The National tribune., 1890-05-22
SUNDAY MEDITATION.


Zone reading these notes should first carefully
study the paragraph from the Holy Scriptures as
Indicated above.l
SUBJECT: PARABLE OF THE Coop SAMAR-
ITAN.
/. Data.
This parable is given by only ST. LIKE It
is most beautiful incident. 1t has served the
world usefuily We are pleased So. Luke wrote
his Gospel when we notice the important facts
omitted by the other three Gospels, but stated
by him. IL is singular that, while SITS. Matthew
and John in all probability heard Christ state
the parable, it remained for writer to report il
who possibly never saw the Speaker. We learn
the revelations of the Gospel did not depend on
the historic facts having boon actually seen or
heard by the narrators, but on inspiration. e
Pet, 1:21.) We see the need of reading all the
Gospels If one would learn every particular
revealed.
9. Time.
We may date this parable October A. d. %.
Jesus was in his Saith year of life and in the
fourth year of his ministry. IL was little
over three years after his baptism and about
FIVE months prior to his cruciHxion 1t was
during the Feast of Tabernaces, to attend
which Christ had gone up to the Capital and
Temple. Geikie dates the parable in the last
month of Christ's lfe but students in general
prefer to place it Just after the return of The
Seventy"
We have no way Of determining how long it
was before Christ mentioned tho facts OF the
parable, that they occurred. If we have before
US mere parable it may be the incident is
purely imaginary and hence dateless. If Je-
sus referred to q specific incident az having
really taken place, we cannot give the date.
Something of the kind developed in the para
bic is all the time occurring.
3. Places
The parable was uttered in the neighbor-
hood of Jerusalem Just before the parable was
spoken Christ was in the Temple. Next we
found him at Bethany. We may suppose he
gave utterance to the parable between Jerusa-
lem and Bethany. Hence we place the incident
Oh the Mount of Olivet.
4. The Parable
a. Christ was much habituated to the illustra-
tion Of truth. Through tho admitted he sought
conviction rs to the obscure. His style is, as a
consequence, interesting and impressive. The
truth enforced by the parable has little relation
to the time and place of its utterance, since
its principle il of force everywhere and always.
b. The object Of this parable was to answer
the question raised by the lawyer in V. 20. We
have n lesson treating of the human or man
ward side of Christianity-a lesson which fur
nishes fundamental ideas as to Christian ethics
The Jews were exceedingly clannish, seek ing
no legitimate social, religious, political, nor
even ethical relations between themselves and
any other nationality. Christ was cOsmOpol-
itan We remember his commission to The
Twelve. directed them to 90 into all the world
and TO preach the Gospel TO every creature (St.
Mark, l6: ID. Compare NAL, 2 10; Acts IL : 26
st. Matt, z: l2 Ro., /: IA This parable was
part Of Christ's preparation of His followers to
become missionary in spirit
C. Our Savior did not explain the parable
II is its own interpreter. The point it is in
Ind 10 Al.
in understanding it. This is tho case gem
orally with the instructions OF Christ His
object was not 10 puzzle. He had no time for
conundrums. The brevity and plaiuness of the
parable of the Good Samaritan are the secrets
of its effectiveness. IL. w. Beecher said OF IT.:
"a This short parable'has had more power, how
ever in the world. l think, than any single
piece of literature that ever existed
d. The speaker OF tho parable was the
Founder of Christianity, and the parable itself
gives us insight into the nature of his peculiar
work as a great religious Actor. He is our
Teacher. He had authority to instruct to re-
form, 10 substitute Christianity for Judaism.
lie was Being of wondrous knowledge of
human nature and Of renowned skill in i'm
parting his lessons
c. The hearersg Not unlikely The Twelve
aud The Seventy were in the audience. But
the instructions of Christ at the time were
evidently for the multitude. Certainly the
lawyer Of verse % was present In fact, the
parable was spoken directly to him.
f. The scene. Jerusalem aud Jericho were
two very important Cities aud travel between
them was necessary and frequent. We may
put the distance separating those cities at 20
miles. Jericho Is northeast from Jerusalem
1t is said the man went down from Jerusalem
to Jericho. In the short distance of Is to 20
miles the descent from Jerusalem leaves Jericho
1000 feet lower than the Jewish Capital But
aif ia frnTu bfa fact Al,
city is generally referred TO as being up or
elevated, aud all roads are supposed to have an
upward grade to the Capital. About $4,000
priests and leyites resided ut Jericho Their
official duties called them frequently to the
Temple. and hence they were Obliged TO be
often on the road between the two cities The
parable is thus true TO the facts The curse
pronounced by Joshua against tho city of Jeri-
cho was for long time inflicted. At length,
9lS b. C., Eiel rebuilt the city, and it became
long before Christ's day rich and populous
Jericho was indeed n magnificent place. IL
was known as The City of Palms, 1.-The City
OF Roses, The Paradise Tor Garden) of God"
The very name Jericho means sweetness
The road between Jericho and Jerusalem was
very dangerous 1t is itself rugged. rocky,
crooked. But worse yet, it is infested by ban
dltti. On all sides are caves crevices and grot-
toes in which thieves hide, waiting for their
human prey. The route is known rs "The
Bloody Way" Even now bands of robbers and
murderers infest the locality. The region is a
part of the wilderness of Judea. The desert is
struck ut about 10 miles from Jerusalem rs one
goes to Jericho The scene of the lesson is in
the desert In 1920 Sir Fred. Henniker was
attacked by Arabs with firearms left naked
and wounded. DIR. Hackett says: Hardly a
season passes in which some luckless wayfarer
is not killed or robbed in going down from
Jerusalem TO Jericho.'" Travellers between
the two cities obliged to secure for their
safety AN escort of Turkish soldiers. We give
DIR. Haeketts description of the locality: five
might conceive of the ocean as being suddenly
CONCEALED and petrihed when its waves are
tossed mountain high, and dashing in wild
confusion against each other, we should then
have some idea of the aspect OF the desert in
which the Savior has placed so truthfnlly the
parable of the Good Samaritan. The ravinss
the almost-inaccessble cliffs, the caverns fur
nish admirable lurking places for robbers they
can rush forth unexpectedly upon their vic
tins and escape AZ soon, almost beyond the pos
sibility of pursuit"
AS in the days of our Lord" says Dr. J. p
Newman, " il is still infested with robbers who
from their Undiscovered dens or from behind
some craggy bluff or beetling cliff level their
long gun at the runaway traveller"
DIR. Thomson, in The Land aud the Book"
writes:
I'VE passed out at St Stephens gate wound our
IpiR .f lei.