Today was the first service in a Revival at our church. The following is what I received from the message this morning by the evangelist, Dale A. Miller, along with what the Lord spoke to my heart.
Do you remember the story of the Good Samaritan? It’s found in Luke 10:25-37.
In short, there was a man who was robbed, beaten, and left on the side of the road to die. Three men happened to see the poor man the day he was left for dead. The first one was a Priest, the second was a Levite, and the third was a Samaritan. Both the Priest and the Levite passed the man up and did not offer to help him. They weren’t moved with compassion or concern. The third man, the Samaritan, had compassion on the man and ended up saving his life.
What is significant in this story is that the Priest (a man of God) and the Levite (a Temple worker) of all people “should have been” the men who would have compassion on the hurt man. They were “church folk” after all.
In Bible times, a Samaritan was a half-Jew. They were the people that came from Jews marrying pagans. They follow their own form of Judaism and were outcasts in Jewish society. Of all people, Samaritans understood what it meant to be rejected, unwanted, unloved, and left for dead. No wonder the Good Samaritan had compassion on the dying man. The Bible says the Good Samaritan bound up the wounds of the hurting man and poured in oil and wine. He then took the man to a place where he could rest, and he paid for someone to take care of him.
The Bible says the Good Samaritan bound up the wounds of the hurting man and poured in oil and wine. He then took the man to a place where he could rest, and he paid for someone to take care of him.
In the Bible, oil represents the Spirit or presence of God. It was also used for healing. Shepherds would pour oil into the scratches on the faces of sheep in order to prevent infection, and to get rid of any fly eggs that might have been laid inside the wounds. Oil is significant. And wine. It represents the joy of the Lord that only comes from the Spirit of God.
Oil = Health & Healing. Wine = Joy.
We all need Oil and Wine from the Good Samaritan, Jesus.
I know. Jesus wasn’t the Good Samaritan. He told the story of the Good Samaritan. But I think the Good Samaritan represents Jesus. Isaiah 53 prophetically describes Jesus as “despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.”
Jesus has compassion for our sorrows and griefs. He knows what it feels like to be rejected and hurting.
The Bible describes Jesus as the Son of God and the Son of Man. His mother was a Jewish girl. His Father, the Almighty Creator.
In a sense, Jesus was a half-Jew. The result of God overshadowing humanity and manifesting Himself into His creation. I think we can say Jesus was a Spiritual Samaritan. Holy, and not of this world, yet earthy flesh.
Jesus sees you as you lie on the road of life, hurt, broken, rejected, beaten, stolen from. He saw that people passed you by, even church people, and didn’t show compassion or try to help at all. He doesn’t care what condition you are in because He cares for you. Jesus loves you, and He has oil (healing) and wine (joy) for you.
Rachael Kathleen Hartman 