church of Christ at 26th and Connecticut
Joplin, Missouri

Phone
417-781-2326

1819 E 26th
Jopin, MO  64804

   Worship Schedule

Sunday
    Bible Class              9 am
    Morning Worship    10 am
    Evening Worship      6 pm

Wednesday
     Devotional & Class   7 pm

Upcoming Activities

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?

By Jake King

In Louis L’amour’s book, “The Quick and the Dead,” a family, Duncan and Susanna McKaskel, and their boy, Tom, are traveling west.  Along the way they meet a loner named Con Vallian who winds up providing them with almost constant help along their journey, even saving their lives time and again.  At one point in the book, Duncan thanks Vallian for helping them.  Then Vallian explains that he helps them because they are:

         “Neighbors, sort of.  Out here we set store by neighbors.  Count them a blessing.”

         “But you are not our neighbor,” Tom said.  “Not really.”

         “Depends.  All depends.  Out here most anybody in a hundred miles is a neighbor.  Folks are more scattered out.  On the other hand, I don’t know as anybody ever set limits on the word.  My ma used to say anybody who was in need was a neighbor.”

Did Con Vallian’s mother teach him the truth?  In other words, who is my neighbor?

            A lawyer once asked Jesus that exact question.  Here’s how their conversation went:

And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?"  And he answered and 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 YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."  And He said to him, "You have answered correctly; DO THIS, AND YOU WILL LIVE."  But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:25-29 NASB).

It was a good question.  What did the word “neighbor” mean in the Scripture which he quoted (Leviticus 19:18)?  And for that matter, what does it mean in other Scriptures, like in the Ten Commandments:

"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.  You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16-17 NASB).

And what did Paul mean, when he said to the Romans:

Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.  For this, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET," and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."  Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love therefore is the fulfillment of the law. [...]  Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his edification (Romans 13:8-10, 15:2 NASB).

And what did James have in mind, when he wrote,

If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law, according to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you are doing well. [...]There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor? (James 2:8; 4:12 NASB). 

Don’t we want to know what that lawyer wanted to know: “Who is my neighbor?”

            Jesus answered the lawyer’s question by telling the story of the Good Samaritan:

"A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went off leaving him half dead.  And by chance a certain priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  And likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him, and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  And on the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.' Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?" (Luke 10:30-36 NASB).

You notice that Jesus altered the question somewhat and now asks it back to the lawyer.  The lawyer answered, "The one who showed mercy toward him," and Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same” (Luke 10:37 NASB).