#25 Question: What’s up with the neighbor story?

Suppose you decide that you want to be a doctor. Then you ask several physicians what you should do to get into medical school. They all give the same answer: Make a high score on the MCAT exam. You would believe them because of who they are and what they have accomplished.

Jesus was asked at various times what one needs to do to inherit eternal life. He should be believed because He is the Son of God.

Once He was asked by a lawyer, Luke 10:25-28:

“… a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it? “And he answered, “You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

Jesus inquired about the lawyer’s attitude toward God’s Law.

The lawyer answered Jesus by summarizing the attitude and actions taught in the Old Testament about keeping Moses’ Law, God’s law for the Jews before Christianity was established.

Before Christianity, this is how Jesus always answered when asked about how to go to heaven, because the Old Law was still in force.

Most people could not read and did not have a copy of the Old Law. On Saturday, the Sabbath, they would go to the Synagogue to worship and hear the reading of the Old Law by the lawyers. In this way, they could find out for themselves what they needed to do to inherit eternal life or go to heaven. This was what they needed to do before Christianity was established.

At this point, the lawyer appeared to be embarrassed and quickly posed a different question, Luke 10:29:

“But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus did not answer directly but told an amazing story about a Jewish traveler who was robbed, beaten, and left by the side of the road. Although two Jewish religious leaders came by, neither helped him. Then a person not expected to stop, a Samaritan, had compassion, stopped, and helped him. He took the beaten man to the nearest inn to be cared for. On the next day, he gave money to the innkeeper to continue caring for the wounded man.

Jesus then asked the lawyer a question, Luke 10:36-37:

“Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

What do we learn from this incident? 1. Jesus teaches that ethnic background should not be considered in deciding who we help. 2. Because Jesus has commanded it, caring for the needy is an important part of pleasing Jesus. 3. Jesus illustrates who our neighbor is and how we should treat him.

The answer to the question posed in the title is that Jesus used the story to teach us to help the needy in 2024.

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