Being a Neighbor: Luke 10:25-37

As we move through the gospels and the parables Jesus shared, we come to an illustration that is definitely a story Jesus shared, but unlike many of Jesus’ other parables, it is so realistic that it may have actually happened. I’m confident that those listening to Jesus’ story were not surprised by the way any of the characters acted, that is except for one.

Let’s read this illustration and discover what we can learn from Jesus’ message to the crowd. Our passage is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 10, and we will read it from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 25, Luke tells us that:

²⁵ An expert in the Law of Moses stood up and asked Jesus a question to see what he would say. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to have eternal life?”

²⁶ Jesus answered, “What is written in the Scriptures? How do you understand them?”

²⁷ The man replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.’ They also say, ‘Love your neighbors as much as you love yourself.’”

²⁸ Jesus said, “You have given the right answer. If you do this, you will have eternal life.”

²⁹ But the man wanted to show that he knew what he was talking about. So he asked Jesus, “Who are my neighbors?”

Let’s pause for a moment right here before reading Jesus’ reply. In this first portion of this conversation, Jesus has just given a very simple formula for gaining eternal life. Eternal life is gained by loving God with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength, and all our mind, and through loving our neighbors as much as we love ourselves.

This seems like a pretty straightforward formula, but it is one that many people seem to have trouble with. I remember a neighborhood meeting of people living in my neighborhood where someone became agitated over how someone else had parked their vehicle. When the suggestion was made that this person talk to the owner of the vehicle, the quick, almost instantaneous reply, was that the owner of the vehicle was not this individual’s neighbor. The term neighbor apparently is a very subjective term, because I would think that those living in my “neighborhood” would be considered my neighbors, while this person was applying the term neighbor to the homes in the neighborhood that were directly around his.

Perhaps this question was in the experts mind when he followed up his question to Jesus by asking who his neighbor was. From the context of our passage, I get the impression that this leader wanted to know where the line was between excluding people from help versus including them in our help. The term neighbor was a noun that needed defining.

Let’s read Jesus’ response and the illustration Jesus shares answering this question:

Continuing in verse 30:

³⁰ Jesus replied:

As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, robbers attacked him and grabbed everything he had. They beat him up and ran off, leaving him half dead.

³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road. But when he saw the man, he walked by on the other side. ³² Later a temple helper came to the same place. But when he saw the man who had been beaten up, he also went by on the other side.

³³ A man from Samaria then came traveling along that road. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him ³⁴ and went over to him. He treated his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. ³⁵ The next morning he gave the innkeeper two silver coins and said, “Please take care of the man. If you spend more than this on him, I will pay you when I return.”

³⁶ Then Jesus asked, “Which one of these three people was a real neighbor to the man who was beaten up by robbers?”

³⁷ The teacher answered, “The one who showed pity.”

Jesus said, “Go and do the same!”

In this parable-illustration, the person who showed pity was the least likely candidate for showing mercy. This parable contains two representatives for God who do nothing, while a secular, non-religious person steps in to help.

Oddly enough, Jesus’ illustration here has become so well known that when thinking of a Samaritan, we often think of the fictional one in Jesus’ story here and not on any of the others, many of whom rejected Jesus and were hostile towards the Jews.

Also, while this illustration is prompted by a Jewish religious leader who wanted a definition for the term neighbor so he could know the groups that are included while also knowing those that are excluded, Jesus does not define neighbor as a noun, but as a verb. Jesus’ illustration does not overly focus on the nationality of those present. Instead, Jesus’ illustration focuses on what the neighborly individual did to help the one in need.

This passage ends with one of the most challenging commissions we can think of. Jesus concludes by saying in verse 37, “Go and do the same!”

It is in this challenge, which is connected to this illustration, where we get the true definition of what it means to love our neighbor. Nothing changes Jesus’ confirmation that loving God with everything we are and with everything we have is central for our salvation. However, with this illustration, we have a definition and a central focus for what it means to love our neighbor.

According to this parable, loving our neighbor means genuinely helping those in need when we see them in our life. Every situation is different, but we are called to be a neighbor rather than simply keep our eyes open for our literal neighbors. Jesus has called us to help those in need who He brings into our path.

The Good Samaritan didn’t start his journey thinking that he would find someone who needed help, but when his path came to someone needing help, it didn’t matter that this Samaritan had no idea who the injured man was, or even that others had refused to help. The Samaritan knew that he could help, and he chose to do so.

Being a neighbor is helping because God has brought someone into our path who needs help, and being a neighbor is choosing to help simply because that is who God has called us to be. Like Jesus challenged those present for this teaching to do, we too should “Go and do the same!”

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I regularly challenge you to do, be sure you always seek God first. Remember that while this passage focused mainly on being a neighbor, the context also stressed the importance of placing God first in our lives. Be sure that you are loving and serving God while also helping others as God brings them into your path.

In order to keep your connection with God strong, keep praying and studying the Bible for yourself and grow your personal relationship with God even more. Don’t let me or anyone else get between you and God. Focus on growing your relationship with God and let Him lead and direct your path towards those who need your help!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, run away from, chicken out of, or deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!