Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among

robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.” (Luke 10:30)

Jesus, the master teacher, utilizes a parable to answer the question about who our neighbor is.

We know this as the parable of the good Samaritan -- perhaps the most well-known of the

parables. Jesus’ listeners would have been familiar with the setting. The road from Jerusalem

(2575’ above sea level) to Jericho (827’ below sea level) was about 17 miles long and changed

some 3400’ in elevation. It was a rough road with many rock formations which could be used for

cover by highwaymen. Robberies were not uncommon. As late as the fifth century, the historian

Jerome referred to this route as “the Bloody Way.”

The first character Jesus introduces is a man who has been robbed, stripped of his raiment,

beaten, and left for dead. So, what else do we know about this hurt man? The short answer is:

nothing. There is no parallel passage in the other gospels from which we can glean additional

details.

While there is very little we know about the hurt man, there is a long list of things we DON’T

know about him. We don’t know anything about his nationality. We don’t know if he was rich or

poor. We don’t know if he was carrying some goods or possessions that made him a target for

thieves. We don’t know if he was careless, or unadvisedly traveled alone at night. In short, we

don’t know who the hurt man is or how he came to be here. We don’t know these details

because they aren’t important.

What we do know: he is in peril and in need of aid. What Jesus is teaching us is this: there are

no ethnic or social boundaries defining our neighbor. Our neighbor is that man or woman in

need, to whom we have the opportunity to render aid.



Sometimes our neighbor will in fact be next door, down the street, or in our circle of friends. But

not always. Our neighbor may well be someone who got themselves into a mess, someone who

doesn’t think or act like us, or someone who doesn’t share our values. The command is not to

triage those in need and determine where mercy should be given. The command is to love - to

be merciful to all.

“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of

these my brothers, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:40)

By Jesse Smith