RPG Adults
THE GOOD SAMARITAN – THE PRIEST!
FRIDAY, MAY 29
Luke 10:25-37
Memory verse: Luke 10:31
“…when he saw him,
he passed by on the other side.”
THE GOOD SAMARITAN – THE PRIEST!
The priests were the most holy of all Israelites. The LORD made them so when He appointed them as the only people on earth who could mediate between Himself and man. The priests had to be present to kill the offerings and present them to the LORD when worshippers brought their offerings. No one else was permitted to do it, not even the kings of Israel. Therefore, the priests had a unique spiritual responsibility to keep themselves holy and not do anything that might disqualify them from the spiritual service. If the priests touched a dead person, they became unclean for seven days. Numbers 19:11: “He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.” The priest had much to “lose” in terms of his holy work if he approached the man who might be dead. He would have to touch him in order to ascertain if he was dead or near death. The Bible, in verse 30, describes him as half dead. Hence, the priest in the parable passed by on the other side, i.e. he did not even go near the injured man. He had no intention to help, for he felt that maintaining his spiritual cleanliness was more important than going near that injured man.
But we see that the parable in verse 31 said that he “came down… that way.” Since the parable begins by saying that the injured man went down from Jerusalem, we must assume that the priest also came down from Jerusalem. This means that, very likely, the priest would have completed his priestly duties in Jerusalem. He was returning home and not going up to Jerusalem to carry out his priestly duties. Therefore, his reasoning about contaminating himself by touching the dead body did not apply. He had no reason not to help the injured man. If he was dead and the priest touched him, then the priest would be unclean for seven days at home, and after going through the cleansing process, he would be spiritually clean to resume his duties. Also, he was not the only priest in Jerusalem who could perform priestly duties. Wasn’t helping the injured man more important even when he had to go up to Jerusalem for ministry? The man was seriously injured and needed help, especially salvation help!
THOUGHT: Will I help someone in car trouble on my way to church for worship?
PRAYER: Father, grant me wisdom to make right decisions.