Luke 10:25-37 provides amazing theological and practical implications for global missions.
Theologically, the expert in the law asks the most important question in the Bible. He asks Jesus in 10:25, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” That is the question that all of us face at some time in our lives. We as Christians know that there is nothing that we can do on our own to inherit eternal life. Eternal life is a gift of God that only comes about by through saving faith in Jesus Christ.
Jesus replies to the Lawyer by asking him what is written in the Law. Thinking that he has Jesus trapped, the expert in the law answers Jesus with Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18. Jesus says, “You have answered correctly.” However, Jesus doesn’t stop there. He continues on to say, “do this and you will live.” Obviously, the expert in the law knows that he can’t and does not follow the law perfectly, so he attempts to justify himself by asking “And who is my neighbor?”
The answer that Jesus gives to this question is in the form of a classic parable. It is a drama that introduces shock and causes the people who here it to challenged in their basic core values. Everyone listening is challenged by the definition Jesus gives for a neighbor. The experts in the law teach that a neighbor is defined socially, geographically, etc. But, the concept that Jesus introduces is that a neighbor is not defined by these things, but by those who are in need that we show compassion towards.
In the parable the priest comes by the beaten man and passes around him on the other side of the road. The priest defined who his neighbor was primarily by their garments and their speech. Since the beaten man was robbed of his clothes and could not talk, the priest assumed he was not his neighbor and passed by. Likewise, the Levite passed by on the other side. Everyone listening to this story expects the natural progression to be a righteous Jew will pass by next on his way back from the synagogue. The shock of the parable is that the next person to come by is a Samaritan. Not only did the Samaritan stop and take care of the man, but it says he genuinely took pity on the beaten man. In other words, the Samaritan had compassion on the man.
Jesus then gets to the ultimate question of asking the expert, “which of these three do you think what a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” Basically, Jesus asked the same question the expert in the law asked, “who is my neighbor?” The major difference is that Jesus provided a context in which to base his definition of a neighbor. He introduced a concept that was totally foreign to everyone listening. According to Jesus, a neighbor was not defined as the experts in the law said, but by those who need help and those who show compassion on them.
The conclusion that we come to is that "our neighbor" is defined as someone in need. In Mark 9:37 Jesus reveals that we must receive even the "least" of society, exemplified by a needy child. We must identify our neighbor by having genuine compassion on them and trying to meet there needs just as the Samaritan took pity on the man and cared for his needs.
As a Christian, someone who has inherited eternal life through Christ, an essential characteristic of your life should be love toward your neighbor. Using this concept as of neighbor in view of missions; everyone who needs Jesus is our neighbor, whether they live next door or around the globe.
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