The parable of the good Samaritan is one of the best-known and most profound of all the parables of Jesus.  The parable may have been based on an Old Testament story that tells of the kindness given to certain Judean military captives by men of Samaria whose behavior resembles that of the Good Samaritan at certain points, because they:

“… clothed all who were naked among them. They clothed them, gave them sandals, provided them with food and drink, and anointed them, and carrying all the feeble among them on donkeys, they brought them to their kinsfolk at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria” (2 Chronicles 28:15).

Regardless of the origins of the story of the Good Samaritan, its timeless message teaches us that when there is true need – as opposed to requests for handouts (see our article, "The savvy Samaritan," on our sister-site, here) – we should give without hesitation.  That much is clear from even a cursory reading of the story, but the parable also teaches something else that is easier to miss – that in cases of real need, we should be willing to give with true generosity.

Christ’s parable tells us that the Samaritan who rescued the injured Judean – despite belonging to a group that was generally shunned and even despised by many Jews – not only bound the man’s wounds and carried him on his own donkey to the nearest inn, but also made provision for the man’s upkeep for a while. The story tells us: “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’” (Luke 10:35).

It’s easy to read over the fact that the Samaritan gave “two denarii” – or “two pence” as some older translations have it – for the man’s upkeep, but the amount was a considerable one.  The denarius was a silver coin of the Roman Empire – from which the word “money” is derived in several modern languages (for example, Spanish “dinero”). We know historically that at that time a single denarius would be the approximate pay for a day’s labor (Matthew 20:2). Two denarii equaled two days’ wages, or a full third of what an individual could earn in a week; at current U.S. minimum wage it would be about $240.  But what would that amount buy at that time?

Archaeology can help answer that question.  A sign from an inn located in a city of the Roman Empire not too distant in time from the setting of the Parable of the Good Samaritan may indicate that the nightly cost for a room was 1/32nd of a denarius.  At that rate it is obvious that providing two denarii for the care of the man would provide for a stay of two months, or for several weeks, including food. Not only that, but also the Samaritan made it clear that when he came by on his return journey he would pay for any extra expenses if the two denarii were used up.

So the gift of the Samaritan was not a small one, and the extent of the individual’s generosity toward a total stranger (especially of a nation that generally shunned his own people) seems astonishing.  This does not mean, of course, that Jesus advocated giving several days of our pay to everyone we attempt to help.  We do not know how rich or poor the Samaritan was – the parable does not give us that context. But Christ’s parable does show us, through what the Good Samaritan gave, that when human need is real, true generosity is not limited.
 
*For more on the parables of Jesus, download our free e-book on this subject, here.

Sometimes Christians – like everyone else - experience doubts in their lives. But when the doubts are regarding some aspect of their beliefs or statements in the Bible, Christians often agonize over whether their doubts are sinful, whether they are, in fact, the disbelief that the Bible so clearly condemns (Matthew 21:21; Hebrews 3:12; etc.).

But the truth is, doubt need not be disbelief at all. The Scriptures show that God understands that humanly we doubt when we don’t see clear evidence of things and his word does not condemn this. How do we know this to be true?   A clear example which we often read over in our study of the Bible is found in the Birth narratives in the first few chapter of the Gospel of Luke. 

Luke 1:5-25 tells us that an angel appeared to the priest Zechariah to tell him that he would have a son who would become a powerful servant of God – John the Baptist. Zechariah’s response was “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years” – an answer that displeased the angel who told him “you will … not be able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words” (vs.20).  Notice in this story that the angel specifically said Zechariah’s attitude was one of disbelief in that he said “How can I be sure of this?”

Luke then continues his narrative by describing a very similar situation that occurred soon after – when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to tell her that she would have a son who would be great and would be called the Son of the Most High  (vss. 26-33). Notice Mary’s reply: “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” (vs. 34). In this case, Mary did not show disbelief by saying “How can I know this is true?”, but simple doubt by asking “How can this happen?” 

Mary was not reprimanded for this response as Zechariah had been for his, simply because she expressed human uncertainty as to how the situation could happen rather than  doubt that it would happen. As a result, the angel simply explained to Mary that what he had told her would come about through the miraculous working of God’s Spirit.

In these accounts, the difference between Mary’s response (“How can this be”) and Zechariah’s (How can I be sure”) is that Mary asked her question not from unbelief but from puzzlement, and this is directly analogous to our own situations when we are puzzled or do not understand something said in God’s word.  

Doubt is not unbelief, it is questioning some aspect of what we believe. While unbelief says, “I don’t accept this possibility,” doubt is simply saying “I cannot understand this.” Mary’s underlying belief despite her temporary doubt is seen in the words of her cousin Elizabeth – John the Baptist’s mother – who exclaimed “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” (Luke 1:45).

It is certainly possible for doubt to eventually grow into disbelief if they are not dealt with properly, but this does not mean that our initial doubts and uncertainties are somehow wrong.  God clearly does not regard our lack of understanding of a spiritual fact as being any different from our lack of understanding of advanced physics equations, or whatever.  We see God's patience with those who struggle with doubt in Jesus' interaction with Peter (Matthew 14:30-31), Thomas (John 20:27), and in many other scriptures. But even though God accepts and works with our doubts, he does expect us to continue to believe and trust him when doubts do arise in our minds. 

Doubt only becomes disbelief when we let it – when we get preoccupied and mired down in doubts that are a natural part of the Christian life and that will, if we continue to trust God, almost always be removed or seen as not important as our Christian understanding and experience grows.

* For more articles on the subject of doubt, see our blog category "Dealing With Doubt" here.