Walking With Christ

(Part 2 of 9)

Luke 10:36  Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”(ESV)

A man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho.  He was attacked, stripped, beaten, and left half dead.

A priest came by.  He saw him and passed on the other side.

Then a Levite came.  He saw him and did the same.

Then came a Samaritan.  He stopped.

He treated the man’s wounds, put him on his own animal, took him to an inn, cared for him, and paid for his continued care.

Jesus could have simply said, “Love your neighbor, even when your neighbor is someone you would normally avoid.”

Instead, He told a story.

The lawyer had asked, “Who is my neighbor?”

Jesus answered by making him watch three people encounter the same wounded man.

Two knew the law.  One lived it.

Then Jesus asked another question.  “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor?”

The lawyer had to answer.  “The one who showed him mercy.”

The story did something that a simple definition couldn’t.

It made the listener see the road.  It made him see the wounded man.  It made him watch the priest walk past.  Then the Levite.  Then the Samaritan stop.

By the time Jesus asked the final question, the answer was already standing in front of him.

Stories can carry truth past defenses that might resist a direct statement.  They let us see ourselves without immediately realizing that we’re the one being described.

Then, sometimes, the story turns the mirror toward us.

Jesus finished with a command.  “You go, and do likewise.”

How Jesus taught:  He told stories.