July 31, 2025
Luke 10:25-37 (HCSB)
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 Just then an expert in the law stood up to test Him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the law?” He asked him. “How do you read it?” 27 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.
28 “You’ve answered correctly,” He told him. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus took up the question and said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. 34 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’
36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
37 “The one who showed mercy to him,” he said.
Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”
Dana Dorris
I’m not sure I’ve actually analyzed who my neighbors are (other than literally who lives next door), but this is a great example, not only of who they are, but also of how we should be toward them. This story illustrates how a lawyer is trying to test Jesus and asks Him how he can inherit eternal life. A priest and a Levite both pass him WAY on the other side of the road, but a Samaritan, who was often considered to be an outsider by the Jewish people, sees the man and comes to his aid. You see, maybe the lawyer was not thinking out of the box. Like I mentioned earlier, I thought my “neighbors” were just those who happened to live close to my house!...crazy! No, part of the lesson here is that “neighbor” goes beyond our friends, our families, and even those who literally live next door. “Neighbor” means anyone who needs us. It’s outside the boundaries of culture, or societal positions, it’s beyond those we love already, but extends to strangers who have a need that we can fulfill for them. We’ve been studying Experiencing God for a while now. In that study, we are learning that God wants us to experience Him. He wants us to be ready to work so that others can experience Him as well. We have to be ready, we have to be willing, and we have to be listening to instructions that sometimes just sound like a little whisper in the back of our minds, leading us to love our neighbor as ourselves. I’ve already had encounters where God whispered to me, and I acted upon it. The stories aren’t for me to share specifically because they are private, but it filled my heart to hear His voice to do unto others as I would do for myself, and to show love to my neighbor. If loving my neighbor means that I get to experience Him, then I want to do that every day!! Try it, you’ll get way more out of it than you think.
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 Just then an expert in the law stood up to test Him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the law?” He asked him. “How do you read it?” 27 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.
28 “You’ve answered correctly,” He told him. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus took up the question and said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. 34 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’
36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
37 “The one who showed mercy to him,” he said.
Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”
Dana Dorris
I’m not sure I’ve actually analyzed who my neighbors are (other than literally who lives next door), but this is a great example, not only of who they are, but also of how we should be toward them. This story illustrates how a lawyer is trying to test Jesus and asks Him how he can inherit eternal life. A priest and a Levite both pass him WAY on the other side of the road, but a Samaritan, who was often considered to be an outsider by the Jewish people, sees the man and comes to his aid. You see, maybe the lawyer was not thinking out of the box. Like I mentioned earlier, I thought my “neighbors” were just those who happened to live close to my house!...crazy! No, part of the lesson here is that “neighbor” goes beyond our friends, our families, and even those who literally live next door. “Neighbor” means anyone who needs us. It’s outside the boundaries of culture, or societal positions, it’s beyond those we love already, but extends to strangers who have a need that we can fulfill for them. We’ve been studying Experiencing God for a while now. In that study, we are learning that God wants us to experience Him. He wants us to be ready to work so that others can experience Him as well. We have to be ready, we have to be willing, and we have to be listening to instructions that sometimes just sound like a little whisper in the back of our minds, leading us to love our neighbor as ourselves. I’ve already had encounters where God whispered to me, and I acted upon it. The stories aren’t for me to share specifically because they are private, but it filled my heart to hear His voice to do unto others as I would do for myself, and to show love to my neighbor. If loving my neighbor means that I get to experience Him, then I want to do that every day!! Try it, you’ll get way more out of it than you think.
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