The Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37

In the story of the good Samaritan, Christ illustrates the nature of true religion. He shows that it consists not in systems, creeds, or rites, but in the performance of loving deeds, in bringing the greatest good to others, in genuine goodness…

The lawyer was not satisfied with the position and works of the Pharisees. He had been studying the Scriptures with a desire to learn their real meaning. He had a vital interest in the matter, and had asked in sincerity, “What shall I do?” In his answer as to the requirements of the law, he passed by all the mass of ceremonial and ritualistic precepts. For these he claimed no value, but presented the two great principles on which hang all the law and the prophets. This answer, being commended by Christ, placed the Saviour on vantage ground with the rabbis. They could not condemn Him for sanctioning that which had been advanced by an expositor of the law. 

“This do, and thou shalt live,” Jesus said. He presented the law as a divine unity, and in this lesson taught that it is not possible to keep one precept, and break another; for the same principle runs through them all. Man's destiny will be determined by his obedience to the whole law. Supreme love to God and impartial love to man are the principles to be wrought out in the life. 

The lawyer found himself a lawbreaker. He was convicted under Christ's searching words. The righteousness of the law, which he claimed to understand, he had not practiced. He had not manifested love toward his fellow man. Repentance was demanded; but instead of repenting, he tried to justify himself. Rather than acknowledge the truth, he sought to show how difficult of fulfillment the commandment is. Thus he hoped both to parry conviction and to vindicate himself in the eyes of the people. The Saviour's words had shown that his question was needless, since he had been able to answer it himself. Yet he put another question, saying, “Who is my neighbor?” 

Among the Jews this question caused endless dispute. They had no doubt as to the heathen and the Samaritans; these were strangers and enemies. But where should the distinction be made among the people of their own nation, and among the different classes of society? Whom should the priest, the rabbi, the elder, regard as neighbor? They spent their lives in a round of ceremonies to make themselves pure. Contact with the ignorant and careless multitude, they taught, would cause defilement that would require wearisome effort to remove. Were they to regard the “unclean” as neighbors? 

Again Jesus refused to be drawn into controversy. He did not denounce the bigotry of those who were watching to condemn Him. But by a simple story He held up before His hearers such a picture of the outflowing of heaven-born love as touched all hearts, and drew from the lawyer a confession of the truth. 

The way to dispel darkness is to admit light. The best way to deal with error is to present truth. It is the revelation of God's love that makes manifest the deformity and sin of the heart centered in self. 

“A certain man,” said Jesus, “was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho”… This was no imaginary scene, but an actual occurrence, which was known to be exactly as represented. The priest and the Levite who had passed by on the other side were in the company that listened to Christ's words…

The story ended, Jesus fixed His eyes upon the lawyer, in a glance that seemed to read his soul, and said, “Which of these three, thinkest thou, proved neighbor unto him that fell among the robbers?” Luke 10:36, R. V. The lawyer would not, even now, take the name Samaritan upon his lips, and he made answer, “He that showed mercy on him.” Jesus said, “Go, and do thou likewise.”

Thus the question, “Who is my neighbor?” is forever answered. Christ has shown that our neighbor does not mean merely one of the church or faith to which we belong. It has no reference to race, color, or class distinction. Our neighbor is every person who needs our help. Our neighbor is every soul who is wounded and bruised by the adversary. Our neighbor is everyone who is the property of God.

In the story of the good Samaritan, Jesus gave a picture of Himself and His mission. Man had been deceived, bruised, robbed, and ruined by Satan, and left to perish; but the Saviour had compassion on our helpless condition. He left His glory, to come to our rescue. He found us ready to die, and He undertook our case. He healed our wounds. He covered us with His robe of righteousness. He opened to us a refuge of safety, and made complete provision for us at His own charges. He died to redeem us. Pointing to His own example, He says to His followers, “These things I command you, that ye love one another.” “As I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” John 15:17; 13:34.

The lawyer's question to Jesus had been, “What shall I do?” And Jesus, recognizing love to God and man as the sum of righteousness, had said, “This do, and thou shalt live.” The Samaritan had obeyed the dictates of a kind and loving heart, and in this had proved himself a doer of the law. Christ bade the lawyer, “Go, and do thou likewise.” Doing, and not saying merely, is expected of the children of God. “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.” 1 John 2:6.

The lesson is no less needed in the world today than when it fell from the lips of Jesus. Selfishness and cold formality have well-nigh extinguished the fire of love, and dispelled the graces that should make fragrant the character. Many who profess His name have lost sight of the fact that Christians are to represent Christ. Unless there is practical self-sacrifice for the good of others, in the family circle, in the neighborhood, in the church, and wherever we may be, then whatever our profession, we are not Christians. 

Christ has linked His interest with that of humanity, and He asks us to become one with Him for the saving of humanity. “Freely ye have received,” He says, “freely give.” Matthew 10:8. Sin is the greatest of all evils, and it is ours to pity and help the sinner. There are many who err, and who feel their shame and their folly. They are hungry for words of encouragement. They look upon their mistakes and errors, until they are driven almost to desperation. These souls we are not to neglect. If we are Christians, we shall not pass by on the other side, keeping as far as possible from the very ones who most need our help. When we see human beings in distress, whether through affliction or through sin, we shall never say, This does not concern me. 

“Ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness.” Galatians 6:1. By faith and prayer press back the power of the enemy. Speak words of faith and courage that will be as a healing balsam to the bruised and wounded one. Many, many, have fainted and become discouraged in the great struggle of life, when one word of kindly cheer would have strengthened them to overcome. Never should we pass by one suffering soul without seeking to impart to him of the comfort wherewith we are comforted of God. 

All this is but a fulfillment of the principle of the law,—the principle that is illustrated in the story of the good Samaritan, and made manifest in the life of Jesus. His character reveals the true significance of the law, and shows what is meant by loving our neighbor as ourselves. And when the children of God manifest mercy, kindness, and love toward all men, they also are witnessing to the character of the statutes of heaven. They are bearing testimony to the fact that “the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Psalm 19:7. And whoever fails to manifest this love is breaking the law which he professes to revere. For the spirit we manifest toward our brethren declares what is our spirit toward God. The love of God in the heart is the only spring of love toward our neighbor. “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” Beloved, “if we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us.” 1 John 4:20, 12. DA 497-505

5T 99

It is our duty to inquire the cause of this terrible darkness, that we may shun the course by which men have brought upon themselves so great delusion. God has given the world an opportunity to learn and to obey His will. He has given them, in His word, the light of truth; He has sent them warning, counsel, and admonition; but few will obey His voice. Like the Jewish nation, the majority, even of professed Christians, pride themselves on their superior advantages, but make no returns to God for these great blessings. In infinite mercy a last warning message has been sent to the world, announcing that Christ is at the door and calling attention to God's broken law. But as the antediluvians rejected with scorn the warning of Noah, so will the pleasure lovers of today reject the message of God's faithful servants. The world pursues its unvarying round, absorbed as ever in its business and its pleasures, while the wrath of God is about to be visited on the transgressors of His law. 

Agape

“Love your enemies.”—Matthew 5:44.

The Saviour's lesson, “Resist not him that is evil,” was a hard saying for the revengeful Jews, and they murmured against it among themselves. But Jesus now made a still stronger declaration: 

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.” 

Such was the spirit of the law which the rabbis had misinterpreted as a cold and rigid code of exactions. They regarded themselves as better than other men, and as entitled to the special favor of God by virtue of their birth as Israelites; but Jesus pointed to the spirit of forgiving love as that which would give evidence that they were actuated by any higher motives than even the publicans and sinners, whom they despised. 

He pointed His hearers to the Ruler of the universe, under the new name, “Our Father.” He would have them understand how tenderly the heart of God yearned over them. He teaches that God cares for every lost soul; that “like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him.” Psalm 103:13. Such a conception of God was never given to the world by any religion but that of the Bible. Heathenism teaches men to look upon the Supreme Being as an object of fear rather than of love—a malign deity to be appeased by sacrifices, rather than a Father pouring upon His children the gift of His love. Even the people of Israel had become so blinded to the precious teaching of the prophets concerning God that this revelation of His paternal love was as an original subject, a new gift to the world. 

The Jews held that God loved those who served Him,—according to their view, those who fulfilled the requirements of the rabbis,—and that all the rest of the world lay under His frown and curse. Not so, said Jesus; the whole world, the evil and the good, lies in the sunshine of His love. This truth you should have learned from nature itself; for God “maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” 

It is not because of inherent power that year by year the earth produces her bounties and continues her motion round the sun. The hand of God guides the planets and keeps them in position in their orderly march through the heavens. It is through His power that summer and winter, seedtime and harvest, day and night follow each other in their regular succession. It is by His word that vegetation flourishes, that the leaves appear and the flowers bloom. Every good thing we have, each ray of sunshine and shower of rain, every morsel of food, every moment of life, is a gift of love. 

While we were yet unloving and unlovely in character, “hateful, and hating one another,” our heavenly Father had mercy on us. “After that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.” Titus 3:3-5. His love received, will make us, in like manner, kind and tender, not merely toward those who please us, but to the most faulty and erring and sinful. 

The children of God are those who are partakers of His nature. It is not earthly rank, nor birth, nor nationality, nor religious privilege, which proves that we are members of the family of God; it is love, a love that embraces all humanity. Even sinners whose hearts are not utterly closed to God's Spirit, will respond to kindness; while they may give hate for hate, they will also give love for love. But it is only the Spirit of God that gives love for hatred. To be kind to the unthankful and to the evil, to do good hoping for nothing again, is the insignia of the royalty of heaven, the sure token by which the children of the Highest reveal their high estate. MB 73-75

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Love

suffereth long

is kind 

envieth not 

vaunteth not itself

is not puffed up

doth not behave itself unseemly

seeketh not her own

is not easily provoked

thinketh no evil

rejoiceth not in iniquity 

rejoiceth in the truth 

beareth all things

believeth all things

hopeth all things

endureth all things 

never faileth

The Great Disappointment

As we view the plan of salvation, three great waymarks stand out as mountain peaks: AD 31, 1844, and the close of probation. Each one marks a fundamental change in Christ’s ministry, involving both the church on the earth and the sanctuary in heaven. The Scriptures speak of Christ as “the head of the church” (Ephesians 5:23), and “the church...is his body” (Ephesians 1:22, 23). When the head is ready to move, what should the body do? Unless it is paralysed, the body moves with the head.

 Jesus longed for the fellowship of His disciples as He approached the hour of His great sacrifice. Again and again He sought to prepare them for the events clustering around the cross. On the journey to His last Pass- over, Jesus “took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him” (Matthew 20:17-19). He referred to the Scriptures, saying, “All things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished” (Luke 18:31). 

Yet despite His repeated efforts, the Crucifixion surprised and disappointed His followers as though they had never heard anything about it. But the great Head of the church went ahead with His work, because He knew that salvation depended on His making Himself an offering for sin. Whether or not they understood it then, He knew that they would understand it later. 

After His resurrection Christ spent many hours with His disciples, explaining the Old Testament prophecies and showing how His life and death had fulfilled these predictions. How significant Isaiah’s description of the Suffering Servant appeared now (see Isaiah 53)! How precisely the mathematical prophecy of Daniel 9 had been fulfilled! No longer was His church to pray toward the earthly Jerusalem. Jesus directed all eyes now to the temple in heaven and to His intercession within the veil. Pentecost showed that the Head and the body were in full union, close communication. The disciples’ great disappointment had been explained. Confidence and joy filled the hearts of His people, and they went forth to witness, filling the earth with the glory of His name. Eighteen centuries later, the great Head of the church was again about to make a major move. The work in the holy place was to stop, and the work in the most holy place must begin. The same prophecy of Daniel 8 and 9 that had fixed the time for Christ’s sacrificial death and the anointing of the heavenly sanctuary pointed to 1844 as the time for Christ to begin His work within the second veil: “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed” (Daniel 8:14). To prepare His church for this important move, God sent a special message. As a result the cry sounded throughout the land: “The hour of His judgment is come” (Revelation 14:7), and thousands looked to the autumn of 1844 for the cleansing of the sanctuary. 

But like the first disciples, their minds were so filled with their ideas of what it all meant that they missed the point. And when the day came and went, the day of His appointment become labeled as “the great disappointment”—so October 22, 1844, stands in human records. The church on earth did not know what its Divine Head was doing that day. The greatest event since Pentecost took place, and not a soul on earth was conscious of it. Disappointment? Yes, not only here but also undoubtedly in heaven. Jesus would have been pleased if His church had moved with Him by faith into the most holy place. 

Just as after His resurrection He appeared to His sorrowing disciples, so now, having moved into the most holy place, He began at once to send messages to His church. He showed Hiram Edson the heavenly sanctuary and His change of ministry from the holy place to the most holy. Jesus indicated that as our great High Priest, He had done the preceding day exactly what prophecy had foretold. As the disappointed Millerites searched the Scriptures, the rays of light from the mercy seat shone brighter and brighter, explaining their disappointment and making clear the present truth. Confirmed by the visions of Ellen White, Adventists saw in the biblical prophecies the present work of Jesus within the second veil of the heavenly sanctuary. 

And what is the purpose of all this? Christ is seeking to ready His people for the blotting out of sins. As He sent the early rain from the holy place at the beginning of His ministry as High Priest, so He will send the latter rain from the most holy place as He closes His mediatorial work. 

Will the church today be in step with its Divine Head as He makes that last move? Yes, without a doubt. Whether His people understood or not, He could go to the cross and make it plain later. Then in 1844 whether anyone on earth understood it or not, He could move from the holy to the most holy and explain it all later. But He can’t close His work in the most holy place and explain it later, because later would be TOO LATE. Now we see why the Bridegroom has tarried, why time has continued on and on since 1844. Jesus has slowed His pace that He may walk with us. 

In Washington when the final day of Congress comes and the hour of adjournment draws near, if there remain urgent bills which Congress feels it must pass, a man goes up to the big clock and turns back the hands so that the legislators can have more time to finish their agenda. He may do this several times, for they must complete their work during the last legislative day.

 

How often do you suppose God has turned back His great clock during our more than a century (almost 177 years) of waiting? Long ago He told us that He planned to finish things quickly so that He could come and take us all home. In AD 31 the prophetic clock struck the hour, and Jesus went to the cross and then entered His work in the holy place. Again, in 1844, the clock struck and Jesus moved. Everything was on time. But this time God predicted no date. e close of probation is not a matter of mathematical calculation. The last date on the prophetic chart is October 22, 1844. This should tell us in trumpet tones that time does not stand between us and the coming of Jesus. He is waiting for His church to move in with Him into the most holy place. 

Before the turn of the century the Lord’s messenger wrote: “ The slumbering Church must be aroused, awakened out of its spiritual lethargy, to a realisation of the important duties which have been left undone. The people have not entered into the holy place, where Jesus has gone to make an atonement for his children” (RH, February 25, 1890, 113). Yes, the Head is waiting for the body to catch up. Jesus wants us with Him. “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near” (Hebrews 10:19-22). To go in with Him means “to understand His work, and to follow Him by faith” (GC 427). 

When I have been away on a long tour, I find that on the homeward flight my mind thinks less and less on where I have been and more and more on where I am going. Before the plane lands, I am already home in my thoughts. Similarly Jesus desires the thoughts of His people to be with Him in the most holy place. As we read the inspired descriptions in Early Writings and The Great Controversy His work will become more and more real to us. is is what our time is for, and we should fill our minds with these things. If we have less time for the radio, the TV, the newspaper, and popular magazines, so be it. (Computers, mobile phones, internet, videos)

We have a work of character building to complete and a world to warn. We have a Saviour who long ago laid down His life for us, and that life is still laid down for you and me. Do you know what He is longing for? For us to be with Him. This yearning desire fills His soul, and He can never rest satisfied until ransom brings reunion. Listen to this poignant appeal sent to us many years ago: “Leaving the first love is represented as a spiritual fall. Many have fallen thus. In every church in our land, there is needed confession, repentance, and reconversion. The disappointment of Christ is beyond description” (RH, December 15, 1904, 8). Yes, here is the real disappointment, the great disappointment. Think of a bridegroom waiting for the wedding while year after year goes by. Don’t His people want to be with Him?

 

God’s people have just one business—to make Jesus glad, to satisfy His heart-longing, to understand what He is doing in the sanctuary in the blotting out of sin, to measure our lives by that law in the ark, and to seek His cleansing blood that we may be purified from all iniquity. The more we behold, the more we will understand and the more we will become like Him in mind and character. Shall we send Him the word that we want to move with Him? Remember, this can’t be like the cross, when He went ahead without His church’s understanding. is can’t be like October 22, 1844, when He moved as the prophetic clock struck the hour. 

We live now in the preparatory shaking time. All of us will be either cleaned up or cleaned out. But, thank God, He will present “to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing” (Ephesians 5:27). The body and the Head will be firmly united, fully united, intelligently united, as we approach the hour that ends human probation and that will mark the close of the sanctuary work. R&R WDF

Names of Christ - Day Star

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the Day Star arise in your hearts. 2 Peter 1:19

The Midwives

Please have a look at Exodus 1:12-21, there is a challenge for all of those in positions where they are forced for whatever reason, to do what the King/gov./leaders command - what a test for them today, with all that is happening. We will continue to see faithful/thinking people making a stand or protecting God's people in a way similar to this, under this and the various other threats that we are all going to face from now on. The LORD has His faithful in positions even now trying to combat the evil mandates.etc. So, there is a point of hope for us amid all of the tightening evil restrictions going on around us at present. Let us take courage that He will use those predicted "simple means" to bring about His will and protect His people, in ways that we have never even thought of.

Why were these 2 women actually named in Scripture - 

Shiphrah - beauty, harmony

Puah - to glitter; brilliancy

Is there anything here? There are many stories in Scripture regarding how the LORD has worked to save His people in the darkest hours of history, so it will be interesting, to see what he does in this round that is closing in on us.

Ask In Faith - 2

When perplexities arise, and difficulties confront you, look not for help to humanity. Trust all with God. The practice of telling our difficulties to others only makes us weak, and brings no strength to them. It lays upon them the burden of our spiritual infirmities, which they cannot relieve. We seek the strength of erring, finite man, when we might have the strength of the unerring, infinite God.

You need not go to the ends of the earth for wisdom, for God is near. It is not the capabilities you now possess or ever will have that will give you success. It is that which the Lord can do for you. We need to have far less confidence in what man can do and far more confidence in what God can do for every believing soul. He longs to have you reach after Him by faith. He longs to have you expect great things from Him. He longs to give you understanding in temporal as well as in spiritual matters. He can sharpen the intellect. He can give tact and skill. Put your talents into the work, ask God for wisdom, and it will be given you.

Take the word of Christ as your assurance. Has He not invited you to come unto Him? Never allow yourself to talk in a hopeless, discouraged way. If you do you will lose much. By looking at appearances and complaining when difficulties and pressure come, you give evidence of a sickly, enfeebled faith. Talk and act as if your faith was invincible. The Lord is rich in resources; He owns the world. Look heavenward in faith. Look to Him who has light and power and efficiency. COL 146