The Good Samaritan. 2

I. The State of the Sinner.

With six short lines Christ drew the picture of fallen man—true of the human race in general, true of every man in particular.

1. He "went down from Jerusalem to Jericho" (Luke 10:30). In that brief clause there is both a refutation of the flesh-captivating theory (lie) of "evolutionism" and an allusion to the Fall. Man did not begin existence as a beast, to slowly fight his way upwards by his own efforts. Instead, he was created in the image and likeness of God—but apostatized, and ever since—his direction has been downward. Man was placed in a paradise of peace and rest—but he left that blissful state of his own accord, and contrary to the expressed command of his Maker. The word "Jerusalem" signifies "the foundation of peace" and stands for heavenly and spiritual things, being the City of God. But apostate man has turned his back upon it, and now, "the way of peace" he knows not (Romans 3:17). But more—he has gone down "to Jericho," which is the place of destruction and of the curse (Josh. 6:26). Such is the estate into which man, by his revolt against God, has fallen—he has destroyed himself and lies under the curse of the thrice Holy One.

2. "And fell among thieves." Travelers tell us that the road from Jerusalem to Jericho is a steep descent, the latter part of it going through a desert—and it is still infested with robbers. In his original state of peace and rest, man was safe and happy—but by deliberately forsaking the same—he encountered those who were the remorseless enemies of his soul. The Devil, the world and the flesh are the thieves which rob man of his heritage—they sap his energies, deprive him of the time which should be redeemed for eternity and take away all serious thoughts Godward. They take from us—but never give; that was how they treated the "prodigal son" in the far country until he was reduced to poverty and starvation. Egypt is the outstanding symbol of the world in the Scriptures, and what did it give to Israel? Nothing but the taskmaster and the whip. O my reader, Satan and the world may promise you "a good time," but they are liars and thieves, waiting to rob you of your soul and your bodily health! Pay no heed to their siren voices—but hearken unto what God says to you.

3. "Which stripped him of his clothing." How solemnly true to life is this! What did Satan do to our first parents? What did sin do unto Adam and Eve? It stripped them of that brilliant clothing of light with which God had originally covered them (Psalm 104:2 and cf. Gen. 1:27). As the result of their disobedience they stood naked before God with nothing to hide their shame. But man lost something more than his outward adornment by the Fall; through sin he was divested of his internal investiture—he was stripped of the robe of original righteousness in which the soul had hitherto appeared in immaculate purity before God. And thus it is with you, my reader, if you are out of Christ—your sins are uncovered to the sight of Heaven—you are naked and exposed to the law, the justice, the wrath of God. Nothing but the atoning blood of Christ can hide your shame from a sin-hating and sin-avenging God. O that you might be brought to realize your wretched plight!

4. "And wounded him." Sin and Satan have wounded man's body, which bring it down with disease and pain to the dust from whence it was taken. They have wounded his soul in all its faculties—his understanding with darkness, his will with a wicked choices, his affections with worldly-mindedness, so that he places his love upon the creature instead of the Creator. They have wounded his conscience with guilt, and with fear of death and dread of Hell. They have stopped his ears to the voice of the Spirit, and closed his eyes to the glory of God. How completely and severely man is wounded, appears from that solemn description supplied by the inspired Prophet, "The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores" (Isaiah 1:5, 6). Worst of all sin has inflicted a mortal wound which has deprived man of his spiritual consciousness, for he is insensible, unaware of his desperate state!

5. "And departed." When those thieves had taken everything they sought from the traveler and left him sorely wounded, they callously went their way, caring nothing what became of their miserable victim. How heartless and cruel! Yes, though he appears as an angel of light, desiring to make us happy—Satan is a heartless fiend, anxious only that others should share his awful doom. Though sin clothes itself in many specious forms which attract the unwary—yet it is remorselessly cruel, having no concern for the grief it produces. Satan and sin rob us of health and strength, destroy manhood and womanhood, bring them to the place of acutest distress, and then leave them to their fate. Worldlings will pose as happy and friendly companions while a man's money lasts—but when adversity and retribution overtake him, they depart and desert him. Though history faithfully records these facts, each new generation refuses to profit from the warning—and rushes headlong to its doom!

6. "Leaving him half dead." Some have stumbled over these words, supposing that if the previous clauses depict the state of the sinner then the description falls short at this point. Not so, the terms are minutely accurate—half dead is precisely the condition of man since the Fall. Alivenaturally, dead spiritually; alive earthward, dead heavenward; alive unto sin, dead toward God—no desire to please Him, no fear of Him, no love for Him, "She who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives" (1 Tim. 5:6).

Moreover, men are only "half dead" with regard to the wages of sin—even now they are "alienated from the life of God," but in the Day of judgment they shall be "punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord" (2 Thess. 1:9), when they are cast into the Lake of Fire "which is the second death" (Rev. 20:14).

In these six lines then, we have a true picture in every part of sin's tale of misery, the faithful and unerring representation of fallen man, such as none but a Divine Artist could have drawn.

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