Love God: Love Thy Neighbor

A message based on Luke 10:25-37:  An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.  “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law?  What do you read there?”  The man 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 neighbor as yourself.”  And Jesus said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”  Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and took off, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw the man who had been beaten the priest passed by on the other side.  So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw the beaten man, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came upon the man, and when the Samaritan saw the man who had been beaten he was moved with compassion.  He went to the beaten man and bandaged his wounds, treating them with oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  The next day the Samaritan took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of the man, and when I come back I will repay you whatever more you spend.’  Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”  The man who had tried to test Jesus said, “The one who showed him mercy.”  Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”