So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. Luke 10:34.

In this parable Jesus presented a stranger, a neighbor, a brother in suffering, wounded and dying…. But though priests and scribes had read the law, they had not brought it into their practical life….

In speaking of the manner in which the priest and the Levite treated the wounded man, the lawyer had heard nothing out of harmony with his own ideas, nothing contrary to the forms and ceremonies that he had been taught were all the law required. But Jesus presented another scene: “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, 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.” …

After Christ had shown up the cruelty and selfishness manifested by the representatives of the nation, he brought forward the Samaritan, who was despised, hated, and cursed by the Jews, and set him before them as one who possessed attributes of character far superior to those possessed by those who claimed exalted righteousness….

Everyone who claims to be a child of God should note every detail of this lesson…. The Samaritan realized that there was before him a human being in need and suffering, and as soon as he sees him, he has compassion upon him….

The Samaritan followed the impulse of a kind and loving heart. Christ so presented the scene that the most severe rebuke was placed upon the unfeeling actions of priest and Levite. But this lesson is not only for them, but for Christians of this day, and is a solemn warning to us that for humanity’s sake we may not fail to show mercy and pity to those who suffer….

In the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus presented His own love and character. The life of Christ was filled with works of love toward the lost and erring. In the man bruised and wounded and stripped of his possessions, the sinner is represented. The human family, the lost race, is pictured in the sufferer, left naked, bleeding, and destitute. Jesus takes His own robe of righteousness to cover the soul, and whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.—Signs of the Times, July 23, 1894.