In Luke 10, a lawyer who was attempting to test Jesus asked Him how to
inherit eternal life. Jesus tossed the question back to the lawyer by asking, “What is written in the law?” (v. 26).
The lawyer - an expert in Jewish law - was able to answer this easily. He recited scripture from the law in the Old Testament: “’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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (v.27).
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
But the lawyer wanted to justify himself, so he asked
Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (vv.28-29)
And who can I get away with treating just a little
worse?
Or a lot worse?
Or ignoring altogether?
Where can I, in good conscience (of course), draw the line between “my
neighbor” and “not-my-neighbor?”
Jesus is so patient with us when we attempt to create rules where He has given us freedom.
He went on to tell the parable of the Good Samaritan - a man who had nothing to gain from helping another man who had been robbed, beaten and left for dead on a stretch of road. Two presumably religious men, a priest and a Levite, had actively avoided the half-dead man, but the Samaritan stopped. He took pity on the man. He tenderly and carefully bandaged his wounds with expensive anesthetics. He forwent riding his own donkey so that the injured man could ride instead. He took him to an inn and paid in advance for his care with a promise to check in on him later. The Samaritan helped. The Samaritan made personal sacrifices of money and time and resources to show compassion to a person he didn’t even know. The Samaritan, a despised enemy of the Jewish people, was the only one who paused to care for this man.
Jesus is so patient with us when we attempt to create rules where He has given us freedom.
He went on to tell the parable of the Good Samaritan - a man who had nothing to gain from helping another man who had been robbed, beaten and left for dead on a stretch of road. Two presumably religious men, a priest and a Levite, had actively avoided the half-dead man, but the Samaritan stopped. He took pity on the man. He tenderly and carefully bandaged his wounds with expensive anesthetics. He forwent riding his own donkey so that the injured man could ride instead. He took him to an inn and paid in advance for his care with a promise to check in on him later. The Samaritan helped. The Samaritan made personal sacrifices of money and time and resources to show compassion to a person he didn’t even know. The Samaritan, a despised enemy of the Jewish people, was the only one who paused to care for this man.
And when Jesus then
asked the lawyer, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the
man?,” I imagine the lawyer responded with his head down - contrite and humbled, “The one who had mercy on him.”
"And who is my neighbor?” Jesus answered the lawyer's question by illustrating an act of mercy shown to someone who could not help himself and who was completely ignored by the religious leaders who refused to make eye contact with him.
"And who is my neighbor?” Jesus answered the lawyer's question by illustrating an act of mercy shown to someone who could not help himself and who was completely ignored by the religious leaders who refused to make eye contact with him.
Think hard: With whom are you refusing to make eye contact?
That's your neighbor.
"Eye contact" an effective indicator of the ones we hesitate to neighbor. Excellent reminder.
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