WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:05.679 If we knew the cares and the trials, knew the 00:00:05.679 --> 00:00:08.500 efforts all in vain and the bitter disappointment, 00:00:08.740 --> 00:00:16.859 understood the loss and gain, would the grim 00:00:16.859 --> 00:00:21.280 eternal roughness seem, I wonder, just the same? 00:00:22.239 --> 00:00:28.039 Should we help where now we hinder? Should we... 00:00:28.280 --> 00:00:33.939 pity where we blame? Or we judge each other harshly, 00:00:34.020 --> 00:00:39.340 knowing not life's hidden force, knowing not 00:00:39.340 --> 00:00:46.140 the fount of action is less turbid at its source. 00:00:46.740 --> 00:00:51.719 See not amid the evil all the golden grains of 00:00:51.719 --> 00:00:56.380 good. We'd love each other better if we only 00:00:58.930 --> 00:01:03.469 understood. Could we judge all deeds by motives 00:01:03.469 --> 00:01:07.530 that surround each other's lives? See the naked 00:01:07.530 --> 00:01:11.829 heart and spirit and know what spur the action 00:01:11.829 --> 00:01:17.890 gives. Often we should find it better, purer 00:01:17.890 --> 00:01:24.430 than we judge we should. We would love each other 00:01:24.430 --> 00:01:34.510 better if we only understood. A question is asked 00:01:34.510 --> 00:01:42.750 in the 10th chapter of Luke. Who is my neighbor? 00:01:43.950 --> 00:01:47.230 Here we have one human example in the Bible which 00:01:47.230 --> 00:01:53.090 Jesus asks us to imitate. One of whom he says, 00:01:53.310 --> 00:02:02.109 go and Do thou likewise. This is vitally important. 00:02:03.010 --> 00:02:05.890 It is important to you. It is important to me. 00:02:06.930 --> 00:02:10.189 Because Jesus makes a very definite statement. 00:02:11.750 --> 00:02:18.229 Go and do thou likewise. Now this sentence is 00:02:18.229 --> 00:02:21.930 found in the final statement of the parable of 00:02:21.930 --> 00:02:25.960 the Good Samaritan. and is found in Luke's Gospel, 00:02:26.199 --> 00:02:34.159 the 10th chapter. Read it. Read it often. Sometimes 00:02:34.159 --> 00:02:37.500 I think it would be well if we read it daily. 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:45.199 For surely we shall do well to ponder often the 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:50.879 words of Jesus. And with all faithfulness, the 00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:52.939 parable of the Good Samaritan in which Jesus 00:02:52.939 --> 00:03:01.889 said, to the lawyer. Go and do thou likewise. 00:03:03.409 --> 00:03:07.409 And the master was referring to a man who gave 00:03:07.409 --> 00:03:10.689 his time, gave his money, his sympathy, his service, 00:03:10.870 --> 00:03:15.330 himself. He'd given all of these things to help 00:03:15.330 --> 00:03:21.729 his fellow men. Sure, he was not speaking to 00:03:21.729 --> 00:03:25.680 one. who had not given of his money. He was not 00:03:25.680 --> 00:03:28.780 speaking to one who had not given his service. 00:03:29.419 --> 00:03:32.979 The man to whom he said these words had given 00:03:32.979 --> 00:03:36.879 his sympathy. He'd given his help to his fellow 00:03:36.879 --> 00:03:42.240 man. Oh, look at this wonderful parable. We would 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:48.819 do well to ponder upon this parable. This parable 00:03:48.819 --> 00:03:52.599 will continue to challenge even... startle us 00:03:52.599 --> 00:03:56.680 by its lesson as to the noble and the unselfish 00:03:56.680 --> 00:04:02.900 behavior as man to man. Indeed, the story of 00:04:02.900 --> 00:04:05.719 the Good Samaritan is one of the most instructive. 00:04:06.120 --> 00:04:08.620 It's one of the most challenging to be found 00:04:08.620 --> 00:04:13.719 in the entire Bible. It's so simple that a little 00:04:13.719 --> 00:04:17.079 child can readily understand it. And at the same 00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:21.459 time, its message is so profound. that the great 00:04:21.459 --> 00:04:26.819 ones of the earth often stumble over it. It is 00:04:26.819 --> 00:04:32.199 so profound that the message of this parable 00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:37.759 is needed in the hour in which you and I live. 00:04:39.060 --> 00:04:44.980 It is the answer to the condition of the world 00:04:44.980 --> 00:04:51.439 today. Now pause just a moment. Consider the 00:04:51.439 --> 00:04:55.120 occasion of the parable. It's quite familiar 00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:58.819 to all of us. We see a lawyer who's listening 00:04:58.819 --> 00:05:03.180 to Jesus and said to him, Master, what shall 00:05:03.180 --> 00:05:07.259 I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus replied 00:05:07.259 --> 00:05:11.600 to him, What is written in the law? What readest 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:15.980 thou? And the lawyer said, Thou shalt love the 00:05:15.980 --> 00:05:18.439 Lord thy God with all thy heart. with all thy 00:05:18.439 --> 00:05:22.160 soul, with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, 00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:30.519 and thy neighbor as thyself. Thou hast answered 00:05:30.519 --> 00:05:37.040 right, Jesus said. This do, and thou shalt live. 00:05:38.199 --> 00:05:42.079 But the lawyer, desiring to justify himself, 00:05:42.259 --> 00:05:49.199 said, And who is my neighbor? And then it was 00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:52.439 that Jesus gave us this parable of the Good Samaritan 00:05:52.439 --> 00:05:57.680 in which he evidently meant to teach us several 00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:02.920 things, important things. He meant to teach all 00:06:02.920 --> 00:06:07.459 of us that our neighbors are all those who need 00:06:07.459 --> 00:06:13.160 us and the help that we can give them, no matter 00:06:13.160 --> 00:06:17.540 who they are or where they live, any man, any 00:06:17.540 --> 00:06:21.250 woman, Any person who needs my help is my neighbor. 00:06:21.629 --> 00:06:25.750 Any person who needs your help, any person that 00:06:25.750 --> 00:06:31.449 you can help is your neighbor. Now that teaching 00:06:31.449 --> 00:06:35.089 pushes back the horizons of our personal responsibility 00:06:35.089 --> 00:06:40.949 to the limits of humanity. Oh, it's easy to help 00:06:40.949 --> 00:06:45.709 our family. We feel morally obligated to do so. 00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:48.120 But when it comes beyond our family, you know, 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:51.660 our eyes are blinded. We kind of feel like our 00:06:51.660 --> 00:06:56.699 responsibility is lifted. Maybe we will go a 00:06:56.699 --> 00:06:59.259 little further and feel our responsibility to 00:06:59.259 --> 00:07:04.100 the one who lives just in the same block that 00:07:04.100 --> 00:07:09.699 we do, or just several hundred feet from our 00:07:09.699 --> 00:07:13.139 back door. And we classify that one as our neighbor. 00:07:14.029 --> 00:07:18.589 And our help never goes beyond that. Our responsibility 00:07:18.589 --> 00:07:24.589 never goes beyond that. And sometimes I think 00:07:24.589 --> 00:07:27.790 few people even feel the responsibility that 00:07:27.790 --> 00:07:32.649 far. If we are to obey the teachings of Jesus 00:07:32.649 --> 00:07:37.709 and follow his example, then there can be no 00:07:37.709 --> 00:07:42.040 room for petty... differences. There can be no 00:07:42.040 --> 00:07:46.720 room for racial prejudices. There can be no room 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:51.120 for caste systems which erect barriers between 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:55.300 us and between those who need us and the services 00:07:55.300 --> 00:08:00.620 that we can render them. And then Jesus meant 00:08:00.620 --> 00:08:05.199 also to give that lawyer and to give all of us 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:12.519 for all time an example of True benevolence in 00:08:12.519 --> 00:08:16.459 this parable of the Good Samaritan. First of 00:08:16.459 --> 00:08:19.379 all, you have the picture of a man in suffering, 00:08:19.560 --> 00:08:23.220 a man afflicted. A very common thing. The world 00:08:23.220 --> 00:08:25.959 is filled with such. The world is filled with 00:08:25.959 --> 00:08:28.040 trouble. The world is filled with suffering and 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:34.600 afflicted people. Oh, look around you. Look around 00:08:34.600 --> 00:08:39.159 you and see the suffering. And we're told that 00:08:39.159 --> 00:08:44.940 the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, down which 00:08:44.940 --> 00:08:46.840 the unfortunate man of the parable traveled, 00:08:47.019 --> 00:08:54.360 has long been a perilous road, a bloody road. 00:08:55.700 --> 00:09:01.379 Formerly, it was infested with robbers. And he 00:09:01.379 --> 00:09:07.730 was on this road when something happened. Now 00:09:07.730 --> 00:09:11.330 then, in this parable, two other men appear in 00:09:11.330 --> 00:09:16.370 the story. Down that road from Jerusalem to Jericho 00:09:16.370 --> 00:09:22.429 came a priest who saw the beaten, bruised, suffering, 00:09:22.649 --> 00:09:29.289 half -dead man lying beside the road. But the 00:09:29.289 --> 00:09:38.320 priest passed by on the other side. A Levite 00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:42.039 who also saw the wounded man and also passed 00:09:42.039 --> 00:09:47.440 by on the other side. How wretched, how contemptible, 00:09:47.480 --> 00:09:51.720 how wicked the behavior of these two men. I'm 00:09:51.720 --> 00:09:55.919 giving you the word of God. Their conduct was 00:09:55.919 --> 00:10:00.220 without excuse. Both of them came face to face 00:10:00.220 --> 00:10:05.860 with a case of desperate need. Both saw the man 00:10:05.860 --> 00:10:11.779 in need. Both saw the man in deep and dire despair. 00:10:12.100 --> 00:10:16.500 Both of them claimed to be religious men. Both 00:10:16.500 --> 00:10:22.740 were religious men. They both had an opportunity 00:10:22.740 --> 00:10:26.919 and a corresponding obligation to help a desperately 00:10:26.919 --> 00:10:34.480 needy human being. By their conduct, they rejected 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:41.860 the opportunity and denied the obligation. Mm 00:10:41.860 --> 00:10:47.639 -hmm. Now, there was another man of another spirit 00:10:47.639 --> 00:10:51.539 who came down this same road, saw the same victim 00:10:51.539 --> 00:10:54.519 of the robber, saw the same man in his awful 00:10:54.519 --> 00:11:02.179 plight. He was moved with compassion. Oh, I believe 00:11:02.179 --> 00:11:04.139 that one of the greatest needs in the world today 00:11:04.139 --> 00:11:15.169 is compassion. Really, there's so little of compassion 00:11:15.169 --> 00:11:19.649 left in the world today that we have forgotten 00:11:19.649 --> 00:11:27.169 that there is such a thing as compassion. And 00:11:27.169 --> 00:11:31.289 when compassion is manifested, the world looks 00:11:31.289 --> 00:11:38.059 upon that one as being a little weak. A little 00:11:38.059 --> 00:11:43.580 overwrought. Or perhaps a little too emotional. 00:11:46.460 --> 00:11:53.039 He was moved with compassion. And he went to 00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:56.320 the victim. He bound up his wounds, poured in 00:11:56.320 --> 00:12:00.179 oil to heal and to soothe. He lifted the man 00:12:00.179 --> 00:12:06.940 to his breast and went along helping him. Supporting 00:12:06.940 --> 00:12:10.899 him with his own strength. He took him to an 00:12:10.899 --> 00:12:14.639 inn down the road. He cared for him through the 00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:18.620 night. And when the morning came, he paid the 00:12:18.620 --> 00:12:22.580 innkeeper the bill and said, Keep him here as 00:12:22.580 --> 00:12:28.080 long as he ought to be kept. Don't let him get 00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:33.759 out too soon. Take good care of him. Look after 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:36.799 him. I'll be back and pay the bill, whatever 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:44.179 it is. And then Jesus said, Which now of these 00:12:44.179 --> 00:12:50.679 three thinkest thou was a neighbor to him that 00:12:50.679 --> 00:12:55.000 fell among thieves? Or the man that helped him, 00:12:55.039 --> 00:13:02.720 of course. Very well, said Jesus. Go and do thou 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:08.929 likewise. What was the difference in these men? 00:13:09.870 --> 00:13:17.610 It was a difference in spirit. A man is to build 00:13:17.610 --> 00:13:23.590 his life not on petty rules, but on great principles. 00:13:24.850 --> 00:13:31.070 As ye would that men should do unto you, do ye 00:13:31.070 --> 00:13:38.549 also to them likewise. Beloved, here is a great 00:13:38.549 --> 00:13:42.230 principle, and sometimes I think humanity has 00:13:42.230 --> 00:13:47.029 forgotten what principle really is. We have forgotten 00:13:47.029 --> 00:13:52.210 so many vitally important things. We have forgotten 00:13:52.210 --> 00:13:58.110 compassion. We have forgotten principle. How 00:13:58.110 --> 00:14:00.450 would you like for the other man to treat you 00:14:00.450 --> 00:14:05.350 if you were... beaten and bruised and mangled 00:14:05.350 --> 00:14:10.330 on the roadside. How would you like for him to 00:14:10.330 --> 00:14:12.669 treat you? What would you like for him to do 00:14:12.669 --> 00:14:17.809 for you? That great principle will guide you 00:14:17.809 --> 00:14:22.070 in determining who is your neighbor and what 00:14:22.070 --> 00:14:28.210 your duties are in regard to him. This principle 00:14:28.210 --> 00:14:31.669 has been called the Golden Rule. Perhaps it was... 00:14:32.330 --> 00:14:38.070 Better to call it the golden principle. Jesus 00:14:38.070 --> 00:14:43.669 did not give us a set of rules. Rather, he gave 00:14:43.669 --> 00:14:50.169 us great universal principles which we are to 00:14:50.169 --> 00:14:55.509 apply to our individual problems. Take another 00:14:55.509 --> 00:14:57.590 of the great Christian principles. Take this 00:14:57.590 --> 00:15:01.460 one for instance. as we have therefore opportunity 00:15:01.460 --> 00:15:07.679 let us do good unto all men or another for instance 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:13.259 whether ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do do 00:15:13.259 --> 00:15:19.580 all to the glory of god you still another seek 00:15:19.580 --> 00:15:22.299 ye first the kingdom of god and his righteousness 00:15:22.299 --> 00:15:25.659 and all these things shall be added unto you 00:15:27.370 --> 00:15:30.809 The Christian life is based on great principles. 00:15:33.250 --> 00:15:40.370 Wonderful principles. And when you forget those 00:15:40.370 --> 00:15:45.769 principles, you get into trouble. And the world 00:15:45.769 --> 00:15:49.730 has forgotten certain Christian principles, and 00:15:49.730 --> 00:15:56.009 we're in a mess. Years ago, I heard someone tell, 00:15:56.600 --> 00:15:59.759 of an incident in the life of Dwight Lyman Moody. 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:05.720 It was during the time of a great influenza epidemic 00:16:05.720 --> 00:16:12.440 in Chicago. They were dying. Thousands died. 00:16:14.460 --> 00:16:17.919 During this time of this great epidemic, Mr. 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:21.399 Moody had worked for days and days, caring for 00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:25.240 the sick, conducting funeral services, burying 00:16:25.240 --> 00:16:29.090 the dead. And he came home one night just exhausted. 00:16:29.710 --> 00:16:34.649 He said, I can't do more. I'm so exhausted myself. 00:16:35.190 --> 00:16:41.610 And then came the call that a little girl had 00:16:41.610 --> 00:16:46.269 just died. The parents were frantic. It was their 00:16:46.269 --> 00:16:53.100 only child. Willie said, I'll go. And his little 00:16:53.100 --> 00:16:55.779 daughter, Emma, said, Daddy, can I go along with 00:16:55.779 --> 00:17:01.679 you? He said, All right, honey. They came to 00:17:01.679 --> 00:17:05.140 the humble dwelling and Mr. Moody tired in body 00:17:05.140 --> 00:17:14.579 prayed a few minutes and then left the home. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:18.460 And he and his little girl walked in silence 00:17:18.460 --> 00:17:21.950 down the street. Finally, she broke the silence 00:17:21.950 --> 00:17:30.269 by saying, Daddy, I was just thinking if that 00:17:30.269 --> 00:17:36.609 would have been me instead of that little girl, 00:17:36.710 --> 00:17:46.390 would you have felt bad? He was so startled. 00:17:50.250 --> 00:17:53.430 He would have felt as though the bottom of the 00:17:53.430 --> 00:17:59.089 world had dropped out. Had that been his little 00:17:59.089 --> 00:18:05.250 girl? What if it had been his little girl? He 00:18:05.250 --> 00:18:09.009 clasped her hand and then he picked her up and 00:18:09.009 --> 00:18:11.430 hugged her and carried her home the rest of the 00:18:11.430 --> 00:18:18.190 way. Put her down inside of his home. Kissed 00:18:18.190 --> 00:18:21.490 her. And said, honey, your mother will put you 00:18:21.490 --> 00:18:26.549 to bed. I'm going back to the home where the 00:18:26.549 --> 00:18:31.170 little girl died. And they stayed in that home 00:18:31.170 --> 00:18:35.650 all that night, sympathizing with the father, 00:18:35.650 --> 00:18:42.130 with the mother, arranging for the funeral service. 00:18:43.630 --> 00:18:46.750 Did everything in the world humanly possible. 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:52.619 gave of his love, gave everything that a human 00:18:52.619 --> 00:18:58.160 being could give to another, even though they 00:18:58.160 --> 00:19:03.420 were perfect strangers to him. The whole time 00:19:03.420 --> 00:19:09.440 hearing the voice of his own little girl, I was 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:16.839 just thinking if that had been me instead of 00:19:16.839 --> 00:19:28.789 that. Would you have felt bad? Yes. Put yourself 00:19:28.789 --> 00:19:35.730 in the place of another. Put yourself in the 00:19:35.730 --> 00:19:43.250 other man's shoes. We should love each other 00:19:43.250 --> 00:19:48.769 better if we only... Understood.