MAY 15

Luke 10:34
Memorise Matthew 13:17
"If any man have ears to hear, let him hear"

Read the paragraph below (a famous interpretation of the Parable of the Good Samaritan) – do you agree with this interpretation?

“The man who was going down is Adam. Jerusalem is paradise, and Jericho is the world. The robbers are hostile powers. The priest is the Law, the Levite is the prophets, and the Samaritan is Christ. The wounds are disobedience, the beast is the Lord’s body, the pandochium (that is, the stable [inn]), which accepts all [pan-] who wish to enter, is the Church. And further, the two denarii mean the Father and the Son. The manager of the stable is the head of the Church, to whom its care has been entrusted. And the fact that the Samaritan promises he will return represents the Savior’s second coming.”

This sort of interpretation is called the allegorical method. It sounds interesting. It sounds very clever, and it may even sound very convincing. But is it true? Is it the correction interpretation?

Not so! Just think – this interpretation just depends on the interpreter’s ingenuity – you can interpret it your way, I can do it my own way, and who’s to say who’s right and who’s wrong? This is abuse of scripture!

So what about the beast, the wine, the oil, the inn, the innkeeper, and the two pence? These are just incidental details – our Lord is a master storyteller, and these details help to increase its realism, make it more memorable and engage the listener.

And so we must remember that as we read the Bible, we must always read it “smartly”! Do not try to imagine meaning out of every single detail you see. Instead focus on the main point and the purpose behind the parable.

Thought: How do we know what are incidental details and what are important details? It takes hard work, and much prayer - that's how we grow to have more and more of "the mind of Christ" day by day!
Prayer: Lord, give me a heart of love that I will treasure all Thy words!