Love Your Neighbor (Luke 10:25-37)

 Love Your Neighbor (Luke 10:25-37) What Does That Mean?

I was studying in the book of Luke this past week, chapter 10 to be exact, about the Good Samaritan. After Jesus gave this parable, a lawyer asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" And he asked this because Jesus was instructing that he should love God And HIS NEIGHBOR as Himself. Jesus' answer is quite interesting. If I simply took Jesus' words without giving them much thought, I might conclude that I indeed have loved my neighbor as myself as He instructed. I have generously helped them financially, with meals, volunteered to take on chores, I've even taught the Word. But if you look more closely at the words of Jesus, you realize He is not referring to your neighbor living in the house next to you per se, but His definition and meaning of the word "neighbor" go beyond one we've come to assume. WHO IS YOUR "NEIGHBOR?" Let's break it down.

This parable, only found in Luke's gospel, reveals God’s provision for a crime victim through the compassion of a foreign traveler. The traveler (the Good Samaritan) evidently has enough wealth to pay for a stranger’s medical care, and it follows immediately after Luke’s account of the Great Commandment. In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, Jesus said the greatest commandment in all of scripture is to “love God” and “love your neighbor.” In Luke 10:25-37, the discussion of the greatest commandment continues directly into the Parable of the Good Samaritan. In Luke’s account, the lawyer begins by asking Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asks the lawyer to summarize himself what is written in the law, and the lawyer returns with the Great Commandment “Love the Lord your God… and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus replies that this is indeed the key to life. The lawyer then asks Jesus a follow-up question, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus responds by telling a story which has been called “The Parable of the Good Samaritan.” This story is so compelling that it has permeated into popular knowledge far beyond Christian circles. People who have never picked up a Bible will still recognize the meaning of the term “Good Samaritan” as someone who takes care of a stranger in need.

Given the cultural idea of a “Good Samaritan” as someone with an extraordinary talent for compassion, we might be tempted to overlook the actual Samaritan in Jesus’ story. And yet it is important to our understanding of our own work to examine why the Samaritan Jesus describes was a successful businessman. The Samaritan in Jesus’ story comes upon the Jew injured by robbers along a well-known trading route. The Samaritan likely traveled that trade route often, as evidence by the fact that he was known at a nearby inn and deemed trustworthy enough by the innkeeper to demand an extension of services on credit. Whatever the nature of his business, the Samaritan was successful enough to be able to afford oil and wine for medicinal purposes and lodging at an inn for a complete stranger. He is willing to spend his money on the stranger, and his time too. The Samaritan puts his other business on hold to see to the needs of the injured stranger. The Parable of the Good Samaritan can thus be interpreted as a story about using our material success to benefit others. 

Consider this: 

1. The hero of the parable spends his money on a stranger without any direct obligation to do so.

2.  They are not related by kinship or even by faith.

In Biblical accounts, Samaritans and Jews were often antagonistic toward one another. And yet in Jesus’ mind, to love God is to make anyone who needs our help into our “neighbor.” Certainly not what I was taught growing up. Jesus emphasizes this point by reversing the thrust of the lawyer’s original question. The lawyer asks, “Who is my neighbor?” a question that begins with the self and then asks who the self is obligated to aid. Jesus in His wisdom,  reverses the question, “Which of the three was a neighbor to the man?” a question that centers on the man in need, and asks who is obligated to help him. If we begin by thinking of the person in need, rather than ourselves, does that give us a different perspective on whether God calls us to help?

Mind you, this doesn’t mean we are called to absolute, infinite availability. No one is called to meet all the needs of the world. It is beyond our capability. The Samaritan doesn’t quit his job to go searching for every injured traveler in the Roman Empire. But when he crosses paths—literally—with someone who needs the help he can give, he takes action. “A neighbor,” is someone whose needs you have the ability to meet! And isn't that love?

The Samaritan doesn’t just help the injured man by throwing a few coins his way. Rather, he makes sure all the man’s needs are cared for, both his immediate medical needs and his need for a space to recuperate. The Samaritan thus cares for the man as he might care for his own self ("love your neighbor as yourself" Leviticus 19:18). Also, be mindful that this Samaritan took on an extraordinary degree of risk to help this stranger. He risks getting jumped by the same bandits when he stoops to see what has happened to the man. He risks being cheated by the Innkeeper. He risks being saddled by the expense and emotional weight of caring for someone who has become chronically ill. But he takes on these risks because he acts as if his own life were the one in question. This is Jesus’ best example of what it might mean to be a neighbor to “love your neighbor as yourself. This world needs more of this love. 

Until He Comes,

-Pat-