The Good Samaritan - Love Your Neighbor

Jesus answered with His own question: "What does God's law say?"

The man replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. And love your neighbor as yourself."

"That's right!" Jesus said. "Do this and you will live!"

But the man wanted to test Jesus. "Well, who exactly IS my neighbor?" he asked.

So Jesus told him this story:

"A Jewish man was traveling down the dangerous road from Jerusalem to Jericho. It was a rocky, winding road through the hills where robbers often hid. Suddenly, bandits jumped out and attacked him! They took his money, tore off his clothes, beat him badly, and left him lying on the side of the road, half dead."

"Soon, a Jewish priest came walking down that same road. He saw the hurt man lying there, bleeding and moaning in pain. But do you know what the priest did? He crossed to the OTHER side of the road and kept walking! He didn't stop to help."

"A little while later, a Levite came by. Levites were special helpers in God's temple - they knew all about God's laws! Surely HE would help! But when the Levite saw the wounded man, he also crossed to the other side of the road and hurried past."

"The poor man lay there, alone and hurting. He must have felt so scared and sad. Would anyone help him?"

"Then a Samaritan came traveling down the road on his donkey." Now this was surprising! Jews and Samaritans didn't like each other. They wouldn't even talk to each other! If anyone would walk past a hurt Jewish man, it would be a Samaritan.

"But when the Samaritan saw the wounded man, his heart filled with compassion. He couldn't just walk by! He quickly got off his donkey and knelt beside the man. He cleaned and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine to help them heal."

"Then the Samaritan gently lifted the hurt man onto his own donkey and walked beside him to the nearest inn. He took care of him all night long."

"The next morning, the Samaritan had to continue his journey. But he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Take care of this man,' he said. 'If you spend more than this, I'll pay you back when I return.'"

Jesus looked at the religious teacher and asked, "Which of these three men was a neighbor to the man who was hurt?"

The teacher had to admit, "The one who showed mercy to him - the Samaritan."

Jesus said, "That's right! Now you go and do the same!"

This story teaches us something very important. Our "neighbor" isn't just the people who live next door or the people who look like us or talk like us. Our neighbor is ANYONE who needs our help! Jesus wants us to show kindness to everyone - even people who are different from us, even people who might not like us. When we see someone who needs help, we shouldn't walk by like the priest and Levite did. Instead, we should be like the Good Samaritan and help with a kind heart!