LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOR
Have you heard of Good Smartian
Laws? In the US, all 50 states have them. Other countries, too. This is what I
read: A good Samaritan is an individual who intervenes to assist another
individual without a prior notion of responsibility or promise of compensation.
The Good Samaritan law protects those who provide care without expectation of
payment from negligence claims."[1]
The Good Samaritan law's premises trace its origin to the parable Jesus told a
law expert, who came to test Jesus's understanding of the Law of Moses. Luke
10:25-37
Before
we get to the parable, we want to address the two critical questions raised by
the law expert. We read in Luke 10:25 that an expert in the Law stood up to
test Jesus on one occasion. Teacher, he asked, "What must I do to inherit
eternal life? Let's address this first.
I. What
must I do to inherit eternal life?
A law expert suggests he was very
familiar with and even interpreted God's laws given to Israel by Moses on Mount
Sinai. Though he came to test Jesus' understanding of the Law, his questioning
exposed what was going on in his heart. He wanted to know what he must do to
inherit eternal life. We often hear the words "eternal life." But
what is eternal life?
In Romans 6:23, we read, "For
the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord." This scripture speaks of eternal life being a gift of God in
and through Jesus Christ. We don't earn it, but it is given as a gift by God in
contrast to the death we earn as the wages of sin. God gives this gift to those
who believe in Christ. God is eternal, and so is this gift of life with Him
without an end. We will experience it after we die and from the moment we
believe in Christ. It is here and now our current possession, as it reads in
John 3:36, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever
rejects the Son will not see life."
In Vs.26, Jesus replied, What is
written in the Law? And how do you read it? The lawyer answered, "Love the
Lord your God with all your heart and soul and with all your strength and mind,
and Love your neighbor as yourself." Remember, the lawyer was an expert in
the Mosaic Law. He quoted two Old Testament commandments from Leviticus 19:18 and Deut 6:5.
Jesus, while answering another Law
expert in Matthew 22:37-40, elevated these two as the greatest commandment and
said, "All the Law and prophets hang on them. If one sincerely obeys these
two commandments, one has fulfilled the Law. The Pharisees seemed to have no
problems obeying the loving God part of the commandment but had issues with the
later part.
II.
Loving Your Neighbor
In a highly polarized world, our
natural tendency is to fear foreigners and those who don't look or speak like
us. We are suspicious of them and don't want to associate with or love them. Whether
we like it or not, for God's children, loving our neighbors as ourselves is not
an option but a command. We can live in peace with each other when we obey this
command.
Let me highlight other laws that
pertain to one's neighbor in Leviticus chapter 19. Vs.13: "Do not defraud
your neighbor or rob him." V.15:
"Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism
to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly." V.16: "Do nothing that endangers your neighbor's life." V.17: "Do not hate your brother
in your heart." V.18: "Do
not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your
neighbor as yourself."
Lev 19:33-34 reads, "When a
foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. 34 The
foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as
yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God." As
Jesus challenged the expert, how do you read these scriptures? The summary of
these laws is to love your neighbor as yourself—which means you should do no
harm to your neighbors but treat them respectfully.
Jesus affirmed the expert for
correctly quoting the Law but rebuked him for not following it by saying, "Do
this, and you will live." Similarly, intellectually knowing the Scriptures
would do no good to us, but when we follow them, we will live by them and reap
blessings. The expert wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And
who is my neighbor? In reply, Jesus said:
III. What
is Good About the Samaritan?
To
fully grasp the power of this parable, we need to know the climate and the
terrain between Jerusalem and Jericho. A person walking from Jerusalem to
Jericho would be "going down" in elevation and leaving a semi-dry
area for a barren and arid one for about 18 miles.
Most of those miles would be in
desert-like conditions, as you can see in this photo (show the photo). Given
the isolated terrain, people on this road were easy targets for bandits, who
would have found ample hiding places and escape routes into the desert where no
one would pursue them.[2]
When Jesus said in "Vs.30, "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." his listeners surely
would have recognized the dangers of this journey.
A Jewish Priest and Levite happened to go down that road.
Seeing this half-dead, presumably a Jewish man, they passed by the other side,
showing no mercy. A Samaritan happens to travel on that road. Lee Eclov notes,
"You probably know that "Jews despised Samaritans. They were
Lawbreakers with a capital L. They were half-breed Jews.
They were cult-like, a whole nation
of spiritual outlaws, the kind of people godly Jews steered clear of for good
reason. They certainly did not seem to be the neighbors that Leviticus had in
mind." Here comes the Samaritan man, who was perceived as an enemy by the
Jews. How did he respond to seeing the half-dead man? What is good about the
Samaritan Man?
First, the Samaritan Man took notice
of the half-dead man. Before sharing this parable, Jesus shares the importance
of truly seeing and hearing with his disciples, saying, "Blessed are the
eyes that see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what
you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but not hear it." Lk
10:23-24.
Loving your neighbor begins with
truly seeing them as people. The Priest and the Levite saw the man through the
eyes of religion, whereas the Samaritan saw through the eyes of compassion.
Second, he took pity on him, bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine.
Thirdly, he sacrificed his time and energy by taking him on his donkey and
spending the night in the inn caring for the man. Fourthly, he went beyond his
limits. He gave the innkeeper two days' wages to look after the man and
promised to reimburse him for any extra expenses on his return.
The expert in the Law asked Jesus
who is my neighbor, perhaps hoping that Jesus would tell him who to love and
who not to love. Instead of showing who his neighbor was, Jesus asked the
question differently: "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to
the man who fell into the hands of robbers? It implies the loving actions that
each must take towards their neighbors. Rightly so, the expert replied,
"The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do
likewise." In other words, Go and be like the Samaritan. Do you think the
expert did?
What lessons can we learn from this parable of the Good Samaritan? Loving your neighbor like yourself is not a suggestion but a command for all of us to obey. Our neighbors could be our fellow countrymen, immediate neighbors, or anyone in desperate need. We are called to love and respect people regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender. As Christ loved us while we were still sinners and God's enemies, we are called to love and care for our neighbors. Two questions we must ask ourselves as we leave. How would I like to be treated by those different from me? To who can I be a good neighbor and love them as I love myself?
