He said to him, "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?"
So he answered and said, "You shall 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."
And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."
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 on him, and went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'
'So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"
And he said, "He who showed mercy on him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." Luke 10:25-37
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I wrote the whole conversation out because today I'd like to take a look at not just the parable of the good Samaritan but the man asking the question as well.
He asked Jesus two questions. The first was about eternal life. Jesus knowing his heart asked him what he thought. He answered the question with the correct answer, Put God first with everything you have, heart, soul, strength, and mind. Love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus then basically tells him, "That's right, so go do it."
It next tells us that the man wasn't happy with that simple response. He wanted more. He wanted to impress Jesus with who and what he was. It says that he wanted to justify himself. In Luke 16:15 Jesus says this, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God."
Jesus knew the man was full of his own knowledge and self-importance and He proceeded to give him an answer to his question "Who is my neighbor?" with a parable that reveals clearly those that the man would consider 'highly esteemed' for their true heart attitude by their actions. Those that were highly esteemed turned a blind eye to their neighbor while the Samaritan did all that he could and more to show compassion and love for the injured man. After he painted this picture of the 'highly esteem's" actions against the despised person's actions, He then asks him to answer the question, "Who was 'neighbor to the man that fell among thieves?"
When the lawyer answered, "The one who showed mercy." Jesus then spoke four of my very favorite words, "Go and do likewise." Jesus was telling him to go do what he knew to do. In his heart he knew that he was supposed to love God first and foremost. He said that. He knew that he was supposed to love his fellow man. He knew who his neighbors were. He was just busy trying to justify himself before man. Jesus said that whole parable to him to drive home this truth to him. "Go do what you know is right to do."
You and I know what to do as well. We know that loving God above all else is to be first in our lives. We know to love Him with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. We too know that we should love our neighbors. We also know that our neighbors are not just those that live next to us but anyone that we come across that the enemy has left stripped and beaten along our path. It is our job to have eyes to see and hearts that are full of compassion for those that have been wounded and left for dead. It is our privilege to bind wounds and tend those that are that are left by the wayside. It is our privilege to minister God's love to the neighbors in our life but first we must have eyes to see and a heart that carries His compassion to those we meet each and every day. It is only then that we can truly, "Go and do likewise."
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