A Jewish man versed in the Mosaic Law asked Jesus Christ: “By doing what shall I inherit everlasting life?” Jesus replied: “What is written in the Law? How do you read?” Quoting the Law, the man said: “‘You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole strength and with your whole mind,’ and, ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” “You answered correctly,” said Jesus. “Keep on doing this and you will get life.”​—Luke 10:25-28.

At that, Jesus’ inquirer asked: “Who really is my neighbor?” Instead of answering directly, Jesus told an illustrative story about a Jewish man who had been robbed, beaten, and left half dead. Along came two Jews​—first a priest and then a Levite. Both of them observed their fellow Jew’s condition but did nothing to help him. A Samaritan came by next. Moved with pity, he dressed the wounds of the injured Jew, took him to an inn, and provided for his further care.

Jesus asked his inquirer: “Who of these three seems to you to have made himself neighbor to the man that fell among the robbers?” Clearly, it was the merciful Samaritan. Jesus thus showed that true neighbor love transcends ethnic barriers.​—Luke 10:29-37.

Love of Neighbor Is Possible

JESUS CHRIST’S illustration of the Samaritan showed what genuine neighbor love really means. (Luke 10:25-37) Jesus also taught: “‘You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. The second, like it, is this, ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’”​—Matthew 22:37-39.

Like many people, do you find it difficult to love your neighbor of an ethnic group other than your own? Perhaps this is so because you have learned about or have personally experienced discrimination and injustice. You or your loved ones may even have suffered abuse at the hands of people of another group.

Since Jesus indicated that one of God’s commandments is that we love our neighbor, it must be possible to overcome such strong feelings. The key to doing so is to view people as God and Christ do. In this regard let us consider the example of Jesus and the early Christians.

Jesus’ Fine Example

First-century Jews had strong feelings against the Samaritans, a people living in an area between Judea and Galilee. On one occasion Jewish opposers contemptuously asked Jesus: “Do we not rightly say, You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” (John 8:48) So strong was anti-Samaritan sentiment that some Jews even cursed Samaritans publicly in the synagogues and prayed daily that the Samaritans would not be granted everlasting life.

Knowledge of this deep-seated hatred doubtless prompted Jesus to give the illustration about the Samaritan who proved himself to be a real neighbor by taking care of the Jewish man beaten by robbers. How might Jesus have answered when the Jewish man versed in the Mosaic Law asked: “Who really is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29) Well, Jesus could have replied directly by saying: ‘Your neighbor includes not only your fellow Jew but also other people, even a Samaritan.’ Jews would, however, have found it difficult to accept that. So he related the illustration about a Jew who received a Samaritan’s mercy. Jesus thus helped Jewish listeners to draw the conclusion that true neighbor love would extend to non-Jews.