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| The Good Samaritan |
| ONE DAY A LAWYER ASKED A QUESTION OF JESUS, thinking that he would trip him up. "What should I do, "he asked," to gain eternal life ?" "You know the law. What does that tell you ?" "You must love God with all your heart, and you must love your neighbor as you love yourself," said the lawyer. "You have answered truly,"Jesus said. "But who is my neighbor?" In reply, Jesus told the following story : A Man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by thieves, who stripped off his clothes, kicked and beat him, then left him half dead by the roadside. Not long afterward, a priest came by, and seeing the wounded man, crossed over to the other side. Next came a Levite, one of the men who assisted the priests in the temple. He, too, gave a quick look and then passed by on the far side of the road. The third traveler to approach was a Samaritan. Seeing the man half conscious and covered in blood, he was filled with pity. Gently, he cleaned his wounds with wine and oil, before bandaging them with strips of linen. Then put the stranger on his own donkey and took him to the nearest inn, where he looked after him all night. The following day before leaving, he gave the innkeeper money so that the invalid would have whatever he needed. "If you spend more than this, I will give you what is owned the next time I pass,"he said. "Now, which of these three men was the true neighbor?" Jesus asked the lawyer. "The Samaritan." "Just so. Remember this story, and behave to other people just as the good Samaritan did." |