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Luke 10:26-37 - Neighbours and the Good Samaritan
In Luke 10:26-37, an expert in Jewish law asked
Jesus "How can I be saved?" Jesus replied by simply asking the
lawyer what he thought and the lawyer correctly responded: "'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 neighbour as yourself.'"
But the Bible makes it clear that this lawyer was really only trying to
justify himself. As a Jew, he despised all the people in the neighbouring
region of Samaria. To Jews, Samaritans were the lowest of the low! So the
Lawyer asked Jesus: "And who is my neighbour?" Now Jesus didn't
proceed to give him a lecture on how he should love everyone, rather, he
told a parable about a man who was beaten up and left for dead. When the
lawyer heard that the priest and the Levite just ignored the injured man,
I'm sure he would have grinned with glee - after all, what would one expect
from a priest and a Levite - they weren't as spiritual as lawyers! Then,
Jesus describes the actions of the Samaritan and I'm sure this lawyer's
heart would have sank into his shoes. Basically, Jesus hit him with a metaphorical
2x4, right between the eyes! The kind of man he despised was the one who
acted like a true neighbour. Jesus had exposed his flaws and his self-righteous
motives. So who is our neighbour? Everyone! Even those we find unloving
and unlovable.
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