top of page

Who is my neighbor?

Lev.19:18 - "Forget about the wrong things people do to you, and do not try to get even [You should not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people]. Love your neighbor as you love yourself [Matt. 19:19; 22:39; Mark 12:31, 33; Luke 10:27]. I am the Lord."



Luke - Chapter 10


25 Then an expert on the law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to get life forever [inherit eternal life]?”


26 Jesus said, “What is written in the law? What do you read there [or How do you interpret it]?”


27 The man answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind [Deut. 6:5].” Also, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself [Lev. 19:18].”


28 Jesus said to him, “Your answer is right. Do this and you will live.”


29 But the man, wanting to show the importance of his question [or justify his question; or justify himself/his own actions], said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?


30 Jesus answered, “As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho [a dangerous 17-mile trek through desolate territory], some robbers attacked him. They tore off his clothes, beat him, and left him lying there, almost dead.


31 It happened that [or By chance] a priest was going down that road. When he saw the man, he walked [passed] by on the other side.


32 Next [Likewise; So too], a Levite [Levites were members of the tribe of Levi who helped the priests in the temple; 1 Chr. 23:24–32] came there, and after he went over and looked at the man [seeing him], he walked [passed] by on the other side of the road.


33 Then a Samaritan [a people disliked by the Jews because they were only part Jewish and worshiped differently] traveling down the road came to where the hurt man was. When he saw the man, he felt very sorry [compassion] for him.


34 The Samaritan went to him, poured olive oil and wine on his wounds [to soothe and clean them], and bandaged them. Then he put the hurt man on his own donkey [animal] and took him to an inn where he cared for him.


35 The next day, the Samaritan brought out two coins [denarii; each equivalent to a day’s wage], gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of this man. If you spend more money on him, I will pay it back to you when I come again.’”


36 Then Jesus said, “Which one of these three men do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by the robbers?”


37 The expert on the law answered, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Jesus said to him, “Then go and do what he did [the same; likewise].”


Matthew - Chapter 22

35 One Pharisee, who was an expert on the law of Moses, asked Jesus this question to test him:

36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the most important [greatest]?”

37 Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind [Deut. 6:5].’

38 This is the first and most important [greatest] command.

39 And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself [Lev. 19:18].’

40 All the law and the writings of the prophets [prophets] depend [are based; hang] on these two commands.”

Comments


bottom of page