Michael Maardt, written shortly before Christmas 2022

Who is your 'neighbor' according to Jesus?

The Good Samaritan

Luke, chap. 10

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?”

The man answered, “You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus said, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.”

But the scribe, wanting to justify himself, asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus answered, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers. They stripped him and beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. By chance, a priest came down that same road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And a Levite, when he came to the place, also saw him and passed by on the other side.

But a Samaritan [a geographical area, but also a group of people], as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion on him. And he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. And he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him.

The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said,
"Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, when I come back, I will repay you."

Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to him [my emphasis, note the word FOR (dative)] who fell among the robbers?«

The lawyer answered, “The one who showed him mercy.”

And Jesus said, “You go and do likewise.”

[end of the parable]

Who is your 'neighbor'?

The so-called Christian church fathers and rulers, who misused Jesus' words and actions for an oppressive pseudo-religion called Christianity, have twisted and distorted this parable in the most gross way. They have led the 'believers' to believe that ALL other people are 'your neighbor'. Nonsense. Jesus confirms the lawyer who answers: "The one who showed him mercy." or put it another way:

Your neighbor is the one who helped you.

I have received comments from some who either 'don't understand' or 'disagree', so I will try to clarify. Jesus asks: "Which of these three do you think was a 'neighbor' to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" The victim is the one who fell into the hands of the robbers. Now to use metaphors from links from the web or relationships in relational databases: Jesus points FROM the victim TOWARDS the helper, saying 'a neighbor TO him', NOT the other way around, as the pseudo-Christian interpretation does.

The plain King James Bible says the same thing: 'unto him' - "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves?"

It is conceivable that certain beings have tampered with Jesus' words, precisely in order to distort and distort the meaning, but the essential point is nevertheless retained. I repeat

Your neighbor is the person who has helped you.

Jesus says elsewhere 'Love your neighbor as yourself' and by this means: 'Love all those who have helped you as yourself'. I repeat what Jesus says at the end: "Do likewise!"

Greetings Michael Maardt shortly before Christmas, 2022 - and a greeting to the now deceased Steen Duelund, who brought this to my attention.