If you would open your bibles to Luke 10 we are to be in the parable of the Good samaritan. And as I was preparing for this message, “Who is my Neighbor?” I was reminded of the show Mr. Rogers! Has anyone heard of Mr. Rogers? Now is the rip off Daniel the Tiger!(Do the jingle)

The notoroius jingle, “its a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day indeed, could you be my, would you be my neighbor?” And I realized that Mr. Rogers looks like he loves everybody! And everybody is truly his neighbor!

Luke 10:25-29

Luke 10:25–29 (ESV)

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

The lawyer knew the commandments and has study them his entire life. So when he asked the last part “And who is my neighbor?” you can probably take it as him saying, “So who do I have to love and who can I not love.” What can I do to get by.

You see we all try to do the bare minimum, right? Say your parents tell you to clean your room, and you take all the trash and everything thats on the floor, and shove it under your bed. Bam the room is clean! But is it though? Your parents may see the floor, but then they look under the bed and the closet and see that everything was just shoved in there. Trust me I know this because i did this all the time! We try to do the bare minimum in school. Coach says I cant have less than a “C” in order to play so I won’t put any effort as long as I am in the C range then I am good.

The Kingdom of God is not like that though! It is not a bare minimum mentality. Its either your all in or your all out. So, lawyer asked the question: Who is my neighbor, and Jesus responds with this parable.

Who is my neighbor?

Luke 10:30-33

Luke 10:30–33 (ESV)

Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.

So jewish man was walking down the road and then gets mugged. Stripped of everything. Beaten to a pulp. And left for dead. And 2 people who are suppose to help those in need, saw him, and walked on by. Did not even give it a second thought. But this Samaritan man, saw him and had compassion for the that man.

So little history lesson, Jews and Samaritans were not friendly with each other. They have had a hostile history with each other. Jews despised the Samaritans and Samaritans despised the Jews.

Kind of picking up on Mr. Rogers, in 1969, racism was crazy. So crazy, that black people and white people were not aloud to swim in the same swimming pool. Like come on man, its a swimming pool! Mr. Rogers one day pulled something so culturally nuts, on live TV. No one knew what Mr. Rogers was going to do that day. It was a hot day out and Mr. Rogers had a little kiddie pool and wanted to put his feet in it to cool down. His neighbor, Officer Clemmons walks up and Rogers asks him to sit and put his feet in the pool with him. And Clemmons was like I dont know I dont have a towel, and Rogers said oh well you can use mine! And so 2 guys were sharing the pool, did not matter that they were different color skins or anything. And Mr. Rogers looks at Clemmons and says, “Do you know that I love you.”

Yes, this was a huge in the fight for segregation at that time and it still carries impact, and lets take this and apply it to our lives today. That we don’t just look at someone that is hurt or alone in the cafeteria or made fun of because they look different and outcast in the locker room or hallways, and walk away. And do nothing about it, it doesnt faze us. But we look at them with compassion. Meaning that you can feel in your heart what that person is going through.

Luke 10:34–35 (ESV)

He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’

Why did he do this? I believe its because of 3 simple principles.

He chose to see, stop, and take action.

“He saw him and had compassion” He saw the guys pain.

“He went and bandaged his wounds.” He was going somewhere but he stopped what he was doing. So many times we are just go go go, and we dont take a moment and stop and be aware of what is happening around us. What would you might see? Who would you see that might be hurting and may need your help? Whether it be your siblings, friends, or other family members, or classmates.

He chose to take action. The samaritan, who had every reason not to even look at the jew because of social status, took him and helped him. Bandaged him, and took him to an inn. And he didn’t just drop him off and said, “this is your problem now inn keeper! PEACE! Never seeing me again!” NO, he told that inn keeper “Take care of him and whatever you spend, I will repay you when I come back.” He used his own resources to help.

So who is my neighbor?

My neighbor is everyone.

Anyone & everyone that is in need. When Alex and I were working together, we were in Seattle. And the sight that we were working at there was a homeless guy just laying there. We worked and about 3 hours later we got done, and that guy was still out there. And I was ready to hop in the truck and leave but my wife noticed him. And she went over there and started to talk. And we shared Jesus with that man, and I asked him if there was anything that he needed and all he said was pizza and mayo. Weird combo but okay. Its the little things. I dont know what happened to that guy in all honesty. We did not see him again. But I still pray that seed was planted and it will grow.

Jesus now finishes this parable with this!

Luke 10:36–37 (ESV)

Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

He calls you and me to love God with all our heart and soul, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Most importantly he calls us to show mercy to people. Choose to see, choose to stop, choose to take action.

This world we live in is a fallen world. Its a broken world. And Jesus offers the solution. He brings hope and joy that never runs dry. Its never ending love that He offers. And its free for anyone who has ears to hear and eyes to see.