29 But he, willing to justify him- self, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour ?
30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusa- lem to Jericho, and fell among thieyes, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded Atm, and departed, leav- ing him half dead.
31 And hy chance there came down a certain Priest that way : and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was : and when he saw him, he had compassion
on him,
34 And went to Aim, 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.
35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, ana said unto him. Take care of him : and whatso- ever thou spendestinore, when I come again, I will repay thee.
36 Which now of these three, think- est thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves ^
37 And he said. He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise:
These words contain the well-known parable of the good Samaritan. In order to understand the drift of this parable, we must carefully remember the occasion on which it was spoken. It was spoken in reply to the question of a certain lawyer, who asked, "who is my neighbour.^' Our Lord Jesus Christ answers that question by telling the story we have just read, and winds up the narrative by an appeal to the lawyer's conscience. Let these things not be forgotten. The object of the parable is to show the nature of true charity and brotherly love. To lose sight of this object, * and discover deep allegories in the parable, is to trifle with Scripture, and deprive our souls of most valuable lessons.
We are taught, first, in this parable, how rare and uncommon is true brotherly love. This is a lesson which stands out prominently on the face of the narrative before our eyes. Our Lord tells us of a traveller who fell among thieves, and was left naked, wounded, and half