July 14, 2022
But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.” Luke 10:29-30
Jesus has here given us a feast of food for thought! Do each of us really want to know who our neighbor is? A certain man is any man . . . and every man! In our tragically fallen world, he (or she) has been pulled downward by the enemy of our souls. By naming these two cities, Jerusalem and Jericho, Jesus is creating for us a story of tremendous contrast. Jerusalem, the city of peace, symbolizes that uncorrupted place of dwelling with God in an unbroken fellowship with Him. Jericho symbolizes a place of doom that will never be cleaned up. It is a cursed city (Joshua 6:26).
If the one who left Jerusalem is one who has known God, and left of his own volition, the only direction he can go is down. We tend to think of “down” as “south” as we view a map. But consistently in Scripture, Jerusalem is the city on a hill, and to go towards it is to go up. To leave it is to go down. The spiritual application is evident.
If the one moving down from Jerusalem has never known God, we can be sure that Satan stands ready to corrupt his or her young mind . . . to take such a one all the way down to the doom and corruption symbolized by Jericho.
The thieves among whom everyone fell are Satan and his minions. Their goal, under Satan’s leadership, is to steal, kill, destroy . . . (John 10:10). If anyone is a believer, then Satan wants to destroy anyone’s faith. And he wants to steal the uncorrupted ‘teachableness’ of every young person. His motives are far uglier than we can even imagine.
Children have such a special place in the heart of our Savior! Scripture indicates that, before they reach an “accountable” age, they are covered by the righteousness of Jesus. People of faith in Him are covered by the robes of His righteousness as well. But when any-and-every-one fell among thieves, he was brutally stripped of his clothing and wounded! When Jesus says the causers of harm departed, leaving him half dead, we understand that he who steals and wounds does not care about his victims; he is out to rob everyone of eternal life.
But, beloved, Jesus DOES care. He cares about every step of your life and my life in this treacherous fallen world. Let us pray for each other, that our spiritual eyes will open wider and that we will grow into the likeness of Him who truly cares. If our hearts can learn to truly care, this caring will help to sharpen the contrast for others who can’t distinguish between where we want to go and where we have been left half dead! He who cares for you said:
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28