“And who is my neighbor?” Ah! This will get him. This will draw him into a trap. This will entangle him in all manner of racial, theological, and cultural weeds. But Jesus pivots. He avoids legal exposition and argument and turns instead to a practical illustration.

Jesus answers with a story. In doing this, the Lord reminds us that the Bible is the world’s greatest storybook, and he is its greatest storyteller. The parable he tells is one of history’s most poignant and memorable. Its descriptions are riveting, its principle timeless.