Who is my Neighbor? | Luke 10:25-28
Who is my Neighbor?
So, who is my neighbor? This is a great question. It may seem like an easy one. You may say, “My neighbor is the person who lives next door in my community.” In reality, the answer is not that simple. I want to look at how Jesus challenged the religious leaders of his day to take this question to heart. As we will see, Jesus is not just looking for the right answer. Instead, Jesus is looking for people to live a life of compassion.
To make this point, Jesus tells a compelling story around the question, “Who is my neighbor?”
The Gospel of Luke contains a famous story about “The Good Samaritan.” In this passage, Jesus is confronted by an expert in the religious law of his day. The expert asks this question to trap Jesus into saying something contrary to the religious law. I want to examine the exchange and Jesus’ response. We will then see why this story is still relevant for us today.
The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)
Law expert: “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus: He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?”
Law expert: He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus says: “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
Law expert: “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’
Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?'”
Law expert: He said, “The one who showed him mercy.
Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
In summary, this story would have been shocking and even insulting to the legal expert because he had no choice but to agree with Jesus. He had tried to trap Jesus; instead, Jesus flipped the story on him and challenged him to live compassionately.
What Jesus did here was tell the legal expert he was missing the point. It was not about who you should help. It was about helping those in need. In this story, the two religious people—those who should have helped the injured man—walked right by. The love of God transcends and transforms people to love others, even if that puts their well-being at risk. Let’s look at how this ancient story can have relevant information for us today.
Who is our neighbor today?
This passage is still relevant today because Philadelphia is America’s poorest big city. Philadelphia has a major income gap between the rich and the poor. So, in answer to the question, “Who is my neighbor?” It’s the people on the margins of society. To sum it up, Jesus tells us that our neighbor is anyone in need.
Go and do likewise
Jesus challenges us to show compassion to people who are in need. We can all identify with this story because we have all needed help at some point in our lives.
I want the Church to consider this a serious call to “GO and do likewise.” Serve with compassion, mercy, and love. Help those in need. Extend your boundaries, even if it costs you. Compassion has a cost, and Jesus paid the ultimate price with his life so we can, as a church, go and do likewise.
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