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?”
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!”
Read Luke 10:25-37 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
One of the ways to tell great interviewers apart from average ones is through their follow-up questions. It is in the follow-up question discussions that most of the really good, less “sound-bite” responses come from. It is also what makes this passage stand out as special in my mind.
First off, this is one of the few places in all the gospels where Jesus acknowledges both the correct answer to a question that is given, and the clear instructions for how to have eternal life. This in itself is pretty amazing, considering that it seems as though most of the questions posed to Jesus were trick questions and Jesus responded with counter questions that had no good response.
The answer this expert gives to Jesus’ counter question shows one or both of two things: The man really knew the law well, and he had discerned the many layers in it; and/or this man had paid attention to other times Jesus was asked questions – specifically the question of what were the greatest commandments – and he was giving an answer that Jesus gave to an earlier audience back to Him.
The original question itself is powerful, but what makes this conversation stand out is the follow-up question: “Who are my neighbors?” (v. 29b)
It is in this follow-up question that we get one of the most well known illustrations in the entire Bible. This illustration has served as a model for true Christianity for hundreds and thousands of years following Jesus’ words. This illustration would have been lost had this religious expert never tried to steer the conversation towards race.
This expert likely wanted to pull out an answer that allowed for racial boundaries to remain intact, or a response that would subtly give license to being exclusive towards those who were different.
But Jesus is different. Jesus is not exclusive. In God’s kingdom, all are welcome – regardless of gender, race, social status, or even past religious preferences. God is not interested in your past as much as He is interested your future with Him.
Which leads me to the big idea for this passage: Never stop short of where God wants to lead you, and don’t be surprised when God stretches your thinking and your boundaries.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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