Who do you see as your neighbour?

Our perspective and worldview form how we understand and live in the world around us. It’s the lens for interpreting life. Every event, action or idea is affected by it. For example, a colour-blind person has a very different perspective on colour. 
Many people hold biases, beliefs not formed by truth, about specific people, groups and ideas.

Bias can become long-held traditions and impair or blind us. Our lens, filter, or perspective is vital to how we interpret and understand ideas, especially biblical ideas.

In the story of the Good Samaritan, notice how Jesus reveals the deeply held bias to allow the listener to see a broader perspective.

The Good Samaritan or Who Is My Neighbor?
The story found in the Gospel of Luke (10:31-37) is well known. But often the reason and purpose for Jesus telling it is not.
Here are the verses before the story is told. This unlocks the reason Jesus even tells the story.

“And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”

And he answered, “You shall 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 your neighbour as yourself.” And Jesus told him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” Luke 10:25-30

The Reason Jesus Told The Story
A lawyer stood up and put Him to the test....”What shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
In Hebrew culture, to test someone did not carry malicious intent. Although some religious leaders tried to trap Jesus in His answers, questions were a common way to learn how a Rabbi interpreted the Scriptures.

The “lawyer” asked because he wanted to know this young Rabbi’s perspective or understanding of the Torah. This was referred to as “Testing their Yoke”.

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus invites people to “follow Him” and “take His yoke” (perspective on how to walk and live out Torah).

His invitation is not new but alludes to or directly infers Jeremiah 6:16, which talks about a good path that leads to life and brings rest. In response to the lawyer’s question, Jesus asks him a question.

“Jesus asks, “What is written in the Torah?  How do you read it?”  Luke 10:26
Jesus turns the question back on him and ask “How does he understand  Torah?” What is YOUR filter, lens or perspective for reading and living Torah? The man quotes the same passages Jesus often quotes…

Deuteronomy 6:5 (Love God) and Leviticus 19:18 (Love Neighbor). This is the widely held perspective or filter for understanding and following the Torah. See, the lawyer “knew” the right answer. Many of us “know” the right answer. But wanting to justify himself or prove his own innocence, he asked...

“Who is my neighbour?" The Man Reveals His Limited Perspective or Bias.  This lawyer (teacher and expert in Torah) held the perspective that “Love your neighbour” meant those who followed Torah (“the righteous”) or, maybe a little broader, all His fellow Israelites.

He was expecting Jesus to reinforce and align with his way of thinking…Yes, we should only love people who we believe are “living right” or look, act, or think like me. Jesus Holds Up A Story Which Shows His Bias. Knowing the answer (even when you're right) is not how Jesus calls us to live.

That day, Jesus told an incredible story to reveal their (and our) limited perspective on what it means to follow the Torah and “inherit eternal life.”

May we become those who learn the truth, act on the truth and teach the truth. And become the living testimony that helps others see the path of Life.