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Who’s My Neighbour?

The Good Samaritan

Too long, please open your Bible Luke 10: 30-37

Comparison with other accounts

The parable is only found in Luke’s account. However, the preceding events of vv 25-28 finds parallels in Matthew and Mark, and in both accounts, they are recorded as part of the debates Jesus had in the temple before He got arrested.

Too long, please open your Bible Matthew 22: 34-40
Too long, please open your Bible Mark 12: 28-34

Lawyer or Scribe?

Matthew (specifying that he is a Pharisee) and Luke agree that the one who tests Jesus is a lawyer, but Mark says he is a scribe.

Inquirer’s Motive?

Matthew and Luke state the inquirer’s motive (testing Jesus) and mention that he called Jesus “Teacher”, but Mark doesn’t record any of these. Interestingly, Mark paints him in a more positive light because he affirms Jesus’ words, and Jesus said he was close to the kingdom of God.

The Question

In Matthew, the lawyer asks which command is greatest, in Mark which command is first/most important, but Luke has “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (identical to Luke’s account of the rich young ruler’s question).

The Love Commands

The love commands are taken from Deuteronomy and Leviticus

“Listen, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6: 4-5
Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.

Leviticus 19:18

All three accounts use both love commands with slightly different wordings

He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” Matthew 22: 37-40
Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.” Mark 12: 29-31
He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,” and “your neighbor as yourself.”

Luke 10:27

This parable is also very similar to the conversation Jesus had with the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-22, Mark 10:17-22, Luke 18:18-23).

Meaning of the Parable

Emphasis on doing

Jesus, at the end of both rounds of questioning, gave an explicit command to “do” (vv 28 & 37). Every Jew was familiar with both love commands, but Jesus is more interested in doing the command over simply knowing it.

“The parable itself focuses on the Samaritan. It has four movements: initial scene (v. 30, twenty words), the priest (v. 31, fourteen words), the Levite (v. 32, eleven words), the Samaritan (vv. 33-35, sixty words). The parable (and the whole of 9:31–10:42) suggests movement, particularly with forms of the verb erchesthai. Note the progression to the man: “a priest came down in that road,” “a Levite came to that place,” and “a Samaritan came to him.”60 All three travelers see the man, but for the priest and the Levite seeing is the impetus for caution and self-protection, while for the Samaritan seeing is the source of compassion which motivates his helping.” The idea of knowing God and yet not being conformed to God is a source of scandal, one that Scripture always combats and that modern Christians must combat as well. In the parable Jesus seeks to make a man of knowledge into a man of practice, for anything less is not sufficient for eternal life. Snodgrass Klyne R, Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus

Who’s (not) your neighbour?

The human mind is one that likes to draw limits, and always looks for an excuse for such limits. Implicit in “seeking to justify himself” is the understanding that the inquirer would have loved to hear from Jesus, a limiting/boundary line for loving others. Essentially, he wanted to know who he didn’t need to love.

It is possible that the inquirer would have thought that since Leviticus 19:18 seemed to only require that love be shown to members of one’s community. Jesus on the other hand aware of v.33, could fully show that even outsiders were deserving of love.

“When an alien resides with you in your land, you must not oppress him. You will regard the alien who resides with you as the native-born among you. You are to love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 19:33-34

This reminds us of Jesus’ conversation with Peter:

Then Peter approached him and asked, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? As many as seven times?” “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven. Matthew 18: 21-22

Jesus did not seem to be a fan of limits. Just as we are to extend unlimited forgiveness, love also must be unbounded. There is no imagination in Jesus’ mind that another human being can be a non-neighbour. You cannot define a neighbour; you can only be a neighbour.