The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1890-05-29
THE GOOD SAMARITAN.

Juno H 1OOOs
Especially arranged from g. 8. Cuarterly.l
LESSON TExr-Luke 10:cbS7.
GOLDEN TExT-Thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself. 1o:1&
CENTRAL TRUrH-Lovc, the low Of Heaven
and Of those who belong to Heaven.
TrNE-November, A. d. 90 Soon after the
last lesson.
PrAoE-Probably In Perea, beyond jordan.
Somewhere on Christ's last journey from Galilee
to Jerusalem. Jesus nearly thirtythre years
OF age. About six months before His cruel
ixion.
DIsTrNCr1oNs-This incident is peculiar to
Luke, and is not the same with that Of the rich
young ruler recorded In Matt 1o:1020 Mark 10:
i7.22 and Luke 18:18-23.
INTRopUcTroN-This conversation with the
lawyer took place on Jesus last journey to Je.
Samsritsns (o:6iSe), which fact makes His kind
words for them the more noble.
HELPS OVER HARD PI.ACEs-9N "A certain idt0-
YER: one who studied and taught the Jewish law.
There was little distinction between the relig.
ious and civil law, SO that the man was what in
our day would be both o minister and lawyer.
Tsmpttd HIM put Him to test, not "tried to
make Him do wrong" % Wh0th Urittsn IN the
law: with which the man was familiar. He
quoted from Dcut. 6:5 and Lev. 1918. 28. Thts
do, and thou shat lfvs: have eternal life. The
law Of Heaven II the law OF love, ana oil who
have this love belong to the Kingdom OF
Heaven. This convicted him Of sin, and showed
the need Of Jesus as Saviour to make him at
for Heaven. 90 Willing, uishing to justify hfnr.
slf: make himself appear right to others and
to his own conscience. 30 Jsrusdtem: the cap
ital city Of the Jews, with population at this
time Of 10000 Down to Jericho: Jericho was
nearly $500 feet lower than Jerusalem, on the
slope toward the Jordan. The road was rough
and lonely. Thieves: highway robbers, banditti.
81. Priest: many priests lived in Jericho, and
went up to Jerusalem to the temple service In
their course. Passed By on the Other s'de' he Was
haste to get home after an absence, or he did
not like to take upon himself so much cost and
trouble. He may have excused himself by
thinking that others would do 1t, II he did not
SO. Leutts: o member of the tribe OF Levi, who
did much Of the work about the temple under
the priests, who were descendants Of Aaron, Of
the tribe OF Levi 80. Samaritan. there was o
deal Of hard feeling between the Jews and Sa-
maritans. This man helped one OF nation who
despised him. "a. oil and wine: which he had
taken with him for his own comfort. Wine was
used to cleanse the wound. oil to soothe tho
smart. 30. Tpo pence: about thirty -four cents,
the price Of two days labor. Christ Himself
was the best illustration Of the Good Samart.
tan, coming down from the Jerusalem above, to
this earth, finding men fallen among the rob-
bers (sin and Satan), wounded and helpless; all
other helpers morality, good resolutions) pass.
ing by, unable or unwilling to help; but Christ,
at great cost to Himself relieving the dying
world. Others may tell us what we ought to
be, but that leaves us In despair. Christ is the
way by which we are fitted for Heaven.
CoAIMENTs-By analogy, we find that
this story Of the Samaritan illustrates
very beautifully the way Of salvation.
We need not press the analogies too
far, as some do. No parable or story
must be forced to "walk on all fours. Z"
Rightly used, however, the deep mean
ing of the story shines out beautifully.
A certain man going away from Jeru-
salem, the city Of religious privileges,
fell among thieves. Are we not at once
reminded of the. prodigal leaving his
fathers house, and falling in with those
who stripped him morally2 And is not
this exactly like the sinner, who turns
his back on religious privileges and
hastens into the dangerous ways Of sin?
He goes wilfully where there are those
who will certainly injure him.
The man is stripped, wounded, left
half-dead.--Again exactly the sinners
condition. Sin deprives man of his
character, which is all he has that is
really of any value. 1t wounds him
sorely, SO that he has no power to help
himself. He is not quite dead, for his
conscience is still alive, and gives him
many severe and painful thrusts. Dead,
so far as self-help and deliverance are
concerned; only half-dead so far as feel
ing and remorse are concerned.
The priest seeing him gives him no
help.-The priest stands as symbol of
the sacrifices. Now no sacrifice Of bulls
and goats can help fallen humanity.
For it is impossible for such sacrifice to
cleanse the stain of sin. Where the
priest finds the man there he leaves
him, and so where the sacrifices and
ceremonial observations find o NAH,
there they leave him. How eminently
true this is in the case Of those people
who to-day offer sacrifices and depend
on their ceremonies. They never feel
as though they had reached the goal.
So too was it true Of even the Jewish
ritual, excepting as it pointed away
from itself.
The Levite comes, looks on him, and
leaves him helpless. The Levite stands
for the law. And surely II the priest
could not help, much less could the Le-
vite. Pure law is only terror to the
lawless. To holy being the law is q
great delight and comfort; to the Grim
inal the law is an object Of utter sbhor-
renee. The law wounds but pours in no
wine and oil. No. Where the Levite
found the man, there he leaves him, and
where the law finds the sinner, there II
leaves him to die.
A Samaritan comes and has compass.
sion.-There was One Of whom they
once contemptuously said: "Thou art Q
Samaritan and hast devil" John s:4s)
Yet like the despised Samaritan in the
lesson, this despised and rejected one IL
He who comes to save the lost sinner
Notice that the deeds of the Samaritan
Ill