Who is my Neighbor?

But he, willing to justify himself, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor? And answering, Jesus said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers, who stripped him of his clothing and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by coincidence a certain priest came down that way and seeing him, he passed by on the opposite side. And in the same way a Levite, also being at the place, coming and seeing him, he passed on the opposite side. But a certain traveling Samaritan came upon him, and seeing him, he was filled with pity. And coming near, he bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine, and set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And going on the next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, Take care of him. And whatever more you spend, when I come again I will repay you. Then which of these three, do you think, was neighbor to him who fell among the robbers? And he said, The one doing the deed of mercy to him. And Jesus said to him, Go and do likewise (Luke 10:29-37)

THE PRIEST

• It is said that not less than 12,000 priests and Levites dwelt at Jericho; and as their business was at Jerusalem, of course there would be many of them constantly traveling on that road.
• He saw him and passed the other side.Maybe he was thinking of his busy schedule and do not want to be bothered

• He broke the Jewish Law which states that even enemies should be treated as friends:Exodus 23:4-5-If you meet your enemy's ox or his ass going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. If you see the ass of him who hates you lying under his burden, and would hold back from helping him, you shall surely help him.

THE LEVITE

• Levites assist the priests in temple ceremonies
• The Levite watched the man but still did nothing to relieve him.

THE SAMARITAN

• The Great Commandment: Luke 10:27 - And answering, he said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.
• Jews and Samaritans were enemies (Matthew 10:5, John 4:9).Love your enemies (Matthew 5:43-48)

• Came upon him and see him—He took time.We must make time to help our neighbor.

• He was filled with pity—He showed compassion.We must love one another (John 13:34-35)

• Bound up his wounds with oil and wine—Acted out his compassion.If we are indeed religious, we must show it by works of faith (James 2:18, 20,26)

• Brought him to an inn and took care of him—He supported him all the way. We should never stop from doing good (Galatians 6:9-10)