Lynn Jones: People you meet on the road of life
By Lynn Jones
Jesus told a story in Luke 10:25-37 about a man who made his way down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Before the man’s day was over, the man had met several very different kinds of people. So will you!
As the man was going down the road, Jesus said, “He fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead” (v. 30). Assault and robbery are not new crimes. They were frequent in New Testament times, and, unfortunately, they are still prevalent in our times. There are people on the road of life who will take what belongs to others and will inflict many types of pain. I wish we could avoid all hurt in our lives, but it is impossible to do so.
Not everyone will beat you up, but others will pass you up. That’s what happened to the man who was walking down the road to Jericho. A priest came down the same road, saw the wounded man, and passed by on the other side of the road. So did another religious man who was a Levite. He too saw the wounded man and passed by on the other side of the road.
Sooner or later, as you make your way down the road of life, you are going to need some help. It does not matter how strong you are or how smart you are, there are going to be some circumstances that you cannot control. When that happens, many are insensitive toward those who need help. They pass them up. Sadly, sometimes we are the ones who do that.
But I am grateful that there is another note sounded in this story. Some may beat us up, and others may pass us up, but, thankfully, there are some who will lift us up. A Samaritan came down the road, and when he saw the wounded man, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring in oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn, and took care of him” (vv. 33-34).
The Samaritans were oppressed and often mistreated. He knew what it felt like to be lying in the ditch with wounds. People who have been hurt are often more sensitive to the hurts of others like this Samaritan was. We have so admired him for what he did that we have given him a longer name. We call him, “the good Samaritan.”
On the road of life, some people will beat us up and others will pass us up, but I thank God that some will lift us up. After Jesus had concluded the story by telling of the Samaritan who lifted the wounded man up, He said, “Go and do likewise” (v. 37).
Lynn Jones is a retired pastor who lives in Oxford. He does supply preaching for churches in his area and often serves as an interim pastor. Jones is also an author, has written two books and writes a weekly newspaper column. He may be contacted at: kljones45@yahoo.com.
