“And on the morrow he took out two denarii, and gave them to the host, and said, ‘Take care of him, and whatever you spend more, I, when I come back again, will repay you.' ”

In the chiasmus this verse parallels, ‘You shall love God with all your heart --- and your neighbour as yourself'. Nothing could be greater revelation of that than this love that the Samaritan showed for the Jew. He not only paid his costs at the inn for at least a month, but guaranteed payment for any future costs, and it was all of grace, with no thought of compensation, a fitting picture of God's love offered to Israel through Jesus Christ.

We should note here that this illustration of offering care is then in context followed by one of Mary choosing spiritual food from the Lord rather than literal food, by the Lord's prayer where the bread sought is probably ‘Tomorrow's bread' (the bread of life) rather than just literal daily bread, and by an illustration where the neighbour seeking food at night turns out to be a picture of seeking the Holy Spirit. The idea behind all these passages is thus seen as to bring out the search for spiritual truth. Here then is a picture of One Who cares for His own and provides to him what is needful, and the picture of one who receives this blessing.

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