Are You My Neighbor

Jesus has sent out 72 disciples to go into the cities

They returned with excitement because of what was done through them (amazement may be a better description)

If I asked you to define your 'neighborhood,' you’d probably give me a zip code or a street name. If I asked who your 'people' are, you’d talk about your family or your church. We like boundaries because boundaries tell us where our responsibility ends. We like to know exactly who we have to love and, more importantly, who we can get away with ignoring. Two thousand years ago, a man asked Jesus for a boundary. He asked, 'Who is my neighbor?' Jesus didn't give him a boundary; He gave him a mirror. And what he saw in that mirror is going to challenge the way we look at every person we pass this week.

Luke 10:25–37 CSB

25 Then an expert in the law stood up to test him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the law?” he asked him. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,” and “your neighbor as yourself.” 28 “You’ve answered correctly,” he told him. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus took up the question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. 34 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37 “The one who showed mercy to him,” he said. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”

When you have a question, go to the One with the answer.

The “lawyer” would have been a scribe or an expert in the Law of Moses

Most of the scribes believed in eternal life, at least agreed with the Pharisees on this subject

The topic of resurrection and eternal life was a point of conflict between the Pharisees and the Sadducees

The motivation for this lawyer’s question is unclear, but it is most likely hostile or at least challenging to Jesus

Think of a person who goes to a world-class heart surgeon, not because they want surgery, but because they want to argue about the merits of a specific scalpel. The lawyer wasn't looking for a transformation; he was looking for a technicality.

We often go to God for validation of our current lifestyle rather than instruction for a new one. Like the lawyer, we treat the Bible like a "Terms and Conditions" document we want to skim for loopholes, rather than a map for survival.

Jesus’s answer shows us where we need to go - to Him and the Scripture

Note that Jesus answers a question with a question. He forces the lawyer to look into the Law’s mirror. The Law wasn't meant to be a ladder to heaven, but a magnifying glass to show us we need a Savior.

Our “neighbor” includes people we may not normally associate with.

When the lawyer asked who his neighbor was, he was trying to justify his position

Many Jews, especially the religious leaders, would not associate with people who were different from them and definitely not with those they believed were “unclean.”

The Jews of the time used the word "neighbor" to exclude. They believed a neighbor was a fellow Jew who kept the law.

Jesus flips the definition: Being a neighbor isn't about proximity (who is near me?); it’s about disposition (to whom can I be a neighbor?).

Jesus answers his question with a story

We cannot ignore those hurting around us.

It was the church people who passed by, going as far as crossing to the other side of the road

The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was called the "Way of Blood." It dropped about 3,000 feet in elevation over just 17 miles. It was full of sharp turns and caves—a "mugger's paradise."

The Priest and the Levite likely had "good" excuses. They could have been on their way to or from Jerusalem for temple service. If they touched a dead body, they would be "unclean" and couldn't perform their religious duties

Maybe they chose ritual over rescue. We do this when we are "too busy with church work" to be the Church. We cross to the other side of the street not because we are mean, but because we are "busy" or "on a schedule."

It is possible they were just scared… how often do we fear engaging with someone “different,” because we are afraid  

The Samaritan didn’t just feel bad; he spent his own money (two denarii was about two days' wages), his own resources (oil and wine), and his own time. Compassion is never "free"—it always costs the helper something.

We must engage those around us with compassion and mercy.

The lawyer wanted to "justify himself" by narrowing the definition of neighbor. We do this today by using "filters" or labels: "the homeless guy," "the addict," "the difficult coworker," or "the person on the other side of the political aisle."

Compassion requires us to strip away the label and see the "half-dead" human underneath. Mercy doesn't ask, "How did you get into this mess?" Mercy asks, "How can I help you out of it?"