耶稣很喜欢用一个故事来表达他的一个观点，这里的“好萨玛利亚人”就是他讲的故事中很有名的一个。

那时，有人问耶稣，旧约圣经里哪一个训诲最重要，耶稣说“你要尽心、尽性、尽意爱主你的上帝”，又要“爱邻舍如同 爱你自己一样。”

“爱”可以被解释为很多不同的内容，但是耶稣所说的“基督徒的爱”是对别人充满好意、尊敬，如果别人需要帮助就大力帮助的那种爱。我们要有这种爱的行动，而不是要我们仅仅感受到这样的爱。

“要爱你的邻舍如同爱你自己一样”，这是旧约圣经在“利未记”里的教导；这对如同耶稣家属的犹太人来说，是很圣洁的事。很多犹太人以为“邻舍”就是指他们同一族的犹太人而言。一天，一个律法师来向耶稣挑衅，问耶稣说，“那谁是我的邻舍呢？”耶稣就用“好萨玛利亚人”的故事作为回答。从某个角度来说，这个故事也就让我们这些人可以永远记住谁是我们的邻舍了。

有一个犹太人在单独外出旅行时被强盗抢了他所有的，而且还把他毒打了一顿，然后就被那么奄奄一息的人扔在路边。过了一会儿，一个犹太人的祭师走来，看到这个可怜的人躺在路边。那个祭师是个宗教人员，你会觉得他应该停下尽量来帮助这个既被抢又把打的人。但是他假装没有看到，马不停蹄的继续走他的路。后来有个当祭师助理的利未人走了过来。你大概也会觉得他该停下来帮这个被抢的人。但是他也就像那个祭师那样，毫不理会地继续赶他的路。

最后，有位萨玛利亚人走来。要知道萨玛利亚人和犹太人虽然共同住在在巴勒斯坦地区，所信仰的宗教也基本相像，但是他们彼此不觉得对方是自己的“邻舍”。因为萨玛利亚人与犹太人不是同一个宗族，几百年以来他们相互憎恨为敌，以至于双方互不交往！

可能你会以为这个萨玛利亚人与前面两个走过的人一样，匆匆走过不给予任何帮助。但是这个萨玛利亚人对这个受伤的犹太人动了慈悲的心，为他包扎了伤口，又把他扶上自己骑的牲口，然后把他带到一个小旅店，让他安全地在那里养伤。因为这个受伤的人被强盗抢劫了他所有的，这个萨玛利亚人不仅为这个受伤的犹太人付了旅店的费用，还付给店小二往后几天照顾这个犹太人的钱！

耶稣讲完了这个故事以后，对那个挑衅地问耶稣“那谁是我的邻舍”的律法师说，“你想，这三个人中，哪一个是落在强盗手中的邻舍呢？”那律法师不得不承认只有那个照顾了受伤犹太人的萨玛利亚人才把那个犹太人作为自己的邻舍来看待的，而不是那两个，虽然是自己民族的但是匆匆走过并不给予帮助的犹太人。于是耶稣对他说，“你去照样行吧。”

如果一个萨玛利亚人可以把一般人认为仇敌的犹太人作为邻舍来对待，而且耶稣又要求我们“去照样行”，所以我们必须把上帝所创造的人都作为我们的“邻舍”。我们应该爱所有的人，就像那个萨玛利亚人所做的那样。然而，基督徒、伊斯兰教徒、犹太人、天主教徒、新教徒、美国的黑人、印第安人、西班牙裔、亚裔、女人、贫穷的人、无家可归的人、不可爱的人、残疾的人、精神有病的人、和其他各种人还常常是被嘲笑、憎恨和歧视的对象。耶稣从天上看着我们的行为一定感到很忧伤，因为虽然在2000多年前已经教导了我们，但是我们至今还是不会“爱邻舍如同爱你自己一样”。

讨论问题：

1. 从这个故事里你学到什么？

2. 耶稣对“爱”的解释与平常人们说的“爱”有什么不同？

3. 我们能够对我们的邻舍怎样表达我们怜悯或者爱心？

4. 耶稣是怎样定义“邻舍”的？到底谁是我们的邻舍？

Jesus loved to tell a good story to make a point, and The Good Samaritan is one of His most famous stories of all.

Whenever someone asked Jesus which of the Old Testament commandments was the most important, Jesus said these two are the most important of all: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind" and "Love your neighbor just as much as you love yourself."

"Love" can mean many different things, but the "Christian love" that Jesus talked about means treating others with kindness and respect and helping them when they need it. It is the kind of love we do instead of the kind of love we feel.

"Love your neighbor as yourself" was part of the Old Testament Law (Leviticus 19:18) that was sacred to Jesus' kinfolk, the Jews. But, many people thought a "neighbor" meant only their fellow Jews. One day a lawyer asked Jesus, "And just who is my neighbor?" Jesus told the story of The Good Samaritan to answer his question in a way we can never forget:

A Jewish man was taking a trip alone and was attacked by robbers. They beat him, robbed him of everything he had, and left him nearly dead beside the road. After while, a Jewish priest came along and saw the poor man lying beside the road. As a religious man, you would expect him to stop and do what he could to help. But, instead, he kept going and pretended he did not see. Later, a Levite came along. Levites were assistants to the priests, so you would expect him to stop and help, too. But, he did just like the priest and kept on going.

Finally, a Samaritan man came by. Even though they both lived in the land of Palestine and shared a similar religion, the Jews and the Samaritans definitely did not think of each other as "neighbors." In fact, they hated each other. The Samaritans came from a different race of people than the Jews. They had considered each other enemies for hundreds of years and refused to even talk to each other!

You would expect the Samaritan man to be the one who just passed by without helping. Instead, this Samaritan man took pity on the injured Jewish man. He bandaged his wounds. He put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he could be safe and recover. Since the injured man had been robbed of everything he had, the Samaritan man even paid his bill at the inn and paid the innkeeper to take good care of him!

After telling this story, Jesus turned to the lawyer who had asked, "And who is my neighbor?" and said to him, "Now which of the three men that passed by was a neighbor to the injured man?" The lawyer was forced to admit that it was the Samaritan who treated the injured man as a neighbor, not his fellow Jews who did nothing to help. Jesus then said, "Yes, now go and do the same!"

If a Samaritan could be a neighbor to a Jew, and Jesus told us to "go and do the same," then all of God's people must be our neighbors and we must love them just as the Samaritan man did! Yet, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Protestants, African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, Asians, women, the poor, the homeless, the unattractive, the handicapped, the mentally ill, and countless other groups are still sometimes the victims of ridicule, hatred and discrimination. Jesus must be looking down with sadness that, after 2000 years, we have still not learned to love our neighbors!

Copyright © by Cliff Leitch

www.ChristianBibleReference.org. Used by permission

Discuss questions:

1. What lesson did you learn from this story?

2. How does Jesus define "neighbor"? Who is our neighbor?

3. What can we do to show compassion or "love" our neighbor?

4. How is the "love" described by Jesus different from the general idea of love?