February 5, 2025
When Jesus was asked what the greatest command was in the law, He responded with a short but powerful summary: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and love your neighbor” (Matthew 22:36–40). However, “neighbor” can be pretty vague, and a lawyer, perhaps seeking to excuse himself, asked Jesus, “But who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:25–29).
Jesus answered with the story about a traveler on the way to Jericho, who was ambushed by thieves, beaten, robbed, and left for dead. Two people passed him by but didn’t want to get involved, each making an excuse to avoid stopping to help (Luke 10:30–37).
I can speculate as to what each of these men might have been thinking as they passed that poor guy on the side of the road.
The first is a Jewish priest. Dressed in his finest synagogue robes, perhaps his mind was full of his own importance, as he meditated on the Law and congratulated himself on following it to the letter.
Perhaps the priest is taken aback when he sees the bleeding man on the road. The man’s clothes are torn and dirtied, so it’s hard to determine his social standing. Not only did he not stop to help the man, but according to the parable, he crossed the road to the other side to avoid him.
The sun climbs higher in the sky, and buzzards begin to circle overhead. In the heat of the day, a Levite comes along. He, too, was hurrying along, his mind racing as he planned out his day’s business in Jericho. Then he stumbles upon the beaten traveler, not looking any better for the high-noon heat.
Immediately the Levite starts worrying about the thieves returning; maybe he feared being robbed as well. So the Levite also passes by on the other side of the road.
The poor traveler, weak and dying, is ready to give up hope. Another hour passes before the next person comes along. This time, however, the wounded man has no hope that he will stop. You see, the man coming along the road is a Samaritan, and culturally, it would have been unthinkable for a Samaritan to help a Jew.
The Samaritans were a racially mixed group of partly Jewish and partly Gentile ancestry. They had their own version of the books of Moses and their own temple on Mount Gerizim. Samaritans were universally despised by the Jewish people, and the Jews had no dealings with them. For these reasons, our poor Jewish traveler couldn’t imagine that a Samaritan would even consider stopping to help him, not when both a leader of his faith and a leader of his community wouldn’t.
The Samaritan also had places to go and things to do. Perhaps his family was depending on the business to be conducted that day. Perhaps he had an appointment to be on time for.
When you think about it, the Samaritan had the best excuse for not stopping. And yet he did. He stopped, tended to the wounded man, and carried him on his own donkey to the nearest inn, where he could be cared for until he recovered. But he went even further than that. He took two silver coins from his own purse and paid the innkeeper for the wounded man’s care, then said, “If it’s not enough, I’ll pay the rest on my way back.”
The Samaritan chose to “love his neighbor” even when it was difficult or inconvenient, or when it cost him something personally. In this case, his neighbor was technically his enemy. He chose to “love his enemy and do good and lend, expecting nothing in return” (Luke 6:35). He looked past the irreconcilable differences between their peoples and reached out to help a man in need. He loved anyway.
He “blessed those who cursed him” (Luke 6:28). He chose to ignore the offenses and unkind words and loved anyway.
He “did good to those who had mistreated him” (Matthew 5:44). Despite being treated with hostility, despite being despised and looked down on, he loved anyway. And Jesus said that in so doing, “your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High” (Luke 6:35).
This story presents a challenge to us today. Would we do the same?
It can be easy to feel justified in not loving someone or considering them our neighbor. We can tend to feel that we only have so much love to give, and it’s too much to ask for us to take on the burden of loving someone outside our family, group of friends, or circle of people we feel responsible for.
In telling this story, Jesus basically took away any excuses we might make for not loving and helping others. He was telling us that our neighbor is not just the person who lives next door to us, but it’s anyone we encounter who is in need.
Jesus wasn’t saying, “Love your neighbor, but only if he’s on the same page as you are.” He wasn’t saying, “Love your neighbor, but only as long as they belong to your people group, nationality, and religious background.” He wasn’t saying, “Love your neighbors only if they fit in your circle of friends and it would be acceptable to do so.”
“Love your neighbor,” Jesus says. Full stop. No “ifs,” no excuses.
He was telling us to love beyond the difficulties in our lives and the inconveniences it poses to stop and help someone in need. We are called to love even if we’ve been hurt or mistreated—because that’s the way He loves. And the only way to love like Jesus loves is to have His love and Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us.
Jesus gives us His love freely and wants every person to receive His free gift of salvation and enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:16). He loved each one of us so much that He gave His life for our salvation and forgiveness of our sins. He doesn’t expect perfection, and He doesn’t withhold His love from us when we don’t deserve it. He forgives us each time we fail and miss the mark, and He keeps loving us regardless. Just as we have freely received Jesus’ love, we should freely share His love and truth with others (Matthew 10:8).
Adapted from a Just1Thing podcast, a Christian character-building resource for young people.
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