The Lutheran Hour
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"Extreme Neighborliness"
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Text: Luke 10:25-37
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And Jesus said, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:25-37)
Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia.
“Won’t you be my neighbor?” Since Sunday School days I’ve heard the parable in our reading from Luke 10. It’s one that I really like—especially Jesus’ punch line at the end. It’s the “Parable of the Good Samaritan.” Do you like it, too? Let’s listen to how it starts: On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What is written in the Law?” [Jesus] replied. “How do you read it?”
He answered: “‘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.’”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:25-29 NIV)Hmmm, that’s an interesting reply: “Who is my neighbor?” Do you think that the expert in the law had a neighbor he didn’t like? Do you have any hard-to-get-along-with neighbor stories? I’ve had a few neighbors who bugged me over the years.
Neighbor issues abound. Countries fight with countries, people like us dislike people like them, politicians bicker, co-workers quarrel, and family members squabble. We’ve got neighbor issues. Why? Because, like the expert in the law in Luke 10 who was trying to justify himself and prove that he was an all-around very good guy, we are, in truth, fallen, flawed, and frail people. We have problems with each other. We are a mess. We are sinners. It’s true, whether we admit it or not. We need help and repair. We need a Good Samaritan, don’t we?
If you’re tired of living in neighborly conflict, in discord with people in your life, pay close attention. You may not be able to solve the tension in your life, but you have a Friend and a Savior who cares and who can. His Name is Jesus. That’s why He answered the expert in the law by telling a remarkable story. As I mentioned, it is called the Parable of the Good Samaritan. This is what Jesus said in response, then, to the question from the expert in the law, “Who is my neighbor?”
A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side (Luke 10:30-32).
Now you might think the priest and the Levite were being heartless for avoiding the man in trouble, but as people listened to this story back then, they may have applauded those two church officials. You see, they may well have been doing the right thing according to the letter of the law. According to the law, an upright, religious person was made ceremonially unclean by touching a dead body. So if the man was dead, this priest and Levite were supposed to stay away according to their law. Since the man could have been dead, many people during Jesus’ time figured those religious leaders were right in what they did.
You see Jesus’ point, don’t you? It is possible to be right but be wrong at the same time. You can fulfill the law outwardly but violate the heart of God. Bible verses may even back you up to a degree, but you may be missing the Bible’s ultimate point, the grace and the love of God.
Let’s bring it home a bit. You may very well have been totally right, absolutely innocent, and completely blameless when you tangled with your loved one, but you may still need to humble yourself and compassionately apologize to your wife, to your kids, or to your parents, or to a person who is totally wrong and may even be violating God’s ways for the sake of a greater good, a greater love. That’s a tough one, isn’t it?
Jesus is digging deep here, friends. Extreme neighborliness, as I like to call it, has to be resourced in something more than the best efforts of sinful people like us. Extreme neighborliness means taking some chances based on the love, the kindness, and even the humility that finds its source in this grace of God in Christ for you. Such self-sacrifice, which risks looking wrong even when you are trying to do the right thing, often shouldering unjust blame for a time in order to bring God’s life-changing love into the equation; that’s a gracious love that really changes things!
You see, when you read the Bible, you can see that those are the exact charges that Jesus often faced when trying to do what people needed from God’s point of view.
In fact, He was even crucified as a criminal! Jesus carried the sin of the world, was given the death penalty on earth, and received the complete wrath of God as He hung on the cross. Why? In order to give the gift of forgiveness, God’s forgiveness, to the world. Jesus looked completely wrong so He could make your life and mine completely right by His grace. It was a risk. It was selfless. It was counterintuitive. It was the compassionate way of God in Jesus.
Sometimes the world understands extreme neighborliness more than we do. That’s what we hear as Jesus continued the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Remember, a man was robbed and beaten and was left for dead on the side of the road. Law-abiding religious officials steered themselves to the opposite side of the road when they saw the bleeding heap of naked flesh on the other side. But something shocking happened next. Jesus said: “But a Samaritan …”
Let’s put the brakes on right here. Jesus brought a Samaritan into the picture. The Jewish listeners must have nearly fainted. Samaritans then were despised by Jews. They would rather kill a Samaritan than shake his hand. Jesus might as well have said a terrorist stopped by. The very mention was repulsive. This was mind-boggling. But Jesus continued:
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where [the injured man] was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, “Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I return” (Luke 10:30-35).
A despised Samaritan, an unholy, messed up heretic, from their point of view, showed kindness. He was neighborly. He was probably helping an arch-enemy, a Jew. But he let love prevail. Jesus then asked: “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” (Luke 10:36) The expert in the law replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” He probably couldn’t even say the word “Samaritan,” but he had to admit that the Samaritan proved to be a neighbor. How did Jesus reply? Jesus said to the expert in the law, “You go, and you do likewise” (Luke 10:37). Jesus didn’t only teach him who his neighbor was; He taught him how to be a neighbor to someone else.
Extreme neighborliness. Do you know how to be a neighbor? Well, Jesus, of course, was not merely talking about helping the people who live next door. He was addressing the issue of extreme neighborliness for all. Really, this is where the Christian faith begins: with kindness and self-sacrifice.
In verse 33, the phrase “took pity on him” is a verb connected to Jesus over and over again in the Gospels. I love it in Greek: splangknizomai. You might have heard the word before. It sounds like what it is: overflowing compassion; a compassion from deep within. It is a word that refers to a deep and sincere outpouring of the heart for someone, manifested in gracious and generous action. It’s a Jesus Word: a God Word. You can’t do this on your own, no matter how hard you try; but you can receive this mercy from God as a gift, by grace through faith, and you can share it with others.
You see, we could look at this parable in a different way and see how it can also teach us about Jesus. Although Jesus does tell us to “go and do likewise,” take a moment and picture Jesus as the Samaritan. Then imagine that you’re the beat-up guy on the side of the road, dying and injured because of your wounds, your struggles, your sin, your imperfection. You’re the undesirable heap, beat up and traumatized by this broken world and by your own failures.
And Jesus is the Samaritan, the most unlikely Savior from your point of view. He stopped for you. He came to heal your wounds. He picked you up and carried you to safety. He paid the price for you when He gave His life for you on the cross.
Hear the extreme neighborly words from Titus 3 that describe what this Christmas-Good Friday-Easter-Sunday Jesus is all about. He says, “When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. … poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:4-6 NIV).
That sounds like a Good Samaritan type of grace, doesn’t it? Kindness through the cross, a washing and pouring out through Baptism, generously; a new life given by the grace of God. Jesus is the extreme Neighbor to you, to me, to all people. And by faith, through His Word, He lives in you. By His Spirit, He teaches you and gives you everything you need. Mercied by the Good Samaritan, or even better, by the In-the-flesh Servant Messiah Jesus; “Go and do likewise.”
If you’ve received that kind of mercy in your life, then what might extreme neighborliness look like through your life today to others? How might the love of God in Jesus Christ spill over through you to your family or to the person in the cubicle next to you or to the person who just cut you off in traffic?
Do you feel humility? Do you see how you don’t have to be right about everything anymore? Do you see how you can say, “I’m sorry” and carry the load of someone else’s foul-up while you show them undeserved love? Do you understand that your job in life is not to criticize everyone; your calling in life is to generously show compassion to people who may not deserve it at all. But when you do, that’s when people will see how distinct and amazing Jesus is.
Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). This isn’t mushy, milquetoast love. It is strong, courageous, risk-taking, faith-filled confidence in the life-transforming work of God through the counterintuitive work of Jesus Christ. It is extreme neighborliness that defeats hatred, prejudice, selfishness, grudges and infighting. It heals relationships and it mends souls. It builds people up and it opens the door to the Good News of eternal life for them. It will change your life and point everyone to the miraculous compassion of Jesus.
It’s extreme neighborliness flowing from the cross of Christ as you take up your cross and follow Him. And it works, dear friend. It works.
Bernard Hare was a student living north of London in the early 1980s when his father sent him an urgent message: “Get home, son. Get home.” His mother was in the hospital and was not expected to survive the night. Bernard immediately rushed to the train station only to find out he missed the last train. He spent all of his money to board a train to another town, but would miss the connection. He went anyway, wondering what he would do. As he sat despondent and crying on the train, he contemplated hitch-hiking, stealing a car, or stealing some money to make it the rest of the way home.
That’s when the conductor sat down next to him and said, “Are you okay?” Bernard brushed him off and told him to leave. The conductor persisted, “You look awful. Is there anything I can do?” “Get lost,” Bernard said. Bernard was a big guy and the conductor was smaller in stature, but he didn’t give up. “Listen, if there’s a problem, I’m here to help,” he said. “That’s what I’m paid for.” Finally, Bernard relented. He told him his story, “My mom, she’s in the hospital, dying. She won’t survive the night. I’m going to miss the train connection in the next town and I don’t know how I’ll make it home. It’s tonight or never. I won’t get another chance. I’d be grateful if you’d just leave me alone, okay?”
“I’m sorry to hear that, son,” the conductor said. “I’ll leave you alone, then. I hope you make it home in time.” The conductor got up and he made his way to the back of the train.
After about ten minutes, the conductor was back. Bernard was irritated, but the conductor said, “Listen, when we get to your stop, go to platform one as quickly as possible to catch your train to your home town. It will be waiting for you.” Bernard was confused. “What do you mean? Is it late or something?” “No, it isn’t late. I’ve just radioed ahead. They’re going to hold the train for you. As soon as you get on, it goes. Everyone will be complaining about how late it is. Let’s not worry about that this time. You’ll get home and that’s the main thing. Good luck and God bless.”
All Bernard could do through tears and surprise was to say, “Thank you. Thank you.”
Bernard made it home that evening. He was at his mother’s side when she died in the early morning hours. The conductor and his colleagues took all the complaints that night for the sake of a boy in need. Bernard said later, “My meeting with the good conductor changed me from a selfish, potentially violent hedonist into a decent human being, but it took time.” Having been blessed so generously and so graciously, Bernard became a social worker to serve young people in need.
When someone is an extreme neighbor to you, it’s difficult not to share that love with the world. When God in Christ is that extreme Neighbor to you, forgiving you, serving you, blessing you by grace, there’s power to go and do likewise! Try Me. Try Me and see. In Jesus! Amen.
Reflections for August 9, 2026
Title: Metaphors in the ParablesMark Eischer: You’re listening to The Lutheran Hour. For FREE online resources, archived audio, our mobile app, and more, go to lutheranhour.org. That’s lutheranhour.org. Joining us now, here’s Lutheran Hour Speaker, Dr. Michael Zeigler.
Michael Zeigler: Thank you, Mark. I am back here in the studio with my friend and teacher, Dr. David Schmitt:. We’re talking about parables. Thanks for being back.
David Schmitt: Oh, thank you, Michael.
Michael Zeigler: So we just heard this sermon about the Good Samaritan, a very familiar parable. And last week we mentioned a definition, “What is a parable?” So there are three parts of that definition. It’s the simile or metaphor, something drawn from everyday life. And then …
David Schmitt: That’s a setup.
Michael Zeigler: So we call it that the setup and then there’s a surprise, something arresting, and that’s like an event. And then the third part is the teaching. What is the story trying to get you to think on?
David Schmitt: Right.
Michael Zeigler: All right. So this week we’re just going to talk about that setup part, that metaphor. So what is a metaphor? What is a simile? Let’s talk about what that definition is.
David Schmitt: Yeah, a metaphor is when you talk about one thing in terms of another. [For example,] Jesus is the Light of the world. So we’re talking about Jesus, but we’re using light. Light is familiar and it’s helping us think about qualities of Jesus.
Michael Zeigler: There’s something that we know and it’s helping us learn more about something we don’t know as well. And so, there’s a transfer of meaning from the known to the unknown.
David Schmitt: Simile usually is a very clear point and metaphor is much broader. Metaphors you’re looking for what we would call a “degree of correspondence.” What’s the degree of correspondence? So you could kind of draw a circle and name all of the things you know about light. Light enables you to see things. Light illuminates. Light gives you sunburn if you’re out in the sun too long, right? And you name all the things about light and then you take the other thing that’s being talked about. It talks about one thing in terms of another, Jesus, and you let them overlap and you try to find what’s in that sweet spot that overlaps. And obviously Jesus doesn’t give us sunburn. So that does not count, that’s out, but Jesus does illuminate our life. He shows us our path. So that’s kind of what you’re doing with metaphor is you’re trying to find out which items are important and which items are just there as part of that metaphorical world.
Michael Zeigler: Okay. So now with a parable, a parable is doing that as a story. And so there are elements in the story that are going to help us discover meaning about the kingdom of God and how God works in our lives.
David Schmitt: And then there are elements in the story that are just there because that’s what life is like.
Michael Zeigler: For example, the Good Samaritan story, you might try to take every element of that and find its correspondence, but that might not be the right thing to do.
David Schmitt: Remember your first sermon, you talked about the sower and the seed. There we had a very clear allegory. The sower is this, the seed is the Word, this type of land is this, this type of land is this. Every item had a corresponding point.
Michael Zeigler: And Jesus gave us those. He made it clear.
David Schmitt: Right. And sometimes Jesus works with allegories. And in this one, I don’t think you have an allegory though there are church fathers who have read this allegorically. The oil that he gives to the guy is the sacraments and the inn is the church …
Michael Zeigler: But Jesus doesn’t give us those correspondence points like he did in the parable of the sower.
David Schmitt: Right. He doesn’t at all. And so we probably want to limit ourselves there.
Michael Zeigler: So, thinking about some guidelines to help us make that discovery or transfer the meaning. One would be if Jesus does it and gives us, that’s a good guideline. If it helps us understand our own status or standing before God as sinners who need forgiveness, then that’s probably a good thing that it serves that. What would be some other guidelines to help us?
David Schmitt: Well, I mean, I think the problem is you have to figure out what the teaching is, right? Because you’re looking at one thing in terms of another. And so we’re looking at a teaching in terms of the parable, but if we don’t know the teaching, then we don’t know which details of the parable are important and which are not. And that’s always the art of studying a parable is trying to figure out what that teaching is. And I think one of the most helpful things you can do with parables is to make sure that whatever the teaching is, it’s found elsewhere in Scripture.
Michael Zeigler: Probably should consider the historical context. Pastor Seltz gave us the details about how Samaritans were despised and this trip from Jerusalem to Jericho was a common trip that people made. And if we can understand some of that, it’ll help us figure out what that teaching is.
David Schmitt: And I think he also filled in the gaps as to a Levite and a priest and why they wouldn’t help somebody. So he’s kind of giving us, you know, and you’ve got the question: Is this road from Jerusalem to Jericho, is this a common well-traveled road? Is this a very odd way to go? Would somebody say, “Well, you’d never go to Jericho from Jerusalem that way.” So these are all kinds of questions that help us see the story as a real-life event. And we’re filling in gaps on characters and places and all that type of stuff. But that’s really just to get a sense of the story so that we see what is so surprising. And that’s what was good about the sermon where he kind of emphasized the “But a Samaritan came,” right? And so that was a helpful thing.
Michael Zeigler: And then of course prayer, right? I like how you keep bringing it back to this mystery that we’re not just dissecting stories, we’re engaging with God through these stories.
David Schmitt: I know. And that’s what I loved about … it was the first sermon, your imagery of the butterfly. This is not kind of let’s take this apart and now we’ve got a dictionary definition and that’s all that we need. No, these parables are part of life and they shape the way we live and there’s a wonder to them. There’s a mystery to them that we’re always going to be experiencing as we meditate on them.
Michael Zeigler: So we’ve talked about this setup of a parable, the metaphor and transfer of meaning and discovery meaning. And come back again next week, we’re going to talk about that shocking or arresting event.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arr. Peter Prochnow. Used by permission.
“Crucifer” by Sydney H. Nicholson, arr. Peter Prochnow. Used by permission.
“Forth in Thy Name” arr. Henry Gerike. Used by permission.
“Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House) Used by permission.