A Good Neighbor

Learning mercy from Jesus.

Luke 10:25-37

In much of Jesus’ earthly ministry, His authority and His identity were questioned. He was welcomed among the common people, but the Jewish leaders, threatened by His popularity, took various opportunities to challenge Jesus by trying to trap Him in His words and hopefully turn the people against Him.

But Jesus always had the right answer for everyone, even when He was asked the wrong question. In this passage a lawyer stands before Jesus, trying to put Him to the test by asking Jesus two important questions. He asks, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus simply responds by asking the man, “What is written in the Law?” The lawyer correctly answers by citing the two greatest commandments, that summarize the Law and the Prophets. The first is to 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 the second is to love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus affirms the lawyer’s excellent answer and adds; “Do this and you will live.”

In response to Jesus’ directive, the lawyer answers with an odd question given the significance of his answer to Jesus’s first question. Instead of asking Jesus how to love the LORD with everything, all the time, he simply asks, “Who is my neighbor?” He completely ignores the infinite magnitude of loving God with everything to go for the who, rather than the how, of loving one’s neighbor.

To teach the lawyer what he needs to learn, not what the lawyer thinks he needs to know, Jesus tells him a story. It begins with a man traveling the dangerous road from Jerusalem to Jericho and he is attacked by robbers and left haft dead on the side of the road. The first potential Israelite hero comes along but instead of stopping to help the beaten man, this priest passes by on the other side to avoid any involvement with him. Another possible Jewish hero comes along, a Levite, but he too passes by on the other side of the road without helping the battered and robbed man.

To their surprise, Jesus has a Samaritan, a man of a people despised by the Jews, who is the one with compassion and care for the hurt man. This Samaritan man went the full measure in caring for this injured man. He cared for the man himself and made provisions for his continued care when he needed to leave, with a promise to return. He provides a great example of what it means to love one’s neighbor as yourself.

Jesus finishes His conversation with the lawyer by asking him to answer a more important question than the one he asked of Jesus. Jesus asks, “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” The lawyer rightly responded, “The one who showed mercy.” To which Jesus said, “You go, and do likewise.”

Instead of telling the lawyer that everyone is his neighbor, Jesus taught him and each of us a valuable lesson on how to be a true neighbor to everyone we can. May we follow Jesus’ direction to the lawyer and go and do likewise as the Samaritan and be good neighbors to everyone we meet, regardless of sex, social status, skin color, physical appearance, political affiliation, language or whatever, remembering that Jesus is the best neighbor of all, because He gave His life as a pure sacrifice for the sins of His people so each one may know peace with God and life eternal.

To God be the glory in Jesus Christ.

Ron Zeigler is the State Capitol Minister for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.