Today’s Devotion
Topic: Go And Do Likewise!
(Self Assessment 135)
Background:
On one occasion, an expert in the law stood up to TEST Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” He replied. “How do you read it?” The man answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” Let’s see the answer Jesus gave him and how we can learn from it.
Text: Luke 10: 30-37
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” Amen
Questions:
i. The background to our study today reveals that one of the experts of the Law came to test Jesus. What do you think he sought to achieve with this quest?
ii. In the the parable that Jesus shared, a man going to Jericho was attacked by robbers and left half dead. Since this is a parable, we have to unravel it. Who and what in your opinion does the ‘TRAVELLER’, the ‘ROBBERS’, and the ‘WOUNDS’ the latter inflicted on the former, represent in real life?
iii. In Jesus’ Parable, he makes mention of two of the most important groups of people who came by the wounded traveller; a Priest and a Levite:
a) Why do you think Jesus use these two instead of any other group of people?
b) According to the Parable, each of them saw the wounded man and passed by on the other side. Though, Jesus didnt give the exact reason why they did that, in your opinion, what could have been the probable thoughts going on in their minds as the saw the wounded traveller?
iv. Read vs 34-35 again. The Samaritan took pains to attend to the wounded man and even went the extra mile of paying for his treatment in advance. What does this teach us as believers? Especially when we compare with the behaviour of the priest and levite?
v. From all that we have discuss so far, explain why you will agree with the expert of the law that the Samaritan was a better neighbour to the traveller than the Priest and levite?
vi. At the end, Jesus’ command to the expert was “Go and do likewise.” In what ways can we do same as believers living in this era?
vii. What have you learned from today’s discussion?
Kindly reply us on this same social media platform. We learn a great deal from the answers you share.
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