<p>10:33 <i>But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion</i>- The Samaritan &quot;was moved with compassion&quot; by the man's (spiritual) state. This is the same phrase as used concerning how Christ &quot;was moved with compassion&quot; by the multitudes. The connection with the good Samaritan parable would invite us to read the Lord's compassion as fundamentally <i>spiritual</i>. The reason for the miracles was to confirm the spoken word (Mk. 16:20), to lead men to see the wisdom of the message they were validating (Mk. 6:2). Are there any examples of Christ doing miracles for reasons unconnected with preaching? They often (always?) had symbolic meaning; and were designed to inculcate faith (Jn. 20:31) and repentance (Mt. 11:21). And in any case, His miracles were largely to benefit the Covenant people, or those closely associated with them. The apostles didn't do mass benefit miracles (e.g. feeding thousands of people) to back up their preaching in the Gentile world; even though they had the power to do &quot;greater works&quot; than did the Lord (Jn. 14:12). 'Charitable' giving ought to be <i>associated</i> with preaching, surely, if we are to follow the example of Christ's compassion with the multitudes.&nbsp; In practice, the work of providing welfare and conducting fresh preaching is done by the same brethren in the mission field.</p><p>The Lord Jesus &quot;knew what was in man&quot;, not only by direct revelation from the Father and the Old Testament word, but also from His own observation of our own nature, both in Himself and the surrounding world. The sensitivity of Jesus is reflected in this realization which He reflects. As the Samaritan came near to the wounded man (the ecclesia), realized the extent of his problem (the ravages of sin) and was thereby moved with compassion, so Christ was motivated by His consideration of our position (Lk. 10:33,34); the Lord realized His humanity more and more, and progressively humbled Himself, achieving a progressively fuller identity with us by so doing, until He crowned it all by His death (Phil. 2:6-8). The main lying helpless on the Jerusalem - Jericho road was surely modelled on Zedekiah being overtaken there by his enemies (Jer. 39:5). See on Lk. 14:9.</p>