The Good Samaritan Parable

It is recorded in the Gospel of Luke.  “And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.”  (Luke 10: 30 – 35 in the Bible)

Gerrit W. Gong Applies the Parable

“On our dusty roads to Jericho, we are beset upon, wounded, and left in pain.

Though we should help each other, too often we pass to the other side of the road, for whatever reason.

However, with compassion, the Good Samaritan (can be a symbol of our Savior) stops and binds our wounds with wine and oil. Symbols of the sacrament and other ordinances, the wine and oil point us to the spiritual healing in Jesus Christ. The Good Samaritan puts us on His own donkey or, in some stained-glass accounts, carries us on His shoulders. He brings us to the inn, which can represent His Church. At the Inn, the Good Samaritan says, ‘Take care of him; … when I come again, I will repay thee.’

“The Good Samaritan promises to return, this time in majesty and glory.

Jesus Christ invites us to become, like Him, a good Samaritan, to make His Inn (His Church) a refuge for all from life’s bruises and storms. We prepare for His promised Second Coming as each day we do unto ‘the least of these’ as we would unto Him. ‘The least of these’ is each of us.

As we come with the Good Samaritan to the Inn, we learn five things about Jesus Christ and ourselves.

First, we come to the Inn as we are, with the foibles and imperfections we each have.

In Him, we find cause to do good, reason to be good, and increasing capacity to become better. In Him, we discover abiding faith, liberating selflessness, caring change, and trust in God. In His Inn, we find and deepen our personal relationship with God, our Father, and Jesus Christ.

Second, He entreats us to make His Inn a place of grace and space, where each can gather, with room for all. As disciples of Jesus Christ, all are equal, with no second-class groups.

Third, in His Inn we learn perfection is in Jesus Christ, not in the perfectionism of the world. Unreal and unrealistic, the world’s “insta-perfect” filtered perfectionism can make us feel inadequate, captive to swipes, likes, or double taps. In contrast, our Savior, Jesus Christ, knows everything about us we don’t want anyone else to know, and He still loves us. His is a gospel of second and third chances, made possible by His atoning sacrifice. He invites each of us to be a good Samaritan, less judgmental and more forgiving of ourselves and of each other, even as we strive more fully to keep His commandments.

Fourth, at His Inn we become part of a gospel community centered in Jesus Christ,

The house of the Lord is a place where, as with the wounded man on the road to Jericho, the Good Samaritan can cleanse and clothe us, prepare us to return to God’s presence, and unite us eternally in God’s family.

Finally, fifth, we rejoice that God loves His children in our different backgrounds and circumstances, in every nation, kindred, and tongue, with room for all in His Inn.

Our standing before the Lord… Disciples of Jesus Christ come from everywhere, in every shape, size, hue, and age, each with talents, righteous desires, and immense capacities to bless and serve. We seek daily to follow Jesus Christ with faith unto repentance and enduring joy.  Our Good Samaritan promises to return.”

What Can We Do

We might consider doing the following: (1) Notice the needs of others that are around us and act to help.  (2) In our personal prayers ask our Heavenly Father to guide us to help others.  (3) Contribute to worthy causes that help the needy.  (4) Be kind and loving to those that suffer from physical, mental and poor image handicaps.

Quoted part of the remarks of Gerrit W. Gong entitled “Room in the Inn” printed in the Liahona Magazine May, 2021.