In the parable
of the good Samaritan, I wondered about some of the things the Samaritan did
for the wounded man.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came
where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on
him,
34
And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and
wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of
him. (Luke 10:33-34)
Why put oil and
wine in the wounds? Wine would have some alcohol in it, and so would be an antiseptic
and disinfect it. The oil would keep the skin soft and prevent any forming
scabs from cracking prematurely and reopening the wound. Antibiotic ointment
today is made up of a petroleum jelly with antibiotics in it, and the jelly
does about the same thing as the oil.
So, it seems the
parable had some solid practices of wound treatment in it, and this makes me
wonder if this represented the first aid knowledge of that time or if this
shows Jesus knew something about wound care that others didn’t and put that in
the parable too.
Others have observed
how the parable could be read as an analogy for the way Christ saves us, so
this makes me think about what spiritual care might be analogous to pouring oil
and wine into wounds. Perhaps they correspond with the way Christ purifies us
from our sins and begins the process of healing with the Spirit, helping us to
keep a soft heart.
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