Do I Even Want to Know My Neighbor

A legal expert in Jewish law was trying to test Jesus' theology and asked Him what he need to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asked him back, "What do you think the scripture says about that?" The Pharisee quoted the very essential passage from Deuteronomy 6:4-5, called The Shema, when he said, “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 love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus basically said, “Good job,” to which the Pharisee then asked, “But who is my neighbor?” He wanted to know who all that commandment applied to. Jesus’ response to him was the story of what we call, “The Good Samaritan”. We’ll unpack this loaded parable Sunday during both services. I’m confident we may see ourselves in more than one of the characters in the story.