This lawyer knows the Bible well, so I think he is also willing to be a law-abiding and blessed person. But there are always many reasons in his heart, and he can always find many flaws in the Bible, which makes him feel at a loss. The Bible says that you should love God and your neighbor as yourself. But the lawyer will ask who this person is. A man who doesn't want to fear God always has his reasons. A person who doesn't want to obey the law always has his own reasons. A person who doesn't want to love always has his reasons. He has such a reason to deceive himself. I have tried my best. I'm fine. I have done nothing wrong. Because he has his own reasons. In fact, why is there such a reason behind him, while others don't? The reason behind it is that they don't want to do it, don't want to do it, and don't want to believe it. So they ask all kinds of strange questions, so they don't have to be so obedient. Understand? The person who asks those strange questions is first of all a person who likes to find fault and can't simply obey. Is that why they have all kinds of problems?
Let's look at the story that Jesus told the lawyer again. This story is about a man who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. The journey is short, but because Jerusalem is on the mountain and Jericho is at the foot of the mountain, he met a robber on the road. The robber was cruel to this man. They robbed him of everything, stripped him naked and left the poor man half dead. This is just a story. This person can be anyone without special emphasis. This is a simple robbery that happened on this road. There are three characters in the story. They are priests, Levites and Samaritans. The first two people have the same attitude when they see this. They all saw this man lying there and saw this thing. I think they must all have their own reasons and reasons, so they all hurried by. They saw the scene in front of them and felt the pain and misfortune of the poor man, but they could only say with regret: I'm really sorry, there is really nothing I can do today. Maybe I can help you next time.
Samaritan also came here at this time. In Jewish culture and customs, Samaritan is a group that they scoff at. Because Samaritan has no faithful and pure blood, their life is far from godliness. In the eyes of Jews at that time, they were as dirty as pigs. But Jesus deliberately brainstormed the lawyer in the story. Do you want to have a try? It happened that a Samaritan came by and saw the half-dead wounded man, and he was moved with compassion. Go forward to dress the patient's wound, help the injured ride their own cattle and take them to an inn to take care of them. The next day, I took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, "Please take good care of him for me. If the money is not enough, I will pay all the expenses when I come back. "
Jesus' description of the Samaritan is so interesting that people often think that Jesus refers to himself and the Samaritan here. It is true that the Samaritan in the story is too complete. He was merciful, took oil and wine to help his livestock, took it to the store, took out two pieces of silver and came back to pay it off. I think it is possible for Jesus to refer to himself with this Samaritan, because there were rumors that Jesus was a Samaritan. But I don't want to argue about it here.
Let's go on to see the lawyer's question: Who is my neighbor? Jesus asked the lawyer here: Who is his neighbor? This is a very meaningful story. Jesus didn't answer his question from the lawyer's point of view, but jumped out of the lawyer's thinking. Jesus asked him, who is his neighbor? When the lawyer asked who was my neighbor, he felt cold. Who can be my neighbor? Who deserves to be my neighbor? If I have no neighbors, who am I going to love? This is a very self-centered question. My neighbor should take the initiative to approach me. Only when he becomes my neighbor can I love him as required in the law book. Right? But Jesus did not answer his question with his logic, but drew him a picture. Who wants to walk in front of people in need? Who wants to love that unlovable person? Who wants to help others? Who wants to be someone else's neighbor? The focus of the question is no longer who is your neighbor? But who, his neighbor? Who wants to go to the Lord but loves him? Who wants to appear in front of him.
If you don't become your neighbor, you will love him, just like priests and Levites. Although they also saw the injured man, what were their actions? Didn't you leave the same place? Samaritan has more reasons to leave. He is a foreigner, despised by Jews and regarded as filthy by local people. But it is such a person who really helped the injured. So the point is not who appears in front of you, but whether you can be his neighbor for his needs.
Every time I read this passage, I am always moved. The question in this passage is also asking us: Who is his neighbor? Who are the friends of the injured? Who is the poor man's companion? Who is the close friend of the suffering people? Who is the Samaritan who needs it? Let's not ask God there, when did you appear in front of me? Jesus replied, "You did it to the youngest of these children, and you did it to me.