Week 3 - April7

Mark 12:28-34 // Above All...

Above All...

Mark 12:28-34

Who Is My Neighbor?

“Then the men who were designated by name arose, took the captives, and they clothed all their naked ones from the spoil; and they gave them clothes and sandals, fed them and gave them drink, anointed them with oil, led all their feeble ones on donkeys, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brothers; then they returned to Samaria.”

2 Chronicles 28:15

Jesus says the most important command is to love the Lord. This is a reference to the Shema that the Jews recited daily. But he follows it up immediately by saying, "The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" This begs the question, who is my neighbor? We are given Jesus' answer to this in Luke 10:25-37 in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Interestingly, as well known as this parable is, most of us probably don't realize that it was a reference to Old Testament events described in the passage above. Read more about this connection in the article linked below by Lois Tverberg.