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The Love Principle - Study 8: Who to Love: Your Neighbour

  • 4 hours ago
  • 20 min read

Luke 10:36-37 NIVUK 

[36]  ‘Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’ [37] The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’ Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’ 

I recently watched a video filmed by an Australian travel vlogger. What made it interesting to me is that she had visited Glasgow – the city of my birth, where I studied and worked.


What intrigued me is that she had been to places I had been to, yet I had seen them through the eyes of a local, and she was seeing them through the eyes of a tourist – and there aren’t too many of them in Glasgow. 


It gave me a fresh perspective and appreciation for places I knew perhaps too well. 


Having seen in this series how we should love God, we now see how we should love our neighbour. Loving God, I’m sure for many of us anyway, was a pretty obvious thing to do, although perhaps the ways that God commands us to manifest this love were a little surprising. 


Loving our neighbours is a little more challenging.  


Before we look at the specific commandments relating to this, we will take a little detour and look at the most well-known passage on this subject: the Parable of the Good Samaritan. 


Here is where my illustration comes in. Many of us know this parable. We have been reared on it since we were small. The story is simple and very well-known. 


But so were the streets and buildings of my home city, before that Australian travel blogger helped me to see them anew.  


My hope and prayer is that we will gain a new perspective for this parable, and a new appreciation for the challenge of its message. 


Before we get into this Parable, I want to ask you a question: 


How many types of neighbours do you see in this passage? 


I see four – and each one of then has something challenging to say to us. 


The first type of neighbour is The Arguing Neighbour 

 

The Arguing Neighbour 

Luke 10:25-29 NIVUK 

[25] On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ [26]  ‘What is written in the Law?’ he replied. ‘How do you read it?’ [27] He answered, ‘ “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, “Love your neighbour as yourself.”’ [28]  ‘You have answered correctly,’ Jesus replied. ‘Do this and you will live.’ [29] But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ 

What we see here is a paradox. We see an expert in the law asking Jesus how to inherit eternal life – not sincerely, but seeking to entrap Him in what He said. 


This is classic behaviour of those who see themselves as being on the Ladder of Souls: climbers who seek to go as high as they can by standing on those beneath them and yanking down those above them. 


But here’s the irony: this man knows that the whole law can be summed up in two commandments: love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself. 


So if obedience means love, why did he try to test Jesus to pull Him down? That is hardly a loving thing to do! 


But the irony then continues. Luke tells us that his follow-up question came from a need to ‘justify himself’. 


So here you have a man who is seeking to tear Jesus down from above him, while defending his own position. 


That is precisely the opposite of love. 


Now, I have had some crazy neighbours in my time. I had one who had diabetes, but who set his house on fire by falling asleep in bed with a can of beer in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other. Not once but twice I have had younger women as neighbours who were well known for their ‘gentlemen callers’. I even had a neighbour who loudly, and rather profanely, accused my mother of deliberately feeding birds to make them poop in her garden. 


But this guy is really quite something. He knows the law, he is an expert in the law, he even cites the law to Jesus? 


But is he obeying it? 


Not one bit! 


As Jesus later accuses the Pharisees and teachers of the law: 


Matthew 23:24 NIVUK 

[24] You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/113mat.23.24.NIVUK)


What did Jesus mean by this? 


These men were absolute experts at the finer points of the law and the case history judgements issued by their predecessors. But even this expert in the law admitted that the principle behind the law is to love God and your neighbour... while simultaneously acting in a very un-loving and un-neighbourly way towards Jesus! 


You really couldn’t make it up! 


Yet here there is a very serious point. This man’s theology was likely flawless. He could, without even breaking sweat, argue modern theologians under the table. His knowledge of the law would have been vast and deep. 


Yet he was not following it. For all he knew, he was a law-breaker. 


I know several people whose theology is well-argued and well-founded. I would not ever debate with them. They would likely win. 


But do you know something? There are a lot of legal experts in prisons. Prisoners are always motivated to study the law so they can get themselves out and exploit loopholes. But having a head full of the law does not make them law-abiding citizens. They are still criminals. 


We can know as much theology as we want. We can learn Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin. We can become people who could practically translate the Bible ourselves if we wanted to. 


But all of that study means absolutely zip, zero, nada if we do not love.  


Even agreeing with me makes not one jot of difference. We don’t obey by knowing, we obey by doing. 


So the first type of neighbour is someone who knows a lot, reasons a lot, argues a lot, but does not do a lot. 


We could do with a lot fewer of them. 


Apart from an arguing neighbour, the second type of neighbour is The Robbing Neighbour. 

 

The Robbing Neighbour 

Luke 10:30 NIVUK 

[30] In reply Jesus said: ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half-dead.  

Now, it might seem to be odd to be classifying these robbers as neighbours. I mean, this is just about the least neighbourly thing anyone could do. Under current Scots law, these men were guilty of robbery, aggravated assault, culpable and reckless injury, and I’m sure a good prosecutor would try to pin on them a charge of attempted murder too. 


Neighbours just don’t do that, do they? 


Do they? 


Let’s take view this horrible crime in slow motion. 


The man was travelling between Jerusalem and Jericho: two of the richest cities in Judaea. Any robber would know he would likely have money. 


He was alone. Unaccompanied. No back-up. 


The road was notorious and dangerous. It descended some three thousand, three hundred feet (around a kilometre) through the Judean desert. It was rocky. It was filled with windy limestone caves. It was desolate. It was nicknamed ‘The Way of Blood’. 


When Jesus told this story, not a single listener would have been at all surprised at the prospect of someone being attacked on this road. It was likely commonplace. 


As he was travelling through a notorious route alone, this man was vulnerable. There were no witnesses. 


For the robbers, this was the perfect crime. 


And it had been for many, many years. 


So what exactly is going on here?

 

These robbers sought to take advantage of this man's vulnerability, along with their perceived impunity, to boost their own liquidity. 


They were seeking to gain from his loss and they didn’t care what they had to do to get it. 


Does that ring any bells? 


It might be less violent, but in our day actions like loan sharking, sharp business practices, insider trading, price fixing, bribery, blackmail, fraud, slander, misrepresentation, extortion and the like are all on the same continuum. They all take advantage of a vulnerability for personal or corporate gain. They all see life as a ‘zero sum game’ where someone has to win and another has to lose, and so we must be the winner at all costs. 


Every bit of it is wrong. None of it is ever justifiable. 


Close to the start of the book of Proverbs, we find this warning:

 

Proverbs 1:10-19 NIVUK 

[10] My son, if sinful men entice you, do not give in to them. [11] If they say, ‘Come along with us; let’s lie in wait for innocent blood, let’s ambush some harmless soul; [12] let’s swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; [13] we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder; [14] cast lots with us; we will all share the loot’ – [15] my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths; [16] for their feet rush into evil, they are swift to shed blood. [17] How useless to spread a net where every bird can see it! [18] These men lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush only themselves! [19] Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the life of those who get it. 

This is a situation where ‘live by the sword, die by the sword’ is absolutely true. Those who play by these rules can have no complaints when other people use those rules to harm them. That’s how life works. 


But there are other people who resemble these robbers. They might not use physical violence, but they exploit people in no less a cruel and heartless way: 


Those who are in relationships only for what they can get out of it: who show affection towards you until they get what they want from you, and then kick you to the kerb like yesterday’s news. These are cold and calculating people. To them you are not a person with hopes and dreams and emotions. Instead, you are nothing more than an asset to be exploited and a resource to be mined. 


And they could not care less about the wreckage they leave behind when they move on. 


This is no place for a Christian. We should be nowhere near this. We are commanded to love. That is not love. That is contempt. That is hatred. 


We have seen the arguing neighbour, who may be seen as knowledgeable and wise, but whose ego is so fragile and whose sense of self is so tender that they must be on top no matter what, and who is not at all acting in love. We saw the robbing neighbour, who seeks to take advantage of our vulnerabilities for their own ends and absolutely is not acting in love. 


We’ll now move on to The Religious Neighbour. 

 

The Religious Neighbour 

Luke 10:31-32 NIVUK 

[31] A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. [32] So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  

This is where Jesus’ parable starts to turn. 


What we see here is quite shocking. The teacher of the law was likely a lay Israelite, not necessarily from the priestly clans, who had gained legal expertise through extensive study of the law. He would have gained his authority by hard work.


The priest and the Levite, however, had gained their authority by lineage: the Levite from Levi; the priest from Zadok. 


While these were men with very different roles in Jewish society, they all spoke with authority and would have been well respected. They would have known the Scriptures well. 


Which makes what happened in the parable quite shocking in a way.  


These were men who knew, and did not dispute, that the whole law was based on loving God with your heart, soul, mind and strength and your neighbour as yourself. Yet here, as they travelled down from Jerusalem and came across one of their own lying in the road, they passed him by on the other side. They had no compassion. They did not care. 


Why? 


The main reason is one of self-preservation. 


The man was in a road that was renowned for bandits – the ‘Blood Road’. If they helped him, he would impede their progress through this dangerous road. And what if the bandits came back? 


I’m sure many arguments passed through their heads to justify breaking the commandments at the very foundation of the law they held to be so precious. 


Yet they may not have been the reason why they abandoned this man to die, or even why this tale may not have been surprising for those who were listening. 


A possible explanation comes in the law itself: 


Leviticus 21:1-4 NIVUK 

[1] The Lord said to Moses, ‘Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: “A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean for any of his people who die, [2] except for a close relative, such as his mother or father, his son or daughter, his brother, [3] or an unmarried sister who is dependent on him since she has no husband – for her he may make himself unclean. [4] He must not make himself unclean for people related to him by marriage, and so defile himself. 

Leviticus 7:20-21 NIVUK 

[20] But if anyone who is unclean eats any meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the Lord, they must be cut off from their people. [21] Anyone who touches something unclean – whether human uncleanness or an unclean animal or any unclean creature that moves along the ground – and then eats any of the meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the Lord must be cut off from their people.”’ 

So if this man died while they were taking care of him, both the priest and the Levite would have become ceremonially unclean, would have to bathe themselves, and would not be able to eat meat that had been sacrificed to God until after their bath and sundown had both taken place.


So these people neglected this injured man, leaving him where he was to die, for the sake of a bath and side of lamb or beef. 


That is the scandal of this parable: they abused the law to justify breaking the law.  


After all, it also says this: 


Exodus 23:4-5 NIVUK 

[4] ‘If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. [5] If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it. 

How much more a man who was lying dying on a dangerous road! 


What we see here is two religious men acting in nothing more than self-preservation, and in doing so leaving an injured man lying in the dirt. 


Let me ask us a difficult question: Have we ever sought to justify doing the same thing?


Have we ever used politics or religion or philosophy or circumstances to try to argue ourselves out of helping someone in need?  


If we see a situation where someone needs our help and can think of reasons why we shouldn’t, then we are standing beside these men. No matter how justified we think it is, there is really nothing that can ever justify indifference.  


Someone who truly loves their neighbour will never let them bleed out by the side of the road. That is a simple fact.  


To obey God and follow Christ, we must help those in need.  


So we have seen, then, the arguing and robbing neighbours. Both of these neighbours actively sought harm for someone. The religious neighbours, however, were maybe not as religious as they would have made out: 


James 2:14-17, 20, 24, 26 NIVUK 

[14] What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? [15] Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. [16] If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? [17] In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 
[20] You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?  
[24] You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. 
[26] As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. 

Any religion that can justify indifference within its basic tenets is no religion at all – it is one hundred percent bogus. 


That brings us to the positive example Jesus was using to challenge the expert in the law:


The Real Neighbour. 

 

The Real Neighbour 

Luke 10:33-37 NIVUK 

[33] But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. [34] He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. [35] The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he said, “and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.” [36]  ‘Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’ [37] The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’ Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’ 

Sometimes compassion and understanding comes from unusual sources. 


There were more than a few times when I was being bullied at school that people I did not expect came to my aid and stuck up for me. That always confused me. They had nothing to gain and a lot to lose. But even if it was just a sense that things were out of hand and had gone too far that caused them to intervene, I really appreciated it. 


Here we see a man who truly exemplified what it meant to show love and compassion, because true love takes risks. It makes itself vulnerable. It chooses vulnerability rather than safety. 


We see three risks and vulnerabilities to which this true neighbour exposed himself. 


The first is the psychological risk. He was a Samaritan deep inside Jewish territory. Jews regarded the Samaritans as a mixed-race, synchretistic group of people. They saw them as occupiers of land that was once theirs – as long-term squatters, if you like. Their recorded history points to the reasons why: the Samaritans were occupiers of the land who had been sent there after the Exile of the Northern Kingdom by Assyria (2 Kings 17:4-24). That Exile had been caused by their sinful wickedness and utter disdain for God.  


These new settlers brought with them their own gods, which then brought them hardship and suffering (2 Kings 17:25-26). They were then sent a priest from Assyria to teach them how to worship the One True God in ‘His land’ (2 Kings 17:27-28). 


However, they continued to worship other gods beside the One True God (1 Kings 17:29-41). 


By the time of Jesus, there were those in Samaria who were worshipping God, but they were doing so in a rival temple on Mount Gerizim (John 4:20), and had dispensed with much of the teaching of the Jewish prophets. 


This led to the Jews distancing themselves from the Samaritans and more or less treating them like Gentiles (John 4:9). 


Even the attitudes towards them from some of Jesus’ closer followers were far from positive (Luke 9:51-56). 


So this Samaritan man was in an area where he would face a whole heap of discrimination and an almost complete lack of hospitality.  


When we’re in a thoroughly unfriendly place, we don’t ever plan to stick around. We want to get out of there as soon as possible. It’s only natural. We are not welcome there. 


Yet this Samaritan travelling between two renowned Jewish cities stopped to tend to the needs of a man bleeding into the dust. 


That alone is extraordinary. 


Then we should also consider the physical risk. Here was a line traveller on the renowned ‘Blood Road’, in an area where he was far from welcome, and a place known for the presence of bandits. In that sort of setting, you don’t hang around: you keep moving to make yourself less of a target and you get out of there as quickly as possible. 


Yet this Samaritan stopped, tended to the wounds of the injured man, picked him up, put him on the back of his donkey (which would have slowed its progress) and continued on his way. He didn’t just take a risk by stopping, he also took a risk by slowing his own journey through the high risk area. 


That too is really very impressive. 


As well as the psychological and physical risks, we also see the financial risk. Take a good look at these verses: 


Luke 10:34-35 NIVUK 

[34] He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. [35] The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he said, “and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.” 

How did the Samaritan know about the severity of his wounds? How would he know when he would recover? Or even if he would recover? 


Yet this man committed himself financially to pay the medical expenses of a completely unknown man until such time as he recovered. 


That is truly extraordinary. 


Now, I doubt if many of us will be in a situation this demanding. But Jesus’ point is stark.


The expert in the law had questioned Jesus to try to strengthen his own position. He was not concerned about what a wrong answer would do to Jesus. The robbers harmed the man for their own personal gain. The priest and the Pharisee crossed to the other side of the road to protect themselves. 


But this Samaritan – this man from a mixed race and religious group, this man whom they hated and despised, this man who was a fish out of water in a very dangerous place – this very man took risks, exposed himself to danger and made himself vulnerable to help a complete stranger. 


Love means making yourself vulnerable. Love means risking getting hurt. The irony of life is that those who keep other people out to prevent themselves from getting hurt end up getting hurt because they kept other people out and ended up alone. 


We have the perfect example in Jesus Christ. He made Himself vulnerable for us. He became a baby and died on the cross for us. 


For us to be like Him, we need to be willing to be vulnerable and take risks, because that is what it means to love. 

 

Conclusion 

Luke 10:36-37 NIVUK 

[36]  ‘Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’ [37] The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’ Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’ 

We live in a thoroughly polarised society – at least, if we believe the polarised press and the polarised social media, which we should not. There are many scoundrels who seek to divide us so they can control us and exploit us.  


They are only ever worthy of being ignored. 


Human beings are more than capable of reaching out across the fault lines in our society and showing love. 


For example, during the Arab Spring in 2011, in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, Christians formed a human ring to keep Muslims safe while they prayed. 


In Kenmure Street, Glasgow, locals flooded the streets to prevent the deportation of an immigrant family. 


In the United States, churches opened their doors to prevent officials from ICE from deporting migrants who had been in their country for years. 


Human beings can rise above their petty divisions and unite to protect the vulnerable and to fight something they believe is wrong. 


But it doesn’t always happen. Even when Christians ought to be on the forefront of it. 


The Parable of the Good Samaritan is a parable with hidden depths. However, we have to remember that Jesus did not say to the expert in the law that obedience to the law would save him. It wouldn’t, because it can’t, because full obedience is impossible. 


Instead, he asked them expert in the law how he read the law – his expertise – and it was the expert in the law who said that the law was fulfilled by love. 


The irony in that is so big that if it were a building, it could be seen from space. Here was he, an expert in the law, trying to trap Jesus to make Him look bad – a thoroughly unloving thing to so – while saying that love was the sum total of all obedience. 


What, in effect, he was saying was that he was a lawbreaker and not at all someone who would inherit eternal life. 


He was the arguing neighbour: one whose ego and sense of self is so fragile that they have to win every argument or they feel bad about themselves. These are people who take their position on the ladder of souls, pulling down those who are above them and kicking out at those who are beneath them. They view life as a hierarchy and simply must maintain their place in it.  


Such people do not know what real love is. They are destined to spend their lives alone and friendless, without any genuine relationships, because they spend all their days trying to better everyone around them. 


The last thing I will say about them is that Jesus Christ was nothing like this. 


We also saw the robbers, picking off the vulnerable wealthy and robbing them, no matter what damage they leave behind. We saw those who exploit for their own ends and do not care about the ruin and the pain they leave behind them. 


Friends, this isn’t love either. This is nothing short of contempt. 


These people also condemn themselves to empty, loveless lives.  


We saw the religious neighbour, who fails to show a jot of compassion to anyone in need in case it damages their own position. These are massive hypocrites: they present themselves as those who follow the law, but who violate even it’s most basic principles. 


You can be sure God will find them out. He knows those who are His. 


As John wrote: 


1 John 3:16-18 NIVUK 

[16] This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. [17] If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? [18] Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 

Lastly, we saw the real neighbour: not one who carries a rank or wealth or religious garb, but someone who genuinely and openly cares for people, and who is willing to put themselves on the line to help others and lift them up. 


I want you to notice the legal expert’s response to this parable. This man, who knew that to obey is to love and to love is to obey, could not even bring himself to say the race of the one who was truly a good neighbour! 


How is that love? 


This teaches us a very serious lesson, and one to which we should pay the closest attention:

 

We can be an expert in the Word of God, have the finest theological knowledge, be respected far above our peers, but if we don’t love, all that is meaningless, because we will be living a life of disobedience. 


True love – true agape love – cares nothing at all for the petty divisions in society. True love care nothing for the wrongs or rights of an argument or a debate. True love cares nothing for personal gain. True love care nothing for even self-preservation. 


True love just loves. 


Because that is what Jesus did for us. 


1 John 4:7-12, 20-21 NIVUK 

[7] Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. [8] Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. [9] This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. [10] This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. [11] Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. [12] No-one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 
[20] Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. [21] And he has given us this command: anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. 

Brothers and sisters, we must love one another and we must love our neighbour. 


Otherwise we are not following Jesus. 

 

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, preserve me from foolish pride and self-preservation, I pray. Help me to show mercy to all who need it and to love my neighbour as myself. After all, You love me and me to radiate that love to others. Fill me with Your love and help me to obey You. Amen. 


Questions for Contemplation 

  • What did the expert in the law that was so hypocritical? What does this teach us? 

  • What did the three bad neighbours do that was so wrong? What can we learn from this? 

  • What did the good neighbour do that was so good? Could you do this? 

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