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30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 And by chance there came a certain priest that way and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came by where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him.
34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out twopence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
36 Now which of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among thieves? (Luke 30: 30-36 KJV)

This passage of scripture is, of course, the famous story of the Good Samaritan. A young lawyer, attempting to trap Christ as others had tried, asked him "what to do to inherit eternal life". Christ asks him what he has read in the laws of the scriptures and the young man responds in verse 27 "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and to love thy neighbor as thyself." (KJV) Christ indicated to him that this answer was the correct one. Then the young man asked in verse 29, "And who is my neighbor?" (KJV)

Christ's answer to this question came in the form of this parable of the Good Samaritan: the story of a man, who was robbed and beaten. The first two men, who encountered him on the road, chose to ignore him and pass by on the opposite side of the road; one of these men was a priest. These men simply did not want to be troubled by the time and effort of helping him. The Samaritan, however, tended to the man's wounds and allowed him to ride on the beast that he had been riding. This meant that the Samaritan would have to walk. In addition, the Samaritan was willing to pay for the man to stay at the inn, until he was recovered.

Christ ended this parable by asking the young lawyer, which of the three passersby behaved as a neighbor to the man, who'd been robbed. The lawyer replied in verse 37 "And he said, he that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go , and do thou likewise."(KJV)

Christ's parables were more than mere stories; they were meant to teach us. This particular parable clearly states that all people are our neighbors, whether we know them personally or not. It is to them that we should show kindness, generosity and mercy.

Learn more about this author, Opal Elaine Moyer.
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