The Good Samaritan

A teacher of the Law asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" — trying to find the limits of who deserved to be loved. Jesus answered with a story. A man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him, beat him, stripped him, and left him half dead by the road.

A priest came down the road, saw the man — and crossed to the other side and passed by. Then a Levite, a religious official, came, saw the man, and also passed by without stopping. Then a Samaritan came — and Samaritans and Jews were enemies; they despised each other. When the Samaritan saw the man, he was moved with deep compassion. He bandaged his wounds, poured on oil and wine, put him on his own donkey, brought him to an inn, took care of him all night, and in the morning paid the innkeeper to look after him, promising to pay any extra expenses on his return.

Jesus asked, "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The teacher said, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus said, "Go and do likewise." Our neighbor is anyone who needs our help — regardless of their background or ours. Love has no borders.