Who is your neighbor?

By Todd Barrier  

In Luke 10 Jesus tells the parable we all know as “The Good Samaritan.” He tells this story in response to a question a lawyer asked of Him: “Who is my neighbor?”  

As the story goes, a man returning from Jerusalem was attacked and left for dead. Two religious leaders passed by without stopping, but a Samaritan helped him and went above and beyond.  

This would have been shocking to the listeners of the day because of the relationship between the Jewish people and the Samaritans. Hearing Jesus say the Jewish people, who would have been known for wanting to help others, passed by, and a hated enemy was the one who stopped and helped, would not have been what they expected.  

Jesus made the point He wanted to: We are all worthy of mercy in His eyes. Show mercy to all. We are all neighbors.  

There are so many good lessons from this story. In the end, Jesus explains that his neighbor was the one who showed mercy. Then He gave the lawyer, and all of us, the great advice the story was supposed to get across: Go and do likewise. 

Who is your neighbor?