables in the Bible. In no uncertain terms in this parable we see were we are to go above and beyond the call of duty in our compassion for our fellow man. We get our moral instructions from this parable. We see how to treat our fellow man. Are we the priest, the Levite, or are we the good Samaritan? We take this parable as what to do, but it is also a illustration of what has been done for us.
Have you ever read the story of the Good Samaritan and looked deeper into its content and meaning and seen a striking picture of our world today or even our country. Just like the man lying on the Jericho Road our country and even this word has fallen into hands of robbers, it has been beaten and left for half dead. We have been ravaged by the wages of sin and because of that we suffer.
This story by Jesus is not only showing us what to do for our fellow man but what has been done for us! So which character in this parable are we? Are we the priest, the Levite, or the Samaritan? We are neither we are the victim. Everyone of us that has really known Jesus by faith has first known helplessness. We were once laying on side of the road when Jesus passed by and He was the good neighbor. This is the beginning of compassion for us, the day Jesus passed by. We do not just become merciful by thinking of others and doing for them when they are in need. We became merciful by experiencing mercy. When Jesus spared us He said “Go and do likewise.”