Even in His time, the religious leaders saw the teachings as rules and laws and in that, I believe they missed the point. In the Old Testament they had the laws or commandments given to Moses by God. Those ten along with all the other teachings brought up a question in the minds of even the religious teachers. One time Jesus was asked, "What is the greatest command?"His answer then was the same one given in the teaching of the good Samaritan.
Most likely, we have all heard Jesus teaching of the "Good Samaritan". What we all may not know is how that teaching came to be given. Jesus was asked a question by "an expert in religious law" who was trying to test Jesus. His question was (Luke 10:25); "Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?"
Let me point out the weight of this question. He didn't ask Jesus what he should do to be a good guy. He didn't ask him what he had to do to be blessed among men or any such thing. He asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. This should carry a heavy weight with us as we ponder His teaching. To do what Jesus is about to tell him is not only a description of actions but is a mindset. It is the mindset and heart Jesus came with to accomplish the will of the Father and it is the heart of the Father Himself. Jesus lived in a way that projected the Father Himself. In fact, He once said if you have seen Him, you have seen the Father. You cannot just do the acts of the Samaritan, you have to have the heart and mindset of Christ to act in such a way. It is a call to get your heart right and be aligned with how God loves.
Jesus response to the teacher was to ask him what the Law of Moses said and how he understood it. The teacher answered (Luke 10:27), "You must love the Lord your God with all your soul, all your strength and all your mind. And, love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus spoke saying, " Right! Do this and you will live." The teacher then asked, "And who is my neighbor?" This is a question many of us might ask for there are surely some people we would never consider neighbors just so we could avoid loving them. They may not be like us, they may be undesirable in some way or we may find them offensive or beneath the platform we have elevated ourselves to. Such thinking is just what Jesus spoke to in the teaching of the good Samaritan. We would do well to really understand who our neighbor is.
The teaching; A "Jewish" man was traveling and was overcome by robbers who robbed him, took his clothes and beat him, leaving him half dead by the side of the road. Soon a priest came along, saw the man lying there and crossed to other side and passed him by. Here is a big point. The priest was one of the man's own kind. He was a man who taught the teachings of the Old Testament, yet he left the man to die. Next, a Temple assistant walked over to the man, looked at him and left him as well.
Jesus then talked about the next person to come along. This man was a Samaritan. Jews hated Samaritans and Samaritans hated Jews. Jesus described the man as "a despised Samaritan". Even though the Samaritan was despised by the Jews and even though the victim here was a Jew (Luke 10:33) "the Samaritan felt compassion for him". If anyone would, in a worldly sense, be justified in passing the man by, surely the Samaritan would be.
The Samaritan not only came to his aid and bandaged him but also took him to an inn where he took care of him. He then gave the inn keeper two silver coins to continue to care for him promising if the bill was higher, he would pay the difference next time he came by.
Jesus then asked the teacher who was a neighbor to the fallen man. The teacher answer, "the one who showed him mercy." Jesus said, "Yes, now go and do the same." Remember the man's question? What must I do to inherit eternal life? He believed in the Most High God already as he was a teacher of religious law. Now he was challenged to put what he already knew into practice. We too know the teachings and we too are challenged to put them into practice. Knowing is not the same as doing.
Here is something that is not in the teaching and may slip by us unnoticed. What about the Jew who was attacked? What happens when we apply Jesus teaching to him? The Jew finally healed and most likely went on with life grateful for the mercy he was shown. I imagine he might have, as some of us might, developed a hatred for priests and Temple assistants. How angry could he be that even his own people passed him by leaving him to die? With the strong hatred Jews had for the Samaritans, we can wonder if the Jew ever gave up his hatred for them. Perhaps because of his experience, he might have declared that if he ever came upon priests or Temple workers in trouble, he would pass them by.
However, Jesus teaching applied also to the Jew who was robbed. If he was to have the heart of God and if the very same priest or assistant were to be robbed and beaten, he was to care for them in the same manner he was cared for. Let's take it well into the heart of God by saying, if the very men who robbed him were to be robbed and beaten, the Jew would be expected to care for them in the same way as he was cared for. What? Yes, that is heart heart of God.
Let me go a tad deeper and say that God is like the Samaritan. He is despised by many people yet He loves them and cares for them. We have all wronged God and hurt Him, yet He loves us and never abandons us in times of trouble. God tells us clearly in Scripture that He desires all people come to Him to be saved so they can spend eternity with Him. Notice that the Samaritan didn't just put a bandaid on the Jew. He took great care of him which cost him dearly in the form of silver coins. The teaching tells us we are to care for those around us in need, even if it costs us dearly.
The heart and action of the Samaritan reflect the heart of God. His love for all mankind, His desire to rescue and care for us all, His efforts to save all mankind cost Him dearly too. It cost Him the life of His Son, Jesus Christ. The Samaritan gave two silver coins. God gave His Son and we are to live among one another with that same love and caring. Oh yes, the world around us is far from having the heart of God. We live in a time of hate, prejudice and anger. We live in a time where it is acceptable to only think of ourselves but it is not acceptable to God.
To inherit eternal life we have to accept Christ and have His heart within us. We are to love God with all we are and to love our neighbor as ourselves. This teaching clearly speaks of two things, compassion and mercy toward others - even those we may not like. The Samaritan showed the Jew compassion and mercy. Our God shows us compassion and mercy. This teaching is quite clear as Jesus said, we are to, "now go and do the same."