Lutheran Devotional 10th July 2025, Thursday Message
TOPIC: Our Neighbor from Heaven
Luke 10:25a, 29b-37 – And behold, a lawyer stood up to put Him to the test, … desiring to justify himself, [the lawyer] said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
It makes me laugh to see how this story starts. A lawyer stands up to “put [Jesus] to the test.” That never ends well, because inevitably Jesus turns things around until it’s us who get tested! And it happens again in this story.
First Jesus and the lawyer talk about how people get eternal life. It ends with the lawyer feeling uneasy, like he needs to justify himself. So he asked the same question people are asking today: “Who exactly is my neighbor?” Who does God require me to care for, and who can I safely ignore?
So Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan—and ends it with His own question: “Who proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” Notice how He’s changed the topic! And then He commands the lawyer to go and do likewise. To whom? To everybody, it looks like! To anyone you find lying on the side of the road, needing help.
And that’s what He says to us, too. And why? Because He Himself has done it first for us. As sinful, broken human beings in a world filled with evil, we were the man lying on the side of the road needing help; and Jesus is the One who came along and saved us. And He didn’t do it from a distance. No, He got up close and personal with us—bringing us out of danger, caring for our needs, healing our pain by sharing it Himself. He rescued us, not just with hard work and money, but at the cost of His own death and resurrection. He would do more, if that were necessary. Jesus is the proof that God loves us, because He is God Himself, come down from far-off heaven to be our closest neighbor—and the One who saves us all.
WE PRAY: Dear Savior, help me to go and do likewise to everyone You send me. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
- Are there some people you find it hard to care for? Why?
- Tell about a time someone cared for you and you didn’t expect it.
- Ask the Lord to send you someone to care for, for the love of Jesus.
Today’s Readings:
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.