Who Is My Neighbor?
Fifty Sunday after Pentecost
Deuteronomy 30:9-14 and Luke 10:25-37
July 13, 2025
When I’m faced with preparing a sermon on a scripture that is very familiar to everyone, I look for things within the text that we might not know.
Here is a little history to set the tone of the reading.
The lawyer in the scripture that is questioning Jesus, would not have been a lawyer as we know today, rather he is more schooled as what we would recognize as a seminary professor. He is a religious law scholar who thoroughly believes and knows the law of Moses.
He interrupts Jesus’ teaching to ask what he must do to inherit eternal life.
Of course, he asks this question to test Jesus, not because he himself does not know the answer.
Jesus, however, not being shaken by the question, knows that this lawyer versed in the law of Moses would know the answer to the question, and turns it back to him.
The man correctly answers, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus confirms that he has indeed given the correct answer, but the man is not satisfied and continues to challenge Jesus by asking, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus, of course, replies with a parable.
We all know the parable of the Good Samaritan, how the man was stranded on the side of the road, beaten, robbed and left for dead. The first two who come upon the abused man decided to cross the road on the other side avoiding him, and the third stops to care for him. Let’s look at the environment of the scene and these three men.
This road from Jerusalem to Jericho was known to be a dangerous road to walk. It descended almost 3,300 feet in 17 miles and through narrow passes. These narrow passages offered hiding places for bandits to terrorize travelers.
It is in this environment that the man, who is unidentified by any race, religion, region or trade is discovered. His identity has been swept from him. People of the time were known by the clothes they wore, and the man had been stripped of his identity.
Jesus’ audience may have considered him a Jew, while the audience of the writer, Luke, probably considered him a Gentile.
It was important to Jesus’ story that the man remain unidentified signifying that it simply did not matter what race, religion or trade this man belonged to other than he simply needed to be shown mercy.
The first man who encounters the fallen man is a priest, a high-ranking religious man. Priests were considered high-ranking descendants of Aaron, the brother of Moses.
Then came the Levite. The Levite lineage went back to Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah, and one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Levites were set apart to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord. They were devoted to assisting priests and designated for religious service including music, cleaning, guarding and assisting with sacrifices.
While there is scripture in Leviticus that would support perhaps the reason they avoided the man on the side of the road is that a priest and Levite who touched a dead person other than their family, would be considered unclean or unholy. Other scripture, however, states the dead were not to remain unburied by the end of the day.
Jesus does not excuse either man from attending to the unidentified traveler left on the side of the road.
Now, let’s look at the third man to come upon the abused man, the Samaritan.
There was a deep-seated hatred between the Jews and Samaritans of the time. They feuded over religious, political and social factors. Much of the conflict stemmed from differing interpretations of religious law and practice, particularly the place of worship.
Jews considered Jerusalem and the Temple Mount the only place of worship, while Samaritans preferred Mount Gerizim because they believed Moses ordered them to protect it as a sacred mountain.
The natural order of the time for Jesus’ parable would have been a priest, a Levite and an Israelite, but instead he brings attention to the story by stating it was a Samaritan.
The priest and Levite forget their faith of compassion as they pass the man abused on the side of the road and show no mercy. However, the man they despise, the one they consider worshiping incorrectly, is the one who stops and administers aid.
The lawyer, the scholar of the commandments that knows all too well the laws of compassion has been exposed to having to admit that the neighbor is the Samaritan. He cannot even manage to say out loud the word Samaritan, and can only utter a murmur of reply, “The one who showed him mercy.”
We might be quick to think, “Take that Mr. Lawyer, scholar of commandments and religious law.” It’s always good to see the bad guy in the story be put in his place, yet how many times have we found ourselves in similar situations where we are the bad guys?
How many times have we passed a person in need and showed no mercy or compassion because we had a schedule to keep, or a reason justified in our mind to keep on walking on the other side of the road?
Last week, I talked about being on a mission, and how Jesus sent out the 70 telling them to go directly to deliver the message, no lollygagging. I talked about myself being on a mission when I know that I have tasks to get done, and at times it is like I have on blinders until I get the mission completed.
I pray that in my mission, that I never fail to stop to help the one who needs to be shown mercy, the one waiting on the side of the road to be rescued, the one that Jesus has placed before me to give assistance, regardless of their identity.
Today’s world is really no different than it was in Jesus’ time. There are still bandits waiting on the side of the road to cause harm to others. We are all taught to be cautious of who we trust, of who we approach, and yet, Jesus calls us to show compassion to those in need.
I believe we can do both.
And let us remember that sometimes the person who needs our compassion may not be the one left on the side of the road. Sometimes we find them in our midst, here in our congregation. Sometimes our neighbors looking for compassion are family and friends. Sometimes our neighbors are in another state faced with unbearable grief.
Jesus’ parable continues to challenge us just as it did the people of his time.
Let us remember the words from Deuteronomy: “The Lord takes delight in prospering you when you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul.”
Remember the Word of God is near…God is near to us…God requires we not only obey him, but that we put into action what he commands.
Show compassion. Show mercy. The same has been shown to you by your God. Who is your neighbor waiting to be shown compassion?