The Twenty-First Time

²⁵And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, 

Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

²⁶He said unto him, 

What is written in the law? how readest thou?

²⁷And he answering said, 

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

²⁸And he said unto him, 

Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

²⁹But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, 

And who is my neighbour?

³⁰And 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.

³¹And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, 

he passed by on the other side.

³²And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, 

and passed by on the other side.

³³But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

³⁴And 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.

³⁵And 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.

³⁶Which now of these three, thinkest thou, 

was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

³⁷And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. 

Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Luke 10

The lawyer asked, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus answered with a different question, "Which of these three was a neighbor..?" Our Lord is less concerned with who our neighbor is and more concerned with us being a neighbor to those around us. If I were the priest or Levite in this parable I would be thankful that there's more than the twenty-first time... 

and I am.