The Good Samaritan

What do you thin of, when you think of a neighbor?

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus defines for us what it means to be a good neighbor, while at the same time showing that we are unable to perfectly fulfill this expectation.

Luke 10:25-37

V. 25-26

A lawyer asks Jesus a very common question, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

We see this question pop up all over the New Testament, and even today its a thought that circles the mind of most people, for we all know this life has its end.

Jesus aptley points this man to the Law of God.

This is inpart due to the man’s role.

A lawyer in this day was not like we think of them now, instead he was an expert of the Law of God.

This expert, seeking to test Jesus asks him this question, all the while thinking he knows the answer.

The majority of Jews believed if they kept God’s law they would receive eternal life.

Jesus knowing this, in turn points him back to the Law.

V.27-28

The man answers that to fulfill the law and inherit eternal life, a man must love God with everything he has and love his neighbor as himself.

And Jesus affirms this, for the fact of the matter is, that if a person loves God and their neighbor perfectly they will inherit eternal life.

The issue is there is no person in history that has loved God perfectly for their entire life with everything they got.

A Walk with God: Luke 52. The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37)

There is no-one, not one person, who has kept the force of this commandment for the last five minutes, let alone for their entire lives. For to say that you love God with all of your mind, and all of your soul, and all of your strength, and all of your heart, really is to say that you never sin, because it would be impossible to sin if you loved God in this way.

This is just half of the coin though, for we are also to love our neighbor as ourself.

God is easy to love, for He is our creator, full of grace and beauty. He is worthy of our love.

But we also must love our neighbor with an unselfish perfect love.

We must perfectly love, unlovable and imperfect people.

This is an impossible task, which leads the lawyer to his next question.

V.29

Seems like an innocent question, but as you look into it, we can find out that Jews only saw other Jews in their nation as their neighbor. Som groups like Pharisees restricted it even more.

For them neighbors were only people like them.

This question was the Lawyers way of limiting the law and seeking to make it attainable.

The man was trying to justify himself.

Jesus answers him with a Parable.

V. 30-37

A bloody road that would have been well known to the man.

A man who is dying is passed by, by two religious leaders who were leaving Jerusalem where they would have just finished worshipping in the temple.

The shocking part of this story was that the man who stopped was a Samaritan.

To the Jews, Samaritans were nothing but half-breed heretics, almost subhuman.

Yet he is the protagonist.

Here we see that a good neighbor is someone who loves and helps at his own expense, and that a good neighbor is not limited to any line in the sand that we could possibly draw.

This is where Christ serves as our example as the perfect Neighbor.

As we have said none of us can perfectly keep the law, for we never love God or people perfectly.

Christ steps down and becomes our neighbor, and at his own expense saves dead men and women. He sacrifices Himself for people of all nations and backgrounds.

So we who are beneficiaries of Christ’s sacrifice are now called to be good neighbors, following in the example of our Savior.

We are neighborly and love all people not because we want to earn our way like the Lawyer, but because our perfect Neighbor has saved us, and made us His neighbor.

So what kind of Neighbor are you? Do you limit the people you’re a neighbor to? Or are you trying to follow in your savior’s footsteps?

Discussion Questions:

What stands out to you from the parable?

Are there people in your life that you have a hard time being “neighbors” to?

How can you be a better neighbor to the people around you?