The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ Luke 10:35
Certainly the despised Samaritan's duty was done by granting the victim first aid and getting him to the inn. However, the innkeeper was not running a free clinic and the victim had just lost his means to pay. The Samaritan made promise to pay more should the man run up further costs. We can see a situation ripe for exploitation by the innkeeper.
You don't have two silver coins to pay the tab? Yes, I understand. For many of us the challenge in the Good Samaritan parable is not that we do not desire to help, but that the Samaritan and his means seem far above our own. Imagine that the inn is a hospital here in the US today and that the two silver coins are a $20,000 down payment on the man's hospital bill. You will know by now that is not an exaggeration for a man with serious injuries that left him unconscious by the road. We must remember that Jesus already made a payment on our account at Calvary for a bill that no dollar figure could ever pay, and if any of us run up a higher bill before His return, He has promised to pay that too. So, be sure to help your neighbor confidently in the knowledge that our Good Shepherd does indeed have means greater than our own, spiritual or monetary.
Have mercy today on those in need, in the strength and grace of Christ our Lord,
Bucky
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