Parable- Good Samaritan

[Taffy]

- an account shared By Bro Jacob will be in 2 prts---

In study, the other night, I was reading Luke's Gospel and remembered a certain verse that was quickened (saw clearly the meaning of) to me some years ago. It dealt with the story of the Man who fell among thieves. Jesus used this story to picture who "our Neighbor" was.

Years ago, when I read this story I thought it was pretty cut and dry. Some guy comes up to Jesus and says, "Hey, what do I have to do to inherit eternal life." Jesus says, "What do you think? What does the Law say?" The guy responds, "Love God, and Love your neighbor as yourself."

Simple right? Well, no... Because, then the guy goes onto justify himself by asking, "And just whoooooo, is my neighbor?"

Now, Jesus could have said, "Are you kidding me lawyer Man? Look around you, everyone you see is your neighbor." However, he didn't. In typical Jesus form, he started in with his parables... I always thought Jesus would have made an excellent elementary school teacher, as he taught things so simply using these wonderful word pictures, and stories, to make his point. A child could understand, but not us smarty pants religious adults. I, too, find myself saying, after looking at a particular verse... "Master, what dost thou meanest?" Believe it or not, that is EXACTLY how I ask... Because I like to get my old English freak on when dealing the things of the God. You can thank Mr. King James for that. :) Okay, enough of the silly talk... back to the parable. Easy to understand, if you understand that it's a parable, not so simple, if you think it be literal.   

In many cases, the problem is, over the years, mankind has begun to think these stories to be literally true. In fact, a majority of scripture is looked at this way, even though Jesus taught the kingdom if a mystery, and mysteries need to be uncovered. Come on Nancy Drew Keep up!

In fact, in many parables Jesus gives, describing the kingdom, it is HIDDEN. "Treasure hidden in a field" "Seed hidden in the ground" "Leaven hidden in meal" 

What I am getting at here "Church" is not everything is so cut and dry. Not everything is understood by a literal reading of it.

I often use the story of the boy who cried wolf as an example of what these parables are like. If the story is taken literally, then the meaning and message of it is lost. It become a tragic tale of some kid eaten by a wolf... But when it is understood allegorically, the reader knows that Lying can get you in BIG trouble... The same is true for every parable Jesus spoke.

He said to his disciples (those being taught by the WORD/truth) – "Unto YOU it is given to KNOW the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. Unto them that are without... ALL THINGS ARE DONE IN PARABLE." <- Mind you he did not say, SOME THINGS... HE SAID ALLLLLLLLL THINGS are done in parable.

Basically, Jesus is saying, those that know the Truth will see (understand the HEART of these allegorical tales and be set free. But those who do not know the TRUTH (Christ REVEALED) will see only the literal story. And in HEARING they will not hear, and in SEEING they will not see.

The problem arises when the story becomes the important part, as opposed to the heart of the story which is supposed to be revealed.

Okay, that being said and done... Let's dig into this parable of the good Samaritan. Because there is something more for us to learn from it, when the eyes of our understanding can SEE IT.

Luke 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.  And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?

What a weird question, don't you think? Shouldn't it be obvious? Well, no! First, consider who is asking the question.

Luke 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and TEMPTED him

This was NOT a sincere question, from a sincere man. He was TEMPTING HIM. Which means, he was trying to discredit and open the door for Jesus to sin. As we know, "when we are tempted we are drawn away by our own lusts." He was also trying to justify himself, which simply means, he wanted to prove he was right and Jesus was wrong.

The LAWYERS of the day, weren't known for their sincerity in the faith. In fact quite the opposite.

Luke 7:30 But the Pharisees and lawyers REJECTED the counsel of God.

The Lawyers are a picture of those, who study the LETTER of the LAW and condemn those on every single point yet they themselves refuse the TRUTH OF GOD. Could the same be said for many calling themselves men and women of God today? I sadly would have to say yes.

The Lawyers are a picture of the Religious Elite who consider themselves beyond reproach because of their scrutinizing study of the mosaic Law. We have lots of them today, with their "the bible says this", and "the bible LITERALLY says that", and yet they don't have the first incling of what their bible is really saying. they don't understand the Spirit of the scriptures which should come alive with revelation when read. Instead, they rely on the dead letter (literal) of the scriptures, which they use to condemn and justify themselves as authorities on the things of God. Much like our lawyer in the Samaritan story.

As an author, I am sad when I see this. Let's put aside the majority of evidence in scripture that gives each of us the keys to understanding the scriptures, where it states clearly "God opens his mouth in parable, in dark sayings" "That it is the glory of God to CONCEAL a thing", And Christ (The power and wisdom of God) COMES (is revealed) in the Glory of God (The hidden parable of scripture and our waking life).

In my novel, "The Calling", I tell a thrilling story about a boy who was purposed to change the world from birth, as we are all purposed from birth. His life becomes incredibly dificult. Now, THE CALLING is a great book, but this FICTION is not meant to be taken LITERALLY... IT IS AN ALLEGORY! On one level we see a Child who suffers abuse and hardship and we follow him on a fantastic journey that brings the world hope.

However, regardless of how clever the story telling is, regardless of how believable it seems to be, it is simply an allegory that I hope further a persons spiritual journey. The Calling is not a true story, sure most of it is based off aspects of my life, but it is NOT A TRUE STORY that is meant to be taken literally. It is an ALLEGORY, which I hope people will be able to see past the exciting story to the deeper meaning of it all. But consider this, what if thousands of years go by, and someone finds this book and starts teaching that all of it literally happened (which it didn't). Then everyone will focus on the fantastic elements of the books as literal and miss the fantastic TRUTH that is ONLY UNDERSTOOD by moving past what seemed to literally happen to what REALLY MATTERS!

I don't know about you, but I want LIFE not DEATH. I want REVELATION not Regurgitation.

Back to the LAWYER... I want to point out that study is great, but no amount of study MAKES YOU GOD'S CHILD. We are justified by our Faith, like Abraham was, not by how many scriptures we can quote. The Lawyers of Jesus day were known for being cruel and judgmental, so Jesus knew the intent of this Lawyers heart.

The man asking Jesus, "what shall I do to inherit eternal life" ... was TEMPTING HIM. He didn't want to know the truth. He simply was testing Christ's knowledge... He was putting Jesus on the spot. How many put us on the spot for our beliefs? They don't really want to know what we believe to be true, they want to find a crack in our beliefs to wiggle in and exploit it, to prove us wrong, so they can prove to themselves and others they are right. And yes, this is what has become of religion today, a bunch of people running around looking for who is with them, and condemning anyone who sees differently. So when the lawyer tempted Jesus, in typical Messiah fashion, Jesus flipped the switch quick on him.

"He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?"

Christ was appealing to the man's vanity. He knew the Lawyer believed he had the answers, he knew the Lawyer couldn't WAIT to tell Jesus how everyone needs to WORK THEIR WAY TO ETERNAL LIFE.... WORKS phewy!

And when the Lawyer answered, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself."

Jesus said, "You answered right. Do this and LIVE". Notice Jesus didn't say, "do this and have eternal life" – There is a good reason. Because ETERNAL LIFE is NOT what most think it to be.

Many believe Eternal Life is playing shuffle board in Heaven with the saints and Patriarchs and eating all the ice cream and fried oreo cookies they want without ever putting on a pound. (That does sound good, I have to admit) However, THAT IS NOT ETERNAL LIFE!

The Lawyer wanted to know what to do, TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. Jesus said, you answered right DO THAT AND LIVE.

ETERNAL LIFE = TO LIVE

We are LITERALLY told what Eternal life is, in John.

John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Jesus is the RESURRECTION and the LIFE, if you BELIEVE on CHRIST even though you were DEAD (Ignorant/carnal) you shall LIVE (Be enlightened)

ETERNAL LIFE is to KNOW GOD and CHRIST. There it is, in Black and White. And To know this, you MUST LOVE GOD and LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR as yourself.

That alone is a revelation... For if you want to KNOW GOD and CHRIST you need only LOVE GOD and your NEIGHBOR. That is a HUGE TRUTH if you can see it... hope you can. If not, no worries, I'll have some seven page paper on what that means soon I'm sure. 

But listening to the LAWYERS of Jesus' day and today won't help you LIVE. In fact, quite the opposite. Because it's their way or the highway. It's their particular beliefs or YOUR CONDEMNED! Just what everyone should get when looking for peace in their life, huh?

You see, this LAWYER didn't really want to know Eternal Life (God and Christ) he wanted to discredit Jesus. That was his motive.

Jesus then goes on to tell a story, about who is your NEIGHBOR. This ain't no Mr. Rogers were talking about... this is JESUS people, so Listen up!

Luke 10:30 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. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

You got to love how Jesus always starts his parable off with "a certain man" –

The reason, is that this CERTAIN MAN is EVERY MAN/WOMAN – it is no one in particular and everyone in particular.

Now, upon a simple reading of this you would think this story is about some poor guy who got robbed and only one person helped him. But like I stated earlier, not everything is as it literally seems.

This parable has more to do with FAITH and BELIEF than it has to do with literally being robbed. So, let's tear these scriptures apart and SEE (understand) what is REALLY going on.

Luke 10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves.

We can learn something from the description of where this "certain man" left, Jerusalem, which in HEBREW means "Teaching of PEACE"... So this "certain man", left the "TEACHING OF PEACE "(Jerusalem) to go to Jericho, which means "It's MOON" – Symbolic of the FALSE LIGHT. The MOON is symbolic of MAN'S SOUL as it simply REFLECTS the SON/SUN. The MOON is not the SOURCE of LIGHT (Truth) it is a very dim reflection of it.

The SUN is to the SON as the Moon is to MANS WAYS/TEACHING.

This is interesting, because this CERTAIN MAN left JERUSALEM to go to JERICHO... This is allegorical, of MANKIND leaving the TRUTH of God for the IMITATION/Religion – BADDDDD RELIGION.... And yes, most of us do this very same thing. I did it, you probably did it, or you are doing it now.

Oh, I know what you're saying, "That's a stretch, Jacob.. Jerusalem and Jericho are literal places, the meaning of their names isn't significant at all... YOUR CRAZZZZZZY!... CRAZY LIKE A CHRIST I SAY! I would have used Fox, but you know, them foxes (religious/political leaders-look it up) always spoiling the vine and such... Anyway, regardless follow this paper and see, if the meanings of these names be what they be.

Lets look at the next line...

Luke 10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves.

This CERTAIN MAN left Jerusalem for Jericho and fell among THIEVES. Oh, sure you could say that he was just robbed literally... BUT, THAT DOESN'T HELP YOU SPIRITUALLY DOES IT?

Our literal possessions don't matter to God or Christ.

Matthew 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt...

Jesus is TEACHING about how to inherit ETERNAL LIFE not about how to avoid getting robbed or some self-defense technique... I think Peter had some kind of Karate class going on with Paul for a while, but they never agreed on whether the pork dumplings and stir fry was acceptable for end of the year Karate Mixer...<- insert laugh here for bad apostolic joke.

As I said earlier, this is a story of "MANKIND" leaving THE TEACHING OF PEACE (Jerusalem) for MAN'S TEACHINGS (The Moon/Jericho).

Now we know, there is only ONE WAY to find the FATHER and that is THROUGH THE SON. This is what Jesus is telling the lawyer. He is actually showing the lawyer that the LAWYER was a THIEF to begin with.

[Taffy]

PART two continuing-
Of course the Lawyers and Pharisees of the world could never see this because they are too busy keeping people from the Kingdom. That was their thing, all about straining for gnats and swallowing camels... Hazing was NUTS back in the day! 

So, let's say I'm right... That this story is about Mankind leaving the TRUTH for MAN'S TEACHINGS and getting robbed spiritually... If this be so, who then are the THIEVES?

Well, Jesus tells us...

John 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

Look at that, Jesus says THOSE THAT TRY and ENTER THE KINGDOM ANY OTHER WAY than HIM... Is a THIEF AND A ROBBER.

Isn't that something? This paper is about MANKIND leaving GOD'S TRUTH for MAN'S LIES and they FALL AMONG THIEVES... and Jesus says, the thieves are liars who promise entrance into the Kingdom another way, without CHRIST, without the TRUTH.

Now, let me just point out. Just because you "Literally" say "Jesus is your Lord and Savior" and go to church every Sunday and read your bible and pray... that DOES NOT MEAN you worship GOD. Don't get angry, these aren't my words... Take it up with the Lord!

Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

That means a literal belief in a literal Man is not having the TRUTH. The hope of Glory if CHRIST IN YOU. Salvation is believing on his name (nature) ... Salvation is UNDERSTANDING THE TRUTH about God.

There are hundreds of denominations in Christianity that claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior, who are as lost as those who worship the bark off a tree. This is why we MUST ask God, "Teach me the Truth, no matter what the cost" and daily seek His Face (NOT LITERALLY HIS FACE... COME ON PEOPLE  . To seek God's face, is to RECOGNIZE the TRUTH.

And when we SEEK GOD, we MUST get rid of EVERY THING else we have held unto and believed to be true, that was not TRUE. We must let go of everything man has taught us, for what the Holy Spirit WITHIN US teaches us. Time to lets those Idols go; but not American Idol's come on, it's the only show the whole family agrees on. And now that Paula and Simon are gone, perhaps it's time for us to move on.

SO, to be saved we HAVE TO LET GO OF ANY THING THAT IS NOT TRUE. We must be purged of the OLD MAN, the OLD THINKING, WE MUST PUT ON THE MIND OF CHRIST, and get rid of everything else.

We saw how Paul had those on his Prison Ship get rid of everything in the boat that was WEIGHING them down so the STORM would not overtake them. A perfect picture of how we have to get rid of all the lies we have believed over the years and allow Christ the TRUTH to set us free.

But back to our story here.

Luke 10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves.

You see, when we first enter religion... many of us, fall among THIEVES. We enter in thinking we will get closer to God but these so-called Teachers end up stealing from us. They rob us of so much, our spirit, our finances, our friends, our fun, our routines, like the FROGS that plagued Egypt (if you have eyes to see this) these CROAKING RELIGIOUS LEADERS get into everything, our food, our bedroom, every aspect of our lives these Religious Leaders try to control. This is what Jesus' parable is about, Bad Religion.

Let's go to rest of this verse.

...which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead

RAIMENT is a key word here people... Once again, we are not talking about some real life thugs robbing a guy and stealing his clothes. No, we are talking about a covering, "spiritual Raiment" – and all we need to do is go to scripture to find out what it really is.

Revelation 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment;

RAIMENT is another word for clothes. Clothes we put on and take off. God clothes us with TRUTH and HUMILITY.

1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

You see, here is another allegory for us to uncover. Many people, wanting to have a relationship with God, ignorantly leave Godly beliefs like humility, acceptance, forgiveness, for the love for Religious pride, condemnation, judgment, and more.

So, this "Certain Man" went to Religion to find God and ended up being robbed and stripped of every good thought he had when he was in JERUSALEM (the teaching of peace)

These Thieves are bad, bad, bad, RELIGIOUS leaders, who lure you in and take, take, take from you. And they leave you HALF DEAD (Carnal and ignorant) – As the LAWYER in this story, most certainly did on a regular basis.

Whenever you leave the TRUTH OF GOD for the WAYS OF MAN, you will always find some Thief waiting to rob you.

This puts a whole new spin, however on the crucifixion. As Christ was right there IN BETWEEN TWO THIEVES...

You see, even the THIEVES can repent and find their dwelling in paradise in Christ.

Moving on:

"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."

By now, you should understand why the Priest and Levite passed the robbed, naked, beaten, half dead man on the other side. They weren't going to help this "certain man" at all. For they were THIEVES themselves. If however, the man had something to OFFER THEM, they would... But at this point, he had nothing.

Bad Religious Leaders cannot help those abused by other Bad Religious Leaders. The Priest and Levite, claimed the things of God, claimed to know God, but ignored the hurt member of their faith. They can't see the pain bad religion causes, they can't see the damage they are doing to their blind flock. Because they are blind themselves.

Jesus said, when I was naked you DID NOT clothe me. This is a picture of the BODY OF CHRIST, being robbed of the TRUTH of God they should be CLOTHED IN!

WISDOM is what the half dead need. And this parable speaks it clearly.

"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."

This is the NEIGHBOR who we must LOVE AS OURSELVES. Those being abused and robbed of the TRUTH in BAD RELIGION. And that pretty much sums up everyone, from every faith, and those without faith, bad religion has robbed the world blind!

We, are to be like the SAMARITAN which comes from the Hebrew ROOT word "GUARDIANSHIP" – We appear to the Lawyers and Pharisees of the world as "Heretics" who don't know the God of the Hebrews, but a TREE IF KNOWN BY ITS FRUIT... And this SAMARITAN fruit was SWEET.

We are to be the GUARDIANS of the day. We are to be the bringers of LIGHT, if CHRIST be in us. There are many hurting today, many that Religion has robbed and abused, WE MUST PICK UP THE PIECES FOR THEM WITH LOVE.

The word COMPASSION, means to SUFFER WITH. We MUST ANSWER their SUFFERING and BIND UP THEIR WOUNDS.

How do we do it? You ask.

WITH OIL AND WINE! – Yes, this is another allegory. Of course, Neosporin would help a healing wound better than oil and wine, so we must see what is truly being USED TO HEAL here.

OIL is a symbol. It is used on the sick and used to anoint Kings. First consider how oil is made, it is the ESSENCE of the OLIVE, and our symbolic "OIL" that WE must pour out is the ESSENCE of CHRIST, which is TRUTH/WISDOM.

OIL is a symbol for WISDOM.

Psalm 104:15 And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.

OIL makes a face SHINE ...Want to see what else causes a man's face to shine?


Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine,

WISDOM makes a face to SHINE.

This puts a whole new spin on why Moses' face was shining after coming down from the mountain of God. And why Jesus' face was shining on the Mount of Transfiguration. WISDOM IS THE KEY, A TREE OF LIFE, OF ALL THERE IS TO GET, GET WISDOM! 

OIL = WISDOM

WINE = SPIRIT OF TRUTH

This is what we use to heal the wounds of those who have fallen among THIEVES (those who try to enter the Kingdom any other way than Christ)

When BAD RELIGION steals, we BIND UP.

When they are left NAKED, we CLOTHE THEM with the WISDOM OF THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH!

This is what it means, to LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. Now go and do likewise, as the J-man says!

"But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;" – 1 Corinthians 1v27

Peace to you and yours,

JACOB


:icon_flower:

[Taffy]

Hi Jacob- The carnal Mind shown after The heirarchy of the Day, Pharisees, priests, scribes etc is THE THEIF, The LIAR and Murderer , that father of it Being the Serpent who Birthed our nature [ Satan] :icon_flower:

[Nathan]

i think this is the "only" time I've ever read something as long as this is from beginning to end . . . great truth being shared there.  Enjoyed it a lot.

[Taffy]

i think this is the "only" time I've ever read something as long as this is from beginning to end . . . great truth being shared there.  Enjoyed it a lot.

  Well nate you suprise me--- enjoyed it---- I wouldnt have thought anything else brother :icon_flower:

[CHB]

Hi Taffy,

Enjoyed your spiritual story about the good Samaritan. A while back I was asked to do Bible study at this Baptist Church I sometimes attended. I used the good Samaritan as my lesson.

You know how the Baptist are about attending Church? The pastor there thought you shouldn't put any thing before attending Church. His belief is, anything hindering you from attending Church is putting it before God. He said "if a family member is sick, leave them and attend Church, you can pray for them and do more for them attending Church than staying home with them. If you stay home with them, you are putting them before God".

Anyway, I used the good Samaritan to show that putting religion and attending Church before helping others is not what God is pleased with.

Here is how I presented this:

The Priest and Levite were probably on their way to serve in the Temple. Both Are strict law keepers. Both of these men put the law and Temple service first.  Jesus was always pointing out to the Pharisees and those strict law keepers that love should come first, before rules, laws, rituals. 

The Priest was more than likely on his way to serve in the Temple, probably on a Sabbath. He came upon the wounded man and putting his Temple services first, he wouldn't take the time time to help. The Levite did the same thing. Both the Priest and the Levite put their duties, laws, before showing love to another.

To use modern day scenario:
There is an accident on the road that leads to Church. The pastor is going to Church and passes by the accident, he continues on afraid he will be late for services. The deacon also comes along and won't stop to help because he is needed to open up services. A member drives by and sees the accident and notices the man is hurt badly. He takes the man to the hospital, stays till he knows the man is OK. He tells the Doctor if he can help to give him a call. Which one of these three is God most pleased with?  Is God pleased with our works when they come before showing love for our fellowman/neighbor?

I said a little more than this but I noticed some noding their heads up and down, while the pastor looked bewildered but never said a word about what I presented.

Thought about this while reading your post. I know there is more to this parable than what I presented but I felt led to point this out to the members of that Church.

CHB