photo #7835540

THE GOOD SAMARITAN'S TWO PENCE AND 2,000 YEARSThe parable of the good Samaritan is one of the most favorite lessons given by Jesus, obviously due to the strength of its moral teaching. But, as we are about to see, the story offers a bit of prophecy as well.“And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.” (Luke 10:30-35)In type, the man that went “down” from Jerusalem to Jericho is mankind, who took a big step down into sin in the garden of Eden. When he did so, Satan “stripped him of his raiment,” which speaks of man originally being clothed in righteousness, but losing his righteousness due to sin. He is now “wounded” and “half dead.” The term “half dead” is perfect because man died spiritually in Eden, but not physically. To this day, all lost men are “half dead.”The priest and the Levite fail to help the man, picturing how religion and legalism fail to help sinners today. Then a Samaritan, picturing Jesus, had compassion on him and did a number of things for him. First, He “bound up his wounds,” picturing how Jesus can bind up the wounds of sin and make a man whole again. Then he poured in “oil and wine,” which reminds us of how we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, which gives us the joy of the Lord once we are saved. Then he “set him on his own beast,” picturing the way Jesus wants us to bring our burdens to him. Then He “brought him to an inn, and took care of him,” rather than leave him where He found him, which speaks of Christ wanting His people to become part of a good church so He can take care of them.Then He departed on the next day with the promise of coming again: “. . . he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.” If you’ll check Matthew 20:2, you will see that a penny was a day’s pay at that time, which means that two pence is two day’s pay. The good Samaritan planned to return after two days, foreshadowing the prophetic fact that Jesus returns after two MILLENNIAL days - because one day is with the LORD as a thousand years (II Pet. 3:8). In other words, PREPARE FOR TAKEOFF, because time is about up!