Who Is My Neighbor?
By Tierce Green
Most people rally around the ideas of missional living and social justice. Kindness, sacrificial care, crossing cultural lines, stories of someone going out of their way to help others—these ideas and actions are all inspiring. That’s why the Parable of the Good Samaritan still resonates today. This story can stand alone, but the context and how it was used reveals much more than a random act of kindness.
Sometimes Jesus would answer a question with a question. Other times he would explain a principle with a story—a parable. On this occasion, He does both to describe what it looks like to love God and others, and to paint a picture of a person who truly follows Him.
The Parable of the Good Samaritan is found in Luke 10:25-37.
Someone who was quite familiar with the Scriptures—a man described as “an expert in the law”—asked Jesus a very direct question:
“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus responded to his question with two questions:
“What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
Jesus was implying, “I know you know a lot about the Scriptures, so how do you see it? Let’s get to the essence of the Law, the heart of it, what it really means.” Affirmation, respect, an invitation to an open and honest discussion; all of this was communicated in those two questions. We need more conversations like this—unfiltered and respectful conversations where we can truly connect with each other and discover the truth.
The man’s answer was technically correct according to his faith. He was actually quoting from the Law he loved in Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.
He answered, “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, Love your neighbor as yourself.”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
If the goal was to check some boxes off of a religious list, that would have been the end of the story. But we all come to these conversations with different perspectives shaped by our experiences. That’s why it’s not uncommon to see a wide variance or disconnect between biblical principles and practical applications even among the most religious and seemingly intelligent people. This “expert in the law” wanted to support his perspective, so he asked Jesus a question:
He wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
“Who is my neighbor?” This could be a good question if the heart of it was to identify people who need our help. But in this case, it hinted of legalism, self-righteousness and racial prejudice. Jesus knew this, so he answered this man’s question with a story—a parable about a Samaritan that he called good.
Here’s a synopsis: A man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and left him half-dead on the side of the road. Two very religious men—a priest and a Levite—passed by at different times. Either one of these men could have been the hero, but the Scriptures specifically say that each of them “passed by on the other side”. They were likely on their way to church and couldn’t get their hands dirty. It would have interfered with their plans and interrupted their religious activities. It was inconvenient.
I wonder how many times we pass by on the other side. How many times do we look over the crowd without seeing the people? How many times do we not hear because we are too busy talking? How often does our passion for a cause stand in the way of our compassion for people?
Jesus made the hero of the story a Samaritan. This is important. Samaritans grew out of the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim after their deportation into Assyria around 723 BC where they intermarried with pagans during this period of captivity. In the minds of the Jews, Samaritans were considered to be half-breeds, a less-than race of people. Interaction with them was intentionally avoided. So, the question “Who is is my neighbor?” was clearly skewed assuming that Samaritans would be in a different category, any category other than the “my neighbor” category.
The Samaritan in this story saw a man who needed help, so he sprang into action. He had compassion on the man and bandaged his wounds. He put him on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and cared for him. The next day he gave the innkeeper some money and said,
“Look after him … and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.”
This Samaritan is going way above and beyond what was expected! We could stop here and be inspired by his generosity. But the clincher and the oftentimes overlooked point of the story comes at the end with another question from Jesus. The answer is too obvious to ignore. We don’t know if the expert in the law liked it or even tried to apply it, but he could not deny it.
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Our roster of neighbors is typically comprised of people who look like us and think like us. We gravitate toward safe homogenous environments—comfort zones populated by people who are similar in appearance and share similar opinions. If we’re not careful, even Christian communities can become isolated subcultures.
Jesus was described as a friend of sinners. He hung out with people who weren’t like him, people the religious leaders avoided. Many of his neighbors were rejected by the church.
What about you? Who is your neighbor?