Heart Breaking News

Heart Breaking News

2/18/14

Most of us who have read the Bible for some time know about the story entitled The Good Samaritan.  It is a great story and has many lessons that we can learn from this short passage.  It is not difficult to understand the concept of this story but have we really defined its true and deep meaning?  And have we asked ourselves if this type of scenario is playing out in our modern world?  I believe that we have forgotten to look at the entire setting for this story and what it means to our lives today.  And who is actually the enemy in this story, stick around and you will get some answers.

The story of the Good Samaritan can be approached in many different ways and from several points of view.  The point of view that I am going to be addressing is how the story unfolds and how each human’s character fits into our lives today.  One may not at first see the direction in which I am progressing but continue to read and the topic will become quite clear.  I hope that you read this article and understand that God loves you and that He has a plan for your life and you will not find your true direction until you turn your life over to Him.

The first portion of this parable deals with a lawyer asking Jesus about some of the specifics of the age old selfish question of how I will earn eternal life.  What a statement and question to begin this topic.  The lawyer sets the stage for the entire parable and when Jesus answers the question the lawyer immediately responds that Jesus answered the question correctly.  The follow up question refers to who are considered to be neighbors which Jesus then responds with a plethora of words that totally destroy the insults that might be headed His way.  Yet at the same time Jesus’ answer defines who He will be talking about when He describes the events of the parable.  And not only was He giving reference to His current examples but He was providing a picture of how things were going to be during our times.  It amazes me that Jesus when being trapped always provided an answer for everyone both in His times and for ours, for He knew that we would be asked the same type of questions while we walked the earth.

The beginning of the parable Jesus describes that a man traveled a road that led from one town to another.  Jerusalem was the beginning point of this man’s journey whether it was the place of his birth or not it does not matter but it represents a certain point in that man’s life that begins the story.  Now we all know that there were no cars, trains or any other motorized vehicles during this time so the method of travel was considerably slower than what it is today.  The common method of transportation was by foot or by some type of animal such as a horse, donkey or mule; camels being present in that area as well could have been another option.  Whichever method that the man decided to take it was slow enough that he presented to others as a potential target for robbery.  We must keep in mind that the common denominator from the times when Jesus walked the earth until the present day is the human.  For it is not the animal that saves us or harms us it is the choice of the human that sets the stage for the events to be played out.

The man left and traveled along the road that led in the direction of his destination.  The roads were made of dirt or stone and were sometimes subject to the weather or other elements.  No asphalt or concrete based highway systems present so the route was very rough on the body and / or animal.  Also one must keep in mind that a ten or twenty mile journey took all day to complete and not just a mere few minutes which heightened any possibilities of those traveling to incur adversaries.  So you have a man that is walking on a long journey that will take him to another city for a specific reason.  There is nothing that would indicate that the man had any major fears concerning this trip but I can guarantee that he did understand the risks that were in play. 

At some point during the journey the man encountered some thieves who had in mind to rob him of everything that he had on his possession.  The story also indicates that they beat him so badly that if one would see him that they might have even considered him bad enough to be dead.  The road was not responsible for this beating and thievery it was the choice of the man and the choices that the thieves made to play out this setting.  The robbery probably did not take that long to complete for when there is an advantage being played out it makes it awful difficult for the lesser number to win at anything. 

It probably took hard work for the man to obtain the possessions that he had with him no matter how much that he was carrying.  They were his and he was going to the other city for some reason and those items and money were for some specific reason as well.  The thieves did not know what the man had exactly but they did know that he was traveling alone and that the time was ripe for their plan of action against this man to take place.  Did they rob other people that day?  This was not mentioned and it really does not concern the story because Jesus was referring to each individual’s conscious at this point.  He was setting the stage for each of the people that was present to understand that this event could be played out to any one of them.  Jesus knew that the road to any city could be traveled by anyone and that this setting could be played out; and what makes this story so exciting to them was that some of them could have been in that same position or they too could have played the thieves.

The thieves beat the man senseless and left him there on the road to die.  They had taken what they wanted from him and then left the area in hast without any concern for what they had done.  We all know that medical attention and care was primitive in those days and while we do not exactly know what the overall condition of the man was in, Jesus made it clear to His listeners that the man was close to death.  We all know that the man that was robbed was hoping that his trip would be quick and smooth without any problems, yet on this particular road that he was traveling he was rudely interrupted and his life was changed forever.  What is amazing is to me is that the will of the human mind was just as active in those days as it is today; even if it is a beautiful day to travel.

The next statement from Jesus is a doozy and needs to be explained a bit.  Jesus states that a priest came by shortly after the robbery had occurred and while he was approaching he saw the man lying on the ground and there was no way that he could have not noticed the condition that the man was in.  Jericho was a priestly and holy city and had many priests that resided within its walls so it was not uncommon to see these holy men traveling up and down the public roads.  But take into consideration of their status and what they were representing at the time and one will get a better picture as to why the priest did not even stop to help.  Priests were leaders of churches (synagogues) and they had a responsibility to uphold the Jewish laws and to maintain the legitimacy of their beliefs.  They were quick to judge people and rightly condemn the ones who questioned their authority.  Yet they would like to have their temples adorned with peddlers to sell their items for a profit, with a certain price to be paid in advance as well.  Citing a common good with their fellow commoners this type of activity would be approved as long as the conditions were properly met.

The priest had a while to make his choice about the man lying on the ground, yet he continued on his way and did not stop and help at all.  There was no way that the leader of the synagogue could not have noticed that man who was in obvious need of help and there is no excuse for him to continue to walk by the man on the other side of the road.  What a slap in the face to the man to have a priest move to the other side of the road as he passed by, basically screaming out to the world that he wants nothing to do with this man and that somehow if he helped the man that it would damage his reputation if someone saw him.  What an arrogant priest and leader this was and a poor yet accurate example of how the religious community led.

Ever wonder why the priest did not want to have anything to do with this injured man?  The priest understood that the man was injured and he understood that the man needed help, this is not the problem.  The problem lies in the fact that the priest allowed the man to continue to lie in the dirt and hard surface of the earth and did not care enough to help the man recover from what ailed him.  In truth the priest allowed the man to continue to lie in pain and agony without accepting the truth of the situation.  His pride, acceptance of the present situation, not wishing to dirty his hands and not wanting to draw attention to him proved more important than doing what is right and righteous in the eyes of God.  It does not matter how a leader of a synagogue comes in contact with a wounded and hurting person, they should automatically help them with the truth.

There was nothing wrong with the side of the road that the man was lying for Jesus’ words imply that the priest had been walking on the same side of the road that the man was lying or if he was walking on the other side of the road the priest made no attempt to cross the road to help the man.  And even if there was bad weather present or muddy road conditions this would have not been any reason for how the priest chose to act.  Whichever scenario occurred and whatever direction that the priest was traveling, it is obvious he cared nothing for the condition of the man even though it states that he knew of the man’s condition.  Doesn’t it infuriate you to know that a priest actually knows what is wrong with a situation and then does absolutely nothing to change or inform about the situation?

Jesus continued by stating that another man approached the injured man that was considered to be of the friendly persuasion.  While this person may not have directly known the injured man it would have been a polite gesture and a common gesture for this person to at least stop and see what had happened to the man.  If would have been just as common for anyone else of like manner to stop and to help this man.  What is amazing is that each person who might have walked by this individual at some point thought that they could have been in the same position as that man was yet did nothing to help.  The man that Jesus described also turned and passed by on the opposite side f the road as he came upon the injured man.  This person also had no intentions of helping or even publically acknowledging that the man was injured or needed help.

Now I have not had the privilege of traveling the road from Jerusalem to Jericho during the day and age of Jesus but I can imagine that it was a commonly traveled route since mankind was in the mood for travel at this time in history.  With this type of travel it would be logical for me to believe that many people would be on the road throughout the day.  While night travel was probably discouraged there most likely would have been some that traveled by night as well.  However, from what Jesus described and the lack of argument that was put up by the ones He was addressing, that thievery was somewhat a commonality of the time. So, when the listeners also did not argue about when the priest did nothing and when the person of similar lifestyle did nothing, that would conclude that those types of settings had been talked about or witnessed before.  I guess it is not too hard for us not to understand this lack of kindness that was shown by this one person who was from the same life as the injured man, eh.  Is it possible for us to think of a setting in which both of these scenes are being played out today?

What many people focus upon in this passage is what Jesus revels next and that is that a person who is considered an enemy or a person from a hated race comes along and sees the injured man.  This should be the easy portion of the story to figure out, right?  This portrays that there is a division among the people of the community yet they live in the same area and share the same roads.  Which is not a bad thing to accomplish but it is easy to see how that philosophy still haunts us today.  One would naturally assume that the enemy of a group or nation of people would automatically turn and cross the road and ignore the injured person just as the other two people mentioned by Jesus.  Yet the man sees the injured person and then immediately goes over to him and assesses the situation.  The enemy does not harass or make fun of the person nor does he jump up and down and celebrate that he has been injured in such a graphic manner.  

The person who is considered an enemy stops and helps the injured man without any prejudice of any sort.  He helps him up and carries him to a nearby lodge and tells the keeper to take care of his injuries.  Further, the man pays for his bill and then tells the man that if there is any added expenses that he will take care of it as well.  This is a remarkable development in this story since help arrived from the one person who was expected to walk away and do nothing.  All this help given to a man who was considered to be hated or a low life that was not intelligent enough to have similar beliefs as the Jews.  Hated people are just that, hated and there is no area about their lives that even matters to the ones that have this feeling within them.  I find it incredible that Jesus uses an enemy here to describe compassion and mercy.  He implies that when the Samaritan finds the injured man that he ignores all human boundaries and cares for the individual instead of the Jew, Samaritan or Gentile.  The Samaritan recognized that the man had injuries and then was concerned enough for him to help him through his recovery period.

Even the lawyer who directed the initial question to Jesus got it right when Jesus asked the follow up question concerning who was the one in the story who showed themselves as a neighbor.  Jesus was not being social here; He was teaching these people how to live amongst themselves and to have compassion upon others especially those who come to us with evident hurts and pains that need help.  The priest knew that there was a difference between the physical and the spiritual yet ignored both when the time came to display it to the public.  The person who was of similar descent or culture did the same as the priest and walked right on by and did nothing to help the injured man who was in trouble.  The enemy of the injured man actually was the one who helped him and placed him on the path of recovery.  What lessons can we learn from this story?

Of course the easiest and one that is most familiar is to help those in need no matter who they are.  This answer is the one that is the most common one that we hear and it is a correct answer.  But Jesus always had a purpose and mission to complete, not for just the people that were alive during His time on earth but for us that are living today and for our great, great, great grandchildren who we may never know as well.  Jesus’ message to us today about the Good Samaritan story is alive and well and until now I have never heard of what God is showing us through this message before.  But this is not all what Jesus wanted us to understand about this story for there is a real connection of what Jesus illustrated and what is actually transpiring in our world today and what is so amazing and shocking is that Jesus nailed it on the head over 2000 years ago when we was speaking about a parable.

I am basically going to retell the story of the parable that Jesus told but I am going to use terms in today’s realm instead of ancient times.  Keep an open heart and follow me as I demonstrate exactly how a parable can have exact and truthful meaning within our lives and just how human history does not change that much especially when we have chosen to accept the world into our lives.  The tables are turned when this condition occurs and for the most part the Church does not know that she has been duped into accepting the kingdom of the world instead of pushing back this kingdom.

Jesus came to the earth to re-establish the relationship and communication with God and He did this through two lines.  The first line was His conception, birth, life, death and resurrection in order to ensure that the line of communication and restoration could be made whole again.  The second line was that His establishment of the Church as a symbol and carrier of God’s message to His people was also intact and complete through the human.  Well, Satan could not do much about the first line but the second line he has free reign because we have lost our focus on what our true calling is all about.  Remember that the Church was established long before the modern world yet its fruits are ever blooming ripe today and it cannot gush any juicier than what the parable of the Good Samaritan portrays.

For the last couple of years the Church has been under a microscope.  This microscope has been turned on and focused because of our own doings.  We have interjected some serious blood and soul tie that have been passed down through centuries and if you want proof of this just read the text in the Bible that contains this parable that I have been talking about for the last five pages.  And what is more resounding is that these bonds and ties are still prevalent today and are one of the major roots is allowing the Church to lose her effectiveness and drive that Jesus commanded us to do.  So as in the first part of this article I am going to begin with the priest and then continue from there.

The priest in the story represented the synagogue and was some sort of a leader within the Jewish religious community.  It is known at that time that Jericho was the home of a multitude of priests which meant it could be considered a “Mecca, Rome, Cleveland, Springfield, etc” for religious teachings.  Ever since the Church was established mankind has been doing its best to try and humanize the Church according to how they want things to be.  These misgivings and down outright lies have taken hold onto the coattails of the Church and have made themselves right at home within the doctrines of the human church.  They have grown in connectivity within the Church and have been allowed to sit right next to parishioners and church goers for centuries.

Today the Church is being bombarded by the influx of the world and the Church is continuing the pursuit of this happiness by allowing these issues to creep into their doors.  We all know that Jesus went out into the world and was with the people and this concept is the right philosophy to have, but Jesus did not stop there He taught the people about God and God’s ways and how things will turn out if we continue to follow the ways of the world.  I can guarantee that the people that lived during the days of Jesus had the exact same problems and issues to deal with as we do and I know, through the actions of the Jewish leaders that the Bible gives us, their acceptance of the world in their lives were brought to the attention of the priests who basically had the same reaction as many of the church leaders do today.

Each day we hear of another group of church leaders accepting the ways of the world into their congregations and not doing anything to help change these people’s lives.  Yes they are doing the correct thing by accepting them into their doors but to allow these people to not understand what God has for their lives and to understand that sin is sin and God cannot accept any part of the kingdom of the world into His presence is simply a lie to those people.  If the priests and pastors of today’s church have lost the ability to preach this truth then they are acting just like the priest in the story of the parable above.  As these ministers are having contact with those that are hurting, wounded and dying from what the world is providing them and then turn around and do not tell them why they are in this condition, then these ministers are seeing the injured people and crossing the street and walking right past these people without helping them with their wounds.  The first person that came upon the injured man in this parable has just come to life in the twenty first century.

Unless you attend a mega church there is a good possibility that a person who attends church regularly will know a good portion of the people within their congregation.  If the church is located in a smaller community there is a greater possibility of this atmosphere occurring and even some connecting ties might be present as well.  Even if you attend a large church you will soon get to know some of the people that attend and might even develop a friendship with them over time.  There is nothing wrong with this type of setting but I am making this point to illustrate exactly what Jesus was meaning when He gave details concerning the second person to reach the injured man on the road.

As most of you know I am a preacher’s kid and I am very proud to say that about my life.  Over the years I have had the opportunity to travel across the country and to be a part of many congregations that my parent’s proudly served.  While not every place that we lived was all roses the majority of the time everything ran pretty smoothly.  We were invited over to many houses for meals and had countless fellowship time in the halls of the church and we also had the public football, basketball and baseball games to congregate at as well.  I was common to be around people of the church and community and it was easy to become acquainted with these families.  In short our lives intertwined enough that we would be able to understand who was like us and who was a little bit different.  It did not matter because we wanted to be with as many people as possible but I must say that some close relationships did develop over the decades.

If the pastor is elected and moves to a city or town to take their role as ministers of that church that means that there were people already present within that church.  These people within the church have known each other for some time and probably some have even grown up with one another all their lives.  They too will form groups and will eventually know tin details about each other that may or may not be generally known to the other portions of the congregation.  Now, unless there is a great deal of turmoil within the church these tidbits of information will not be made public yet these people sit there in the pews each week and hide their lives to the rest of their fellow congregational members.  This makes them accessories to the things that they are hiding because they refuse to put aside their differences and to help those who are doing wrong.

In taking it upon themselves to do nothing about the adverse conditions of their fellow church goers they are effectively allowing these sins to be accepted within the church doors.  And, if the minister of said congregation is performing the same actions by not addressing these issues, then both the minister and the congregation are settling back and just letting this pass.  If this activity is allowed to continue the congregation will eventually become comfortable with what is transpiring throughout the church body and will continue to ignore what God is saying to them concerning this infiltration.  I give you Hobbs, New Mexico as an example for this type of behavior and what my family was subjected to while we were there.  There was so much accepted adultery, thievery, and many other worldly acts occurring within the church that almost each day a new scandal was told.  Yet the pastor that was there previously did nothing about it and turned a blind eye to what was transpiring.  And after six straight months of my father preaching repentance we left that city and literally shook the dust off our feet as we pulled out.

The people within a church congregation consider themselves to be one body.  This is a common theme no matter which denomination one wishes to compare.  If this is true than it is safe to say that if one person acts a certain way and it is made known to the public about this certain activity it would not be very difficult to grasp the notion that the entire congregation acts accordingly.  This is where the second person who approaches the injured man on the road comes into light.  If there are certain “goings-on” within a church body it is almost assured that people will not stand up for others due to the fact that their actions may seem to be hypocritical to others that they may know.  So it would be a natural thing to do in this circumstance to walk right on by and not help the injured person for fear of attracting attention to yourself. 

This is exactly what the congregation of the modern day church is doing when they stand up for each other by sitting on their rumps and not confronting the worldly issues that are driving a wedge right into the heart of the Church.  They are walking right on by these people who are wounded and looking for help but instead they are accepting their hurting conditions as circumstantial in which they then turn and walk right on by without helping them at all.  Here again the second person that approached the injured man on the road is being played out to the hilt by the modern day church.  In both of the above examples they have acted like complete strangers to the injured person for they do not have the heart’s desire to help those who are in need and Jesus not only gave this example in a parable but at the same time described the modern day church to a tee.

So who represents the good Samaritans on this side of the article?  I ask you to think about that question for a bit before you answer it because it may surprise you when you read what God is sharing with us today.  The picture that I have painted concerning the Church and her leaders may be a little grim but it represents the truth so when these opinions and teachings are challenged by those who do not agree with the passive acceptance of sin within the Church doors, it has been a common theme lately to isolate these people that have different opinions and consecrate them as hardliners, traditionalists, and some have adopted and used the word racist when labeling these people who disagree.  What we are seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg if we all do not realize what is happening to our lives.

Am I saying that the Samaritans of today are those that are within the Church that are trying to make a point about how the Church is falling into sin?  You got it!!!  If you take a look at what the general denominations are incorporating into their walls and doors one must realize that it is only a matter of time before the gloves come off when the truth is being explained and told.  While I cannot guarantee that each method of the people that are trying to get those that have fallen into this trap inflicted is the best way possible, but it important that we recognize what is happening and what is about to come if we do not change our ways.  The Good Samaritans recognize that the people that have been widely accepted into the Church that are in need of help are exactly in that condition.  It is these people who want to address the issues that have brought the hurting people into the Church in the first place yet when they try these hurting people act like wounded animals in such a manner as to attack the helpers. 

These actions against the people who really want to help the hurting and wounded will continue and will eventually progress into a deep hatred; a further divide within the Church as attention is drawn to the true reasons why these people are in the spiritual conditions that they present themselves.  What makes this so scary is that when the Church allows this worldly aspect to become incorporated within her walls the true Church is going to be squeezed from two sides.  Soon the world will come against these Good Samaritans from two angles one from within the Church and one from the world and this is exactly what I am meaning by the modern day church acting as both the priest and the friendly passerby.  There is a good ending to this parable however.

It will not be too much longer that these labels that are placed on people’s heads will be used as an internal beacon for both the Church and the world.  The Church is on a collision course with her Groom and she is well unaware of her present conditions.  She is masquerading herself with worldly standards in order to deem herself acceptable to the social world.  She is shedding her gloves off not to help the injured but to weed out those who defy her belief in the newly adopted worldly ways.  It will not be too much longer until these worldly standards will become ingrained into the Church and she will then act upon those worldly intuitions and begin to tear apart those who wish to truly help the wounded.  We all have heard about how we should not get near a wounded animal because of the force that they will respond if they believe they are being attacked.  Guess what folks this is exactly how the Samaritan people were looked upon by the Jews and is the exact reason why Jesus chose to use them in His parable. 

Recently a popular actress who rose to fame as a child actor gave an interview and was talking about her marriage and how her and her husband live a biblical life together.  Part of her interview was conducted over how she responded to a question in which she used the phrase that she submitted to her husband.  Many people went absolutely nuts when they heard about this answer and began to rake her over the coals for even trying to suggest such a thing.  A news channel host brought on a few guests to try and explain to her why this actress would have the audacity to lay claim to this belief.  The news host did not care to listen to the explanations all she wanted to do was to berate these ladies and scorn them for agreeing with the actress.  What is wrong with wanting to be so close to a person that they wish to work together on things instead of butting heads and doing on their own? 

Jesus makes mention that when the man recovered from his injuries he went to the innkeeper and asked him what the name of the person was that helped him while he was recovering.  The innkeeper had no idea but told him that he gave specific instructions to be followed until his recovery was complete.  I can imagine that this puzzled the injured man for everyone who is self-serving wants their name to be recognized and receive glory for what they have done.  But an enemy of the injured man was humble enough to keep his name silent and focus upon the real reason of his deed and that was the hurting to be healed.  In this example Jesus also portrays what will happen to those who care about the Church enough to keep her holiness state intact by helping those who enter into her doors that are truly in need.  These people may eventually define the real Church but not be included within the doors of that congregation for a true enemy that is hated on both sides is not expected to be welcome at the church potluck.

This example brings up another topic that Jesus addressed at another time and so will I but just know that the actions that occur against what the Bible teaches is conducted through the world and its kingdom.  This worldly kingdom cannot mix with the Kingdom of God in any way and if the kingdom of the world is allowed to continually portray itself in the House of God guess which kingdom rules that roost.  Reverting back to the priest on the road to Jericho I do not know if that particular priest always conducted himself in that manner or not but it was in a public area and people could have witnessed his actions, which speak for itself.  Same conditions apply with the other person who was considered to be in the same category of friendship

I believe that Jesus stated the characters in this parable in the manner in which He did for a specific reason acknowledging the hierarchy of the Church based upon the human factors that control the desires of the human.  It was an ingenious way to make a point to His listeners and questioners and at the same time place a call into the 21^st century to the modern day Church to let them know that He already has figured out what needs to be done in order to change our situation.  Jesus understood that all of us will have a path to take, which why He chose the more common route of transportation, the road.  Jesus also understood that we all start out from a beginning and end up at our destination but until we reach our destination we have to travel along this path and that things will not always be easily walking.

There you have it folks, the example that Jesus used in ancient times to describe the actions of the modern day church setting.  I am amazed at how thoughtful Jesus was to pick a story that He understood was already in the making where it concerned the mentality of the people and the spirituality of the Church all wrapped up into a fictional story.  God is good and He loves each and every one of us.  It is His desire for us to see His Kingdom and to understand exactly what it means in our lives.  As long as we continue to tempt ourselves with worldly additives our eyesight will fall blind to what God is trying to warn us against.  It does not matter if you are Joe Blow on the street or Pope Francis I of the roman Catholic Church, it is time that we understand what we are doing to ourselves and the things that we are allowing to become administered into our spiritual veins.  This is a life or death situation and we need to know what is at stake.

I know that until God shared this article topic with me I had no idea of how this parable could have any meaning where the modern Church is concerned.  I also now understand that it must have broke Jesus’ heart to sit there and tell a story and yet proclaim a prophecy about His future bride.  If the Church does not heed this word it will truly be heart breaking news to God and to His son.

Who would have ever thought that the story of the Good Samaritan would ever be describing the Church and its congregations?  But it makes total sense when you remember that Jesus was all about establishing His Church so that He could come back for her one day.  So why wouldn’t He tell stories of the conditions that would probably plague her even before they occurred?  Some of you might not like this article and its contents but rest assured that if a person really cares about the Church and understands what the Church is trying to do with herself, then there will be no problem in understanding and believing what I have said is the truth.  Let this article serve both as a warning and as a light so that we the Church can stop and make things correct before God has to intervene.  Also, if we continue to play this worldly acceptance game this entire article and something much worse will come to pass but if we turn our eyes and ears to God’s voice and listen to Him once again, the simple parable of the Good Samaritan will play out as a lesson learned about doing good to others.

DLB