Who is my neighbor?

The command: “Love your neighbor as yourself” appeared eight times in the Bible. And according to (Mark 12:28-31 KJV), It is part of an answer to a question that a member of the scribes asked Jesus at one of His Bible studies: The big question however, is– Who is my neighbor? The answer to this question can be found in (Luke 10:29-37), where Jesus used the story of the good Samaritan to answer the question.

“And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him [Jesus], Which is the first commandment of all?

And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:28-31)

Who is this neighbor Jesus is telling me to love as I love myself?

Jesus answer this question in (Luke 10:29-37), where a lawyer tried to show Jesus up. “But he, willing to prove himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise”

It is safe to say that my neighbor is any person I come in contact with on a daily basis, irrespective of place.

Related articles

• Jesus Cleanses a Leper: A Revealing Healing (reflectionsintheword.org)
• The parable of – “Do This and You Will Live” (representers.wordpress.com)
• Being Neighborly as the Path to Salvation (frted.wordpress.com)