PODCAST
Who Is My Neighbor?
October 24th, 2020
Luke 10:33-37
It is important to remember the context in which Jesus told this parable in Luke 10. A “teacher of the law” asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asked him what the Law of Moses said. “He answered, “‘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.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:27-29).
The Samaritan, unlike the priest and Levite, “took pity” on the man who was stripped, beaten, and robbed. Samaritans and Jews claimed to worship the same God but famously despised one another. That a Samaritan would be neighborly to a Jew was surprising. Particularly in view of the fact his own kinsmen had passed the needy man by.
“Who is my neighbor?” Jesus indicates it is the one along my path today in need of compassion and mercy. Without regard to race, religion, status, or any other human qualification. Jesus still commands His disciples, “Go and do likewise.”
Author: Duane Brush