Who is My Neighbour?

Most of us are familiar with the story of the Good Samaritan, but are less familiar with its context. In his response to the lawyer's question, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 10:25) Jesus has managed to get the lawyer to answer his own question (quite a feat when dealing with lawyers). His answer includes the statement, "[you shall love] your neighbour as yourself." (Luke 10:27) Wanting to set a boundary around who happens to be his neighbour, the lawyer asks the question, "And who is my neighbour?" (Luke 10:29) It was an interesting question. In the OT book, Song of Solomon, the husband addresses his wife (in Greek) with the endearing term, "Neighbour!" (Try that one at home!) Neighbour became an expression for a close relative, and the lawyer's question was to ask how close does a relative have to be in order for this command to apply. Jesus's story shows that even a despised Samaritan would know the answer - every person with whom I come in contact is my neighbour. That is the person I am to love as I love myself. Jesus extends the commandment that the lawyer sought to restrict.