It all started with a lawyer’s question.
An expert in the law asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus turned it around: “What is written in the Law?” The lawyer gave the textbook answer: love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.
“Correct,” said Jesus. “Do this and you will live.”
But like any good lawyer, he wanted the terms defined. “And who is my neighbor?”
So Jesus told a story.
A man was traveling the dangerous road from Jerusalem down to Jericho when robbers jumped him, stripped him, beat him, and left him half dead.
A priest came along. He saw the man… and crossed to the other side of the road.
A Levite, a temple worker, came along. He saw the man… and crossed to the other side of the road.
Then a Samaritan came along. Jews and Samaritans despised each other. If anyone had an excuse to keep walking, it was him.
But the Samaritan “took pity on him.” He bandaged the man’s wounds, poured on oil and wine, put him on his own donkey, took him to an inn, and paid for his care. Then he told the innkeeper, “Look after him, and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense.”
Jesus asked the lawyer, “Which of these three was a neighbor to the man?”
The lawyer couldn’t even bring himself to say “the Samaritan.” He just said, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Notice what Jesus did. The lawyer asked, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus answered a different question: “Who acted like a neighbor?”
Compassion isn’t about deciding who deserves our help. It’s about seeing someone in need and refusing to cross to the other side of the road.
“Go and do likewise.”
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank-you for Your great compassion toward me. Thank-you for giving me the compassion of the Good Samaritan, so that I will see the hurting people around me and stop to help. Thank-you for showing me who my neighbor is. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Wikipedia: Parable of the Good Samaritan, Samaritans, Good Samaritan law
Look-It Up:
The parable is told in Luke 10:25-37.
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Free Bonus:
The road from Jerusalem to Jericho drops more than 3,000 feet in less than 20 miles, through rocky, desolate country. It was notorious for robbers.
Every state in the U.S. has some form of “Good Samaritan” law, which protects people who give reasonable help to someone in an emergency.
In a famous 1970s experiment at Princeton, seminary students were sent across campus to give a talk, and on the way they passed a man slumped in a doorway. The students who were told they were running late were far less likely to stop and help. Some of them were on their way to give a talk about the Good Samaritan.