"Who is my neighbor?"
That's the famous question by a self-righteous Jewish lawyer that begets the Parable of the Good Samaritan, perhaps the most known among the parables of Jesus.
Nowadays, the word 'Samaritan' is synonymous with being charitable. But in Jesus' time, Samaritans were among the most despised people in Israel for being too unorthodox and lax in following the Law and for intermarrying non-Jews, similar to today's nominal non-fundamentalist Christians and Muslims alike. Most Jews during the time of Jesus hate to associate with the Samaritans but Jesus quite often went through Samaria and interacted with the Samaritans. The tolerance that Jesus showed to Samaritans must have irritated the orthodox Jews of his time especially the priests and probably played a part in their decision to plot his death.
In the parable, both the priest and the Levite are known to know the Law by heart yet showed no compassion to the dying man on the road. They represented the religious-acting people who talk the talk but rarely walk the walk. Instead, it was the much maligned Samaritan who showed great compassion to the man. Jesus was citing as example a member of a group hated by those in his audience. In fact, when he asked "which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?", the self-righteous lawyer, more likely still with personal hardness in his heart, cannot bring himself to say "the Samaritan” and instead said " one who had mercy on him."
Jesus' moral lesson is very clear in this parable, which clearly answered the question "who is my neighbor [whom I should love as myself]?". Yet, many "orthodox" Christians and Muslims of today continue to act like those orthodox Jews in his time, despising and hating those who are considered "non-believers", "idolators" and "infidels", including those nominal Christians and Muslims who are not regular church-goers, those "progressives" who showed tolerance to other groups, even intermarry them, and are not as rigid in mastering their Bibles and their Korans. How sad. A lesson not entirely learned.
"If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."
~ 1 Corinthians 13:2
