Blessed to Be A Blessing: Who’s My Neighbor?

God doesn’t just want us to love our spouses and He doesn’t just want us to love one another; He also wants us to love our neighbors. But what does that mean? Who is my neighbor? Who does Jesus really want me to love? This may be one of the most important questions we may ever answer. In fact, it is one of the most challenging questions we are ever given. Because if we get this right; not only will we become the blessing God wants us to become, but we will begin to love others just like Jesus has loved us. So, who’s my neighbor? That question was asked of Jesus a long time ago. And its time we asked it too. So, if you have your Bible with you today, let me encourage you to find Luke 10, where we are going to see how Jesus answered that question.

The Essence of Eternal Life  On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Picture a debate, not a political debate, but a theological debate. To the religious experts of the day, Jesus wasn’t towing the party line. He regularly taught about the Law in ways that no one else taught. So, to many of the experts, Jesus, was so outside the box that they weren’t sure if he was a heretic or not. So this expert gets right to the point and asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” This is the ultimate question. If Jesus answers this correctly, we’ll know he’s legit.

But then Jesus answers this question with a question, “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”  I love this about Jesus. He knows this man’s an expert. So Jesus gives him a chance to show his expertise. He values his thoughts. So without delay, the expert answers: “‘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.’”

The tables are now turned. Instead of Jesus giving the reply they are looking for. Jesus answers saying: “You have answered correctly,” “Do this and you will live.”  In an indirect way, Jesus has helped the religious expert answer his own question. If you love God with everything you have and if you love your neighbor as yourself, that’s the essence of eternal life. That’s the essence of the Kingdom Life God is trying to restore on earth. If you live to please God, if you are living to love God with all your being, and in everyway… then you will love your neighbor as yourself; because that’s what loving God looks like.

Now I can almost see this expert’s face. When Jesus says, “you have answered correctly” you can almost see a self-satisfying smile on the expert’s face. He is correct. He knows the law. His knowledge has been validated. Not only, but by saying this, Jesus is legit. He believes what I believe. But, then Jesus throws a little truth jab that unsettles this expert, when he says, “Do this and you will live.” Jesus has a way of not letting us off the hook. It’s almost as if Jesus is saying, “Good, you’ve said the right answer, but are you doing it? Are you loving your neighbor?” Now who is being tested? Immediately we now see the expert in the law respond to Jesus by…

Looking for a Loophole  But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Luke 10:29 There is a cultural background to this query. An ancient Jewish book of wisdom, Sirach 12:1-4, tells its readers to not help a sinner. Thus, the lawyer’s question is really an attempt to create a distinction, arguing that some people are neighbors and others are not, and that one’s responsibility is only to love God’s people. So he’s looking for a loophole. Surely there are limits on who we are to love.   Surely Jesus, you agree with us that we are not to love sinners. Surely you agree that we are to keep our distance from those who are not like us. Surely, you agree that our neighbor is our Jewish brother. Everyone else doesn’t really qualify. So in asking “And who is my neighbor?” he’s looking to see if Jesus agrees that there is a limit on who qualifies as a person worthy of love. And if Jesus agrees, then he’s off the hook. 

Oh, but he doesn’t really know Jesus does he? For Jesus is about to destroy this notion that there are limits to who we are to love as he tells his story of Barrier Breaking Love:  In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.”   Immediately, those listening could picture this man going down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. This path of road was called “the path of blood” in the days of Jesus, because it was a seventeen mile road that descended over three thousand feet and meandered through rocky and desolate terrain – the kind of terrain that made it easy for robbers to hide along the way.

 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.  So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. So far so good, sounds like Jesus agrees with him. There are limits to who we are to love. Here are two of the most devout people in Judaism: a priest, the very guy who helped Jews worship. A priest who performed sacrifices. Surely, he must pass by this man. For this man could very well be dead, and to have any contact with this man would leave the priest unclean and unable to perform his duties in leading worship for God’s people. Then comes a Levite. He too is crucial to temple worship. He sees the beaten and naked man and avoids him at all costs. He too must stay clean or risk being disqualified to serve God’s people. But now the story takes a twist…

But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. Notice if you would, the priest saw the man and avoided him, the Levite saw the man and avoided him. But when the Samaritan man saw the man, a different motive took hold of him and moved him to go to the man. What was that motive?   Pity.. compassion… mercy. He was moved by the man’s plight and immediately took action to help the man. He bandaged his wounds, that means he got his hands dirty. Samaritans also practiced the Torah. He knew that by his actions, he would become unclean. He poured oil and wine on his wounds. Wine works as an anesthetic and oil had soothing powers.   The Samaritan understood that it costs you something to help someone in need. Not only that, he risked something too. For often, the wounded man on the side of the road was a ploy to play on the compassion of a stranger. He himself could be a robber with his buddies hiding in the rocks waiting for a sucker to come by to help. But this Samaritan took the risk to help. And then he put him on his own donkey and brought him to an inn. Talk about inconvenience. He gave up his ride for a complete stranger, took him to an inn and took care of him. In fact, we read on: The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ Luke 10:30-35

This was no token care. He truly loved this stranger as he would love himself. He even stayed with him through the night. And then in the morning he went the extra mile. He made sure this man had the time and place to heal and recover. So he paid the rent: Two denarri, basically two pieces of silver that was the equivalent of two days wages; which would provide food and lodging for a couple of weeks. This Samaritan was not just compassionate but was generous to a fault

And with each description of this Samaritan’s love, Jesus was tearing down the barriers this religious expert was holding on to. For when Jesus started this story, when he heard of this man being robbed, beaten and left naked, the person he would immediately think of who would do such a thing… would be a Samaritan: the natural enemy of the Jews; hated because they were half-breeds. Despised because they were considered heretics. The one person they would have nothing to do with was now the hero in Jesus’ story. To which Jesus then adds: “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.” He couldn’t bring himself to identify the man by his race. So with one story Jesus demolishes this idea that there are limits to who we can love. And he flips this whole idea of being a neighbor. So that rather than worrying if someone out there is a neighbor, Jesus says, you are the neighbor; and with this one story shatters all the stereotypes of What it Means to Be a Neighbor:

There are No Limits on who we are to Love:  We are to love anyone in need – regardless of race, politics, social status, personal interests, age, appearance, and even religious belief. Neighbors do not avoid or distance themselves from anyone. We don’t reserve love for only those who are like us. We are to love rich people and poor people, home makers and home wreckers, the physically challenged and the athletically gifted, the mentally challenged and emotional basket cases.

We are to be like Jesus, who puts no limits on those He loves. He’s the one who moved into our neighborhood and gave us mercy we did not deserve. That’s what it means to be a neighbor.

There are No Limits on how we are to Love: And how we are to love starts with our eyes and ears, and then at some point involves our heart. You see, all three characters in this story saw the wounded man. Two avoided him for religious reasons. The third saw and was moved to act. Only he has a heart. Remember the words of Jesus, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:13 What is he saying here? Jesus is saying that relationships matter more than religion. And when we look at his relationship with us and this Samaritan’s relationship with this helpless man, we begin to see what matter most to Jesus: It’s mercy. It’s mercy that led him to come to us. It’s mercy that led Jesus to lay down his life for us. And it’s mercy what makes us a neighbor.