Re:Verse passage – Luke 10:25-37 (day five) But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
The question asked by the lawyer seems innocent and harmless on the surface, but a deeper dig reveals a selfish human heart. What the lawyer is trying to do is to draw a line around his relationships and experiences that will help him feel safe in his worldview and religiously adequate in his keeping of the law. To the Jews of that time “neighbors” were immediate relatives, members of the same tribe, those of Jewish descent, and finally those who hade converted to Judaism. They were using the law as a wall to insulate and isolate themselves from culture.
Jesus’ answer (in a parable) totally wrecked that line of thinking. Outside the lines. Tore down the walls. Endless opportunities and possibilities to love and serve others.
Jesus taught that “neighbors” are not only family and friends, but also enemies which implies limitless opportunities and possibilities for us to love our “neighbors”.
