I have always been intrigued by the story of the Good Samaritan… but like many of the parables I was told in Sunday School, it didn’t go far enough, for we were never told how the story ended. The intended lesson was obvious: we are to help all who are in need, but to what extent should we offer our assistance? The parable ends in Luke 10:35 The next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

So what happened after that? My Sunday school teacher never answered my questions, and so I had to imagine what answer Jesus would give me if he were my teacher…

‘Months passed and the Samaritan fell into hard times. He had to sell his home and belongings, but because he was an honest man, he used the money to pay off all of his debts. With only a few silver coins remaining in his pocket, he remembered his promise to the innkeeper and so he returned to Jericho and to the Inn where he had left the wounded man.

To his surprise, he found the man still lying in the bed where he had left him. The angry innkeeper informed him that because of severe brain damage, the man could not be moved… but because he had promised the Samaritan that he would care for the man until his return, he found a doctor who showed them how to keep the man alive. The treatment was expensive, as was the full-time nurse required for his care, but now that the Samaritan had returned, all responsibility for the cost was his. In addition, the Innkeeper wanted the man out of his Inn immediately, or he said he would discontinue the treatment and allow the man to die.

In desperation, the Samaritan fell to his knees in tears, for he knew not what he should do. He prayed earnestly to the Deities of his ancestors, as was his custom… and when he had finished his prayers, he understood in his heart that which was right.

Rising to his feet, he handed the innkeeper all of the remaining silver coins from his pocket, plus the reins of his donkey, as payment for the debt. Confident in his decision, he walked to the room of the wounded man and carefully began preparing him for an as-yet unknown destination. The injured man then opened his eyes and nodded his appreciation to the Samaritan, for the deeds he had done… and as he did so, his Spirit departed from him. 

As the Samaritan prepared the man’s body for burial, the inn keeper and others from the village came to assist him, for they had witnessed his Compassion and their hearts had been changed because of his actions.‘

I wonder how many of us would be willing to follow the Samaritan’s example if Jesus had continued the parable… yet is not this the example that He set for us?