"But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So, he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him." - Luke 10:29-34
Jesus was questioned by a lawyer of the Law. Someone who knew each jot and tittle. [In Hebrew, a jot is the smallest Hebrew letter and is represented by the letter ‘y’. A tittle is a small ornament placed over certain Hebrew letters, or a particle placed at the end of a letter1. It can also refer to a small stroke of the pen which could be used to change one Hebrew letter into another one.] He was wanting to justify why there were some people he loved and some he did not - contrary to the second greatest commandment.
God loves his creation and if we love God then we will love others. That is not to say we will like what they do necessarily - very often - just like God does not. But our behavior did not keep God from acting on our behalf by sending His Son as THE [sic] Way to restoration by faith. Man, on the other hand, wants to modify the definition of neighbor to mean someone who looks like me, acts like, lives where I live, likes what I like. Do you see the lawyer's problem? Do you understand our problem?
Samaritans, are an ethnoreligious group who originate from the ancient Israelites. [Ethnoreligious communities define their ethnic identity neither exclusively by ancestral heritage nor simply by religious affiliation, but often through a combination of both.] They are native to the Levant and adhere to Samaritanism, an Abrahamic ethnic religion similar to Judaism, but differing in several important aspects. The Samaritans were half-Jews and half-Gentiles. They were believed to be the remnants of the Northern Kingdom of Israel after it was conquered by the Assyrians in the 8th century BC. The Samaritans survived through the time of Jesus, and even, in limited numbers, to the present day.
So Jesus used the example of the Samaritan to answer the lawyer's question. Someone least likely to be considered what the lawyer was hoping was his neighbor. And then Jesus answered the question with a question (don't you hate it when that happens?!?)
"So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he [the lawyer] said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”" - Luke 10:36-37
Unfortunately, for many Christians we struggle with just loving other Christians, let alone the unsaved. It is not the unity of our faith in Jesus and the presence of the Spirit of God in us that we believe is binding us together and Brothers and Sisters - but our ethnicity [ethnoreligiosity], our material standing in our culture, the manner in which we worship. The focus is not on the internal - but the external. Not the spiritual but the physical. We fail to understand that those attitudes rise up from our flesh. Our old, sinful nature. Attitudes that we seek to justify before men and God.
Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone
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