Luke 10:29 But the teacher of the Law wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?"

Luke 10:36 And Jesus concluded, "In your opinion, which one of these three acted like a neighbor toward the man attacked by the robbers?"

Luke 10:37 The teacher of the Law answered, "The one who was kind to him." Jesus replied, "You go, then, and do the same."

After the Lawyer gave his answer, Jesus said to him, "You are right, do this and you will live." But the teacher of the Law wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?"

(Luke 10:28-29)

It is possible, and highly probable that this man had not done this and may have been afraid Jesus would expose his fault so he quickly tried to justify himself by asking, "Who is my neighbor?" The Jews cared only for other Jews. They had nothing to do with Gentiles. Jewish leaders often only cared for themselves, forcing all others into oppression by their demands, and greed. Many different denominations do the same thing today. They care only for the members of their church. Jesus showed how wrong this attitude is by telling the parable of the Good Samaritan.

The parable starts with a man walking down a road from Jerusalem to Jericho. While on his journey some thieves attack him. They were so cruel that they even took this man's clothing, beat him, then left him naked and half dead by the side of the road. A priest came along, saw the man, moved to the other side of the road, and passed by the injured man. Then a Levite came by, he looked at the situation, then moved to the other side of the road and passed on by. The priest and Levite were men of public character and station. They were men who professed sanctity and their job was to show tenderness and compassion, just as they would have taught others to do, yet they would not do it themselves. I tend to think their actions were worse than the actions of the thieves. A person expects cruelty from highway robbers, but from a church leader you expect help and comfort. When the church leaders move away and try to ignore the desperate situation a person is in, that seems so much more cruel, because the opposite action is what the desperate person is expecting and needing from those people.

The next person who came along was a Samaritan. The Samaritans were despised by the Jews. The Jew would have nothing to do with them. This Samaritan had compassion for the injured man. Instead of moving to the other side of the road as the priest and Levite did, he went to the man, with an open heart, and cared for the injured man. He bandaged the wounds, pouring on oil and wine. The wine was used to wash and disinfect the wounds. The oil was used to soothe and help the wounds close up. Next, he put the injured man on his own animal and took him to an inn. When he got to the inn, he didn't leave the man right away. He stayed there through the night with him and cared for him. We're never told where the Samaritan was headed or when he had to be at his destination, but he obviously put his plans on hold to care for the injured man. The next day when the Samaritan left the inn he gave the innkeeper money and asked the innkeeper to take care of the man with a promise to repay whatever more was required for the man's care. The Samaritan gave his time, changed his travel plans, and paid a considerable amount of money, for a total stranger who was in need.

This parable can be applied for another purpose than what it was intended. It shows the kindness and love of our God and Savior towards a sinful, miserable, wounded world. We are like this injured man. Satan has robbed us, stripped us, and wounded us. We became more than half dead. The law required that we completely die for our sins. There was no relief, nothing to help us. Then came Jesus, the Good Samaritan, our Savior. He has compassion on us, He binds our wounds. "He heals the broken-hearted and bandages their wounds. Psalm 147:3" He pours not oil and wine, but something more precious. He pours his own blood. He takes care of us and paid all the costs to restore us. He volunteered to do this even though He was not one of us, but above us. This shows the wealth of love He has for us. How can we not feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude? How can we not love Him more than anything else?