Lucas 10:25-37
25And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26And he said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. 29But he, desiring to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
30Jesus made answer and said, A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among robbers, which both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31And by chance a certain priest was going down that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32And in like manner a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion, 34and came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on them oil and wine; and he set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35And on the morrow he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, I, when I come back again, will repay thee. 36Which of these three, thinkest thou, proved neighbour unto him that fell among the robbers? 37And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. And Jesus said unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
What does this parable reveal about the Kingdom of God?
Before starting the parable Luke explains the context where a teacher of the law is questioning Jesus about how to achieve the inheritance of eternal life (that is, to be entitled to an inheritance you have to be a son: belonging to the Kingdom of God), and Jesus wisely responds with another question, about what is written in the law.
The master of the law responds according to the scriptures but counters with another question wanting to know who would be next, since for the Jews, next generally refers only to the Jewish people. And Jesus, to explain who his neighbor is, and how anyone who is a son and belongs to his Kingdom should act, begins the parable.
Jesus begins by saying that a man was going down to Jericho and see that He does not mention either the name or the nationality of the man, that is, purposefully anyone, that is, the neighbor is anyone, not someone of a specific ethnicity.
This man was assaulted and left on the side of the road to die, and then a priest came along the road, but when he saw that someone was completely hurt, he went to the other side so as not to pass by; therefore the person most knowledgeable of the law and who should live it, simply ignored it when alone. Then came a Levite (responsible for religious cults and pleas "things" of God) also did not help the man and accelerated the pace to pass him faster, also neglecting the law.
Then came a Samaritan, who at the time was a people hated by the Jews, who, seeing the man, felt compassion (had mercy) in his heart and got off his horse to help: that is, a ruler is in constant connection with God and , like God, distributes mercy.
See that this Samaritan is someone prepared, with weapons for the Kingdom of God: he was on horseback, he knew how to take care of the person, he had a bandage to give first aid, he had wine to sterilize the wound and oil to comfort him. He took the man, on his horse, to a boarding house, took care of him, left the stay paid and even said that he would pay any additional cost.
At the end Jesus asks who was next to the man who was lying on the road, and of course, the teacher of the law replies that it was the Samaritan and Jesus counters saying that it has to be done in the same way, that is. Who is our neighbor? Exactly who is by our side now, in the present time. And how should we proceed when we feel compassion in our heart? With mercy and taking care of this person. But for that we must be prepared, that is, we are responsible for having our weapons and being able to do what God wants.