City Life Starter

Written by Efe Abbe

The Word

²⁹ But he, wishing to justify and vindicate himself, asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Parable of the Good Samaritan

³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, who stripped him of his clothes [and belongings], beat him, and went their way [unconcerned], leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by coincidence a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.³² Likewise a Levite also came down to the place and saw him, and passed by on the other side [of the road]. ³³ But a Samaritan (foreigner), who was traveling, came upon him; and when he saw him, he was deeply moved with compassion [for him], ³⁴ and went to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them [to sooth and disinfect the injuries]; and he put him on his own pack-animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.³⁵ On the next day he took out two denarii (two days’ wages) and gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I return.’ ³⁶ Which of these three do you think proved himself a neighbor to the man who encountered the robbers?” ³⁷ He answered, “The one who showed compassion and mercy to him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and constantly do the same.”

-Luke 10:29-37 AMP

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father in heaven.

-Matthew 5:43-45 NIV

Reflection

Jesus patiently put up with this lawyer’s test because He was more interested that this expert in the Law see his need for grace.

After Jesus told him to go and habitually live by the greatest commandment to love God and his neighbor, the lawyer tried to justify himself by asking “who is my neighbor?” Jesus being Jesus, put His finger on the condition of this lawyer’s heart and answered with a parable that basically asked “What kind of neighbor are you?”

Jesus’ Jewish audience would have been shocked that a Samaritan their enemy would be held up as an exemplar of what Kingdom love looks like, but that is exactly Jesus’ point.

Kingdom love is lived out by those transformed by grace who don’t selectively show love when it’s convenient, but because they know the heart of God. Often those who know the most about God’s rules and are considered insiders, like the priest and Levite, know very little of God’s heart.

In commanding the lawyer to “go and constantly do the same,” Jesus was getting him to see that more than human effort was required to love like this. He would need to be transformed from the inside out.

Application

I am so thankful that the Kingdom of God is surprisingly scandalous because God, in Jesus, gifts eternal life to the undeserving. He then calls those who have entered the Kingdom to go and do the same i.e. to love unreasonably extravagantly, just as He has loved us.

This isn’t anything we can do on our own — we can only do this first by submitting to Jesus as the only way to receive the new life God offers us, then by abiding in Jesus’ love so that it overflows by His Spirit, even to our enemies.

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me so deeply in Jesus. Please, by Your unceasing mercy and grace, help to learn to love like You loved me, who was once Your enemy. In Jesus’ name, amen.