WHY ARE GOOD SAMARITANS NOW IN TROUBLE?
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INTRODUCTION:
The story of the Good Samaritan was a sweet one in the Bible. Jesus was teaching about the importance of love towards one another. He made mention of love and said “love your neighbor as yourself”. Somebody asked him a question saying “who is my neighbor”? He opened up saying a man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell into the hands of robbers, and they beat half dead and robbed his goods.
A Levite was going the same road, he saw the man lying on the road and he passed through the other way. A Pharisee was also passing through the same road, and saw the man, he also passed the man on the other side of the road. Then a Samaritan was traveling through the same road, and when he saw the man beaten half dead, he lighted from his horse, and gave this man first aid with oil. He also put the man on his horse and carried him to a nearby in or clinic.
He paid them two pence to start treatment saying, when he comes back, he would pay the rest. Yes, Jesus told us this parable illustrating to us who our neighbor is. In fact, our neighbor is anyone we could see around us at any time. Our neighbor is anyone we come in contact with, whether on a business trip or not. Our neighbor is anyone who could help us or anyone who seeks of our help. Our neighbor is anyone living in the neighborhood.
WHAT THAT MAN DID:
But do you know that people are entering into trouble these days for acting as a Good Samaritan? At that time people could believe one another. At that time people were not too bad as at today. Now people arrange trouble for others, not that one mistakenly run into Robbers and they rob him, no, they plan to do him evil. In Jesus parable, the man was just traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. It could happen to anyone. It may not be from Jerusalem to Jericho now, it could change from one town to another, and I believe it has not stopped.
If it were today, the Good Samaritan would have been detained by the Hospital management and call in the police to interrogate the man. This would have made him to stop being good to anyone, even if you are dying, they would allow you to die instead of entering into trouble on behalf of somebody you just see on the way. Again what if the man had died from there? The Good Samaritan would have posed danger to all who try to do well, especially to one unconscious. Today, such things are taking place here and there.
A good man was cast into prison for trying to act as a Good Samaritan. After reading the story from the Bible, this man was touched to do the same thing if opportunity calls for it. And on another day he saw where people were gathered and everyone clustered their hands around them looking at a man, who was hit by a hit and run driver. This man was very, very unconscious. This Good Samaritan of our day stopped his vehicle and carried the accident victim into his car without asking someone there to accompany him to the Hospital as a witness.
Reaching at the Hospital, the unconscious man died. When the Good Samaritan wanted the Nurses to come and help him to bring out the man from his vehicle, the Nurse who first came observed that the man had died, and she told the Good Samaritan to deposit him at the Mortuary, because he was dead. The Good Samaritan did not actually know the accident victim. He burst out shouting “who will perform his burial? I don’t know him OOO”.
This shouting made the hospital authority to ask him to have patience, and they called in the police silently, and the police whisked him off. At the police office they began to ask him saying “how did it happen”? He said he was not the one who hit the dead man. And the dead man could not talk to defend him. He was made to bear the punishment for killing the man. He tried to inform the police to make investigation about this accident, saying that, if they discover that he was the one who killed the man, anything they said would be binding on him. The police would not take that statement from him.
The police said, “All we know is that this Hospital called us to come and take a man who brought an accident victim to us, who eventually died and the man who brought him was trying to deny the man he brought to us”. Well, the police said what they were told. The man was detained by the police until investigation was completed.
At the investigation the police after taking the Good Samaritan’s statements went to the place where the accident took place. Every one interviewed exonerated the Good Samaritan, saying “he was not the one who hit the dead man”. When the police even went to the traditional ruler of that community, he also was pleading for the release of the Good Samaritan, saying “my people told me everything about that accident. If that man were alive, he would celebrate this man in a special way, but because he is dead, this man is suffering as "a Scape Goat”.
The words of the traditional ruler of the place of accident. Nevertheless he was in the police net till investigations are over. Of course the police did not even take the report of the traditional ruler. But the police decided to charge the case to court because when they went to the Hospital mortuary, one of the police officers identified the dead man as his friend of long time. He therefore became the “investigation police officer” (IPO).
Every plea to the police to release the Good Samaritan proved abortive, and the good man was brought before a high court. On the first day of his appearance at the high court, the Good Samaritan pleaded not guilty to the charge. But one good thing that happened was that the traditional ruler of the place of the accident who pleaded for the release of the Good Samaritan came to his defense at the high court.
The traditional ruler then organized his people, i.e those who were present and who saw the accident to come to the defense of the Good man at the high court. In fact, though the man suffered, God was behind him. God showed him mercy by making the hearts of those who saw how he took the risk of carrying the dead man to the hospital. They all came to the court as witnesses to defend him.
They knew he took the risk to carry the dead man in his vehicle without a witness to the hospital. And because the pain was much on the accident victim, he died even on the way to the hospital and the Good Samaritan did not know till he reached the hospital. But when the judge therefore saw the number of people who to the court to defend the accused man, he was surprised and asked the reason for these number of people at his court.
He was informed that these people came as witness to defend the accused man. Then the Judge asked his prosecutor to get their statements one after another. Their statements were taken and even the traditional ruler of the community also gave his own statements to the court in favor of the accused man. Everyone among them said, “The accused man was innocent”.
Yea, because they were all eye witnesses account who saw the accident. After consideration, the high court Judge decided to release the accused man, and to let him go free. Yet whatever freedom he received, he had paid dearly to the sin of another man. This Good Samaritan had tasted the other side of the coin. He may decide not to continue as a Good Samaritan having passed through this experience. And if he decides so, is he guilty? Will you blame him? If it were you, would you continue as a Good Samaritan? This is why we said that “The Good Samaritans are now in trouble”.
The Good Samaritan in Jesus parable did not enter into trouble because the man who was beaten by Robbers did not die in his hands. If he had died while he was going to the in for his treatment, he would have entered into trouble being good. The same will happen when you want to help such people in that condition. And if you must do it today, make sure you have eye witness account and those who will go with you in company to the hospital. This is to avoid the experiences of the accused Good Samaritan in the story. We should not be deterred by the experiences of this man, because God will not hold us guiltless if we abandon what we should do to help people in such conditions.
But as we said earlier, make sure that before you take up to render such help, you have eye witness account who will defend you, and say you are not the one who hit the person, and that you are only rendering help to the victim in the case of the death of the victim. This is for your defense in the eyes of man, but God knows you are innocent.
And at that time if God had not touched the hearts of the people to come en mas to support the Good Samaritan, he would have suffered greatly for another man’s offense. This topic will open your eyes as to how you can render help in such cases. You shouldn’t deny that right and help to those who need it considering yourself. Thank you for coming to my blog site in Blogger.com.
God bless.
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