The Bible in four words: love God, love others. Jesus agreed that the entire law of Moses could be summed up in these two phrases. My previous post looks at how Jesus said we could show our love for God, but what does it mean to love others? Who are we supposed to love and how do we express our love for them?
The same expert in the law asked Jesus this question: “Who is my neighbor?”. It was akin to asking “Who are the ones I’m supposed to love?”. He was hoping Jesus’ reply would give him some room to be picky about whom he loved or how he loved them.
Jesus didn’t leave him that option:
Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
“By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
“Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
- Luke 10:30-37
How did the Samaritan show love to the man?
- He allowed himself to feel compassion for the man…even though there was a natural animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans.
- He went to the man…even though his mind probably told him not to.
- He soothed the man’s wounds…even though he was likely no expert in health care.
- He inconvenienced himself…even though no one asked him to.
- The ensured that the man would continue to receive care…at his own expense.
Jesus not only told the expert in the law who his neighbor was (everyone), but told him how to express love to his neighbor. This passage doesn’t record the man’s reaction to Jesus’ story. My guess is that Jesus left him there with his mouth open, his mind spinning and his heart broken.
How does the story leave you? Which of these five things are the most difficult for you? For me, it is the third one: loving people in spite of my lack of “expertise” in the area. I have trouble believing I have anything to offer.
My prayer is that you and I would do what Jesus told the man to do: “Go and do the same”.
By the way, Ryan Smith has a recent post on the importance of loving others and some of the ways we allow our own issues to get in the way of doing so.
