A lawyer, wanting to test Jesus, asked, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus replied, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?"
The man answered, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind, and you must love your neighbor as yourself."
"Correct," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
Then the man, wanting to justify himself, asked Jesus, "So, who is my neighbor?"
Jesus replied with this story: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest came along, but when he saw the man lying there, crossed to the other side of the road to pass him by. Then a Levite going down the same road saw the man, and he too passed by on the other side. But when a Samaritan came to the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he gave two silver coins to the innkeeper and said, 'Look after him. When I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expenses you may have.' Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked?" Jesus asked.
The lawyer replied, "The one who showed him mercy."
Jesus told him, "That's right. Now go and do the same."
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