On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
He answered, “‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Luke 10:25-37
During 2026, Peachtree Church is inviting everyone into Cultivate, a churchwide discipleship plan centered on the fruit of the Spirit and the kind of life God longs to grow in us. Throughout the year, we’ll explore how love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control take shape in everyday life through the Spirit’s work. Cultivate brings together worship, Scripture, group guides, and meaningful practices designed to meet you where you are and support growth in ways that fit your season. These twice-weekly devotionals are one way to stay connected, offering reflection and grounding for daily life with God. Whether you engage in many ways or just one, you’re invited to be part of this shared journey of becoming more rooted in who God has created and called you to be.
Devotional
Many people tried to best Jesus in battles of wit, knowledge, and theology. Never did anyone get the better of him. But it did not stop educated and curious folk from trying to win a smart-off. What Jesus aimed for was not to win a trivia contest, but to upend their stale ideas about the way to live out their faith in the world. There were crowds listening to these contests…and we are still listening and having our ideas turned upside-down about how to live a Christ-like life.
This battle of wits was initiated by a “lawyer” or an expert in the law of Moses. He was a religious scholar who knew Scripture inside-out (or at least, so he thought). He lobbed Jesus a very easily answered question, “How can I inherit eternal life?”
There he stands in front of Jesus, perfectly correct in every way. Jesus graciously invites him to answer the question and he does so perfectly.
But then he pushes his luck. He asks another question. He thinks he knows the answer. “Who is my neighbor?” He’s looking for a way to have neighbors that he feels akin to, comfortable with. Surely, he will say, the neighbor is a person like me, who follows the law zealously, who’s a smart person of standing like me. The lawyer thinks, that’s the kind of neighbor I like.
Jesus must have thought, “Ah, that’s what I was afraid of. You have too narrow a view of the neighbor, and it’s stunting your soul.” Out loud, he said, “Let me tell you a story.” Instead of a law, he tells a living story, with living characters they would know and understand. And then Jesus gives it a twist that brings it right up under the lawyer’s nose (and right under our noses too).
One upon a time, there was a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. It was a dangerous road full of violent bad guys and robbers. Sure enough, he was set upon, beaten, robbed, and even stripped of his clothes. (Clothes were valuable possessions because cloth was so hard to make.) There he lies, beside the road, half-dead. But look, someone very nice is walking by! It’s a priest, and he sees him and passes him right by. But then, another really nice person comes along! It’s a Levite, a helper to the priesthood. But he also passes him. The crowd might have thought, well, those two groups of people must stay ritually clean for temple duty, so maybe that’s why they passed. They had rules that prevented them from dirtying their hands. But somewhere deep inside, it seems so wrong that the supposed shepherds of the flock of Israel should be more concerned with keeping their hands clean than ministering to people in pain. It sure seemed wrong to Jesus because he gives them a hands-on hero.
The Samaritan sees the beaten man, pities him, immediately goes to him, and personally washes his wounds, giving the best first aid of his time. (In doing so, he disregards his own safety, because remember, this is a dangerous road.) He puts him on his own mount, takes him to an inn, and cares for him there. He gives the innkeeper money for further care and instructs him to ask for more money if he uses it all up, the next time he comes through town.
The shocker for the first hearers is that the man who gives mercy, and acts like a real neighbor, is a pariah in their eyes. The Samaritans were regarded as fake God-worshippers, renegades, half-breeds, distained by good Jews. They wouldn’t eat with a Samaritan. And yet…their best and most correct representatives, the priest and the Levite, did not show gracious care and kindness the way the Samaritan did.
Jesus stands and looks at the lawyer, and the crowd. He looks into their eyes and asks, “Who of these three was a real neighbor to the man?” The lawyer cannot even bring himself to say, “The Samaritan.” He mutters, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus says, “You go and do the same.”
Author and teacher, NT Wright, asks us to consider who are the people lying half-dead in our streets? In streets around the world? Are we trying to keep our hands clean, or are we following Jesus and the Good Samaritan and kneeling down to help those who are not like us, who are in deep need.
Still, the Lord is watching what we do. What will he see you do?
For Reflection
It is sadly very easy to come up with a list of people we would not help even if they were in our path. Make your own list, not someone else’s list, but yours. What is your answer to NT Wright’s question, “Who are the half-dead lying on our streets?” Why don’t we help? Is it fear, or distrust, or hatred? Is it the idea that someone else will and should help? Are we afraid of what the nice people will think if we help that kind of person? How do we talk ourselves out of helping?
Prayer
Dear Lord, help me to discard those old, stale ways of thinking about what You want me to do, who You want me to help. Help me to throw away ideas like, “Are they worthy of my help?” Don’t let me pass by and stay clean and uninvolved. Help me to be a neighbor that breaks through the fear and passivity, to kneel in the road and get my hands dirty and help.
And Lord, bless those who have knelt beside me when I was beaten down, and helped me to safety and healing. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
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