Parable of the Good Samaritan
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wounded and bruised, naked and perishing, and in want of help from
his fellow men. He passed on his way, persuading himself that it was
none of his business, and that he had no need to trouble himself over
the case. Claiming to be an expositor of the law, to be a minister in
sacred things, he yet passed by on the other side.
Enshrined in the pillar of cloud, the Lord Jesus had given special
direction in regard to the performance of acts of mercy toward man
and beast. While the law of God requires supreme love to God and
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impartial love to our neighbors, its far-reaching requirements also
take in the dumb creatures that cannot express in words their wants or
sufferings. “Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ass or his ox fall down by
the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift
them up again.” He who loves God not only will love his fellow men
but will regard with tender compassion the creatures which God has
made. When the Spirit of God is in man, it leads him to relieve rather
than to create suffering.—
The Review and Herald, January 1, 1895
.
The Principles of God’s Law Were Forgotten—The priest and
Levite had no excuse for their cold-hearted indifference. The law of
mercy and kindness was plainly stated in the Old Testament Scriptures.
It was their appointed work to minister to just such cases as the one
whom they had coldly passed by. Had they obeyed the law they
claimed to respect, they would not have passed this man by without
helping him. But they had forgotten the principles of the law that
Christ, enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, had given to their fathers as
He led them through the wilderness....
Who is my neighbor? This is a question that all our churches need
to understand. Had the priest and the Levite read understandingly the
Hebrew code, their treatment of the wounded man would have been
far different.—
Manuscript 117, 1903
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Conditions of Inheriting Eternal Life—The conditions of inher-
iting eternal life are plainly stated by our Saviour in the most simple
manner. The man who was wounded and robbed represents those
who are subjects of our interest, sympathy, and charity. If we neglect
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the cases of the needy and the unfortunate that are brought under our
notice, no matter who they may be, we have no assurance of eternal
life; for we do not answer the claims that God has upon us. We are
not compassionate and pitiful to humanity, because they may not be
kith or kin to us. You have been found transgressors of the second