The Bad Samaritans

The Point

Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan as an irony. Originally, like busybodies, the Samaritans complained when King Cyrus ordered Jerusalem’s temple to be rebuilt. King Darius, who came a few years later, ordered the temple to be completed anyway and for the Samaritans to pay for it.

The Samaritans brought trouble on themselves. Had they not tried to have a “better” idea than the king and just gone about their business, they wouldn’t have had to pay for Israel’s temple. In the end, they only lost.

Be a Good Samaritan. Help the injured, then mind your own business.