Being A Neighbor

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” (Luke 10:36)

Jesus is always challenging our typical questions and ideas. He is telling us what we should be asking and thinking. Frequently, Jesus does not answer the question he is given, but one which should have been asked. The parable of the Good Samaritan is a good example of Jesus changing the question.

On this occasion Jesus was asked, “who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29). The tone is reluctant, as if the person is asking “since I have to love my neighbor, who exactly would that include?” The intent is to find the limits to which this applies. The mindset is miserly, wanting to only love those one is obligated to love, and no one else. We never come into the love, joy, and hope of God with such thinking. We stay in smallness, anger, and cutoff from eternal life, which is where the whole conversation began (vs. 25).

Jesus alters the question when he asks, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” Jesus is not telling us who our neighbor is but reversing the discussion in asking to whom we are neighbors. No longer is the issue the status of the other person in relationship to me, but who I am in relationship to others. If we follow Jesus we don’t ask “is this my neighbor,” but instead, “am I going to be neighbor to this person?”

Our concern should never be who the other is, are they worthy, deserving, or the proper person, but who we are. Acting out of a new sense of ourselves before God renders irrelevant who the other is. Everyone becomes our neighbor because we are neighbor to everyone in need. The only relevant issue is who we are, and that must be determined by who God is . . . and he acts as neighbor to all by sending the rain on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45).

Is the other person a Christian? Are they acting morally? Do they want to do what is right? Do they believe and practice as I do? All these questions are irrelevant to Jesus’ disciples. Who am I going to be in this world? How am I going to act toward others? How do I need to practice the faith, and what sin is in my life? Jesus always tells us to stop examining others and work on ourselves.

To Jesus’ question about who was the neighbor, the expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” The whole conversation can be summarized in this way: if you want to have eternal life, go around being merciful to others.