Lord taught the Parable of Good Samaritan to teach who is our neighbor? A man journeying from Jerusalem to Jericho was caught, looted and left to die by robbers. A priest and a Levite choose to look other way and did not come forward to help. A Samaritan who was travelling on his donkey, stopped, pitied, dressed his wounds, took along with him to town and left him in an Inn and paid for his stay and recovery. (Luke 10:25-37)
There was a governance failure. Government could not give proper security to the travelers. The robbers had a free run. The religious leaders instead of helping, they ignored or neglected doing good.
A stranger, person with inferior status – race, religion did something good that showed the government and religious leaders in bad light. Now, they wanted to damage control. The leaders did not spend their resources to catch the robbers and increase security.
They find the poor man recovering in an inn. They question him, who was the one who helped you. The poor man did not know the name like the man besides Bethsaida. (John 5:13) The officials got angry as they saw this stupid man not knowing his benefactor. They threatened him and asked him to show the man who helped him. The poor man was puzzled and confused.
To follow up on the recovering man, the Good Samaritan came. Recovered man wept bitterly: “Why did you save me? You should have left to my fate? What use of my life? The officials are threatening me.” Some people thought this man who recovered from death was ungrateful! Why should he lose hope and value his life?
The officials got a wind of the Samaritan being present in the Inn. They rushed and arrested him for creating social disharmony, violating fate, dishonoring officials and bringing bad repute to the country.
Replace ‘Good Samaritan’ with Church/missionary and see what is happening today in several countries around the world. Let us not be weary in doing good. (Galatians 6:9)
Am I diligent in doing good despite opposition?