• Luke’s Gospel records Jesus’ confirmation of a core Jewish teaching. This teaching is the twin and interrelated doctrines of complete love for God and love of neighbor as self. If you want eternal life, Jesus said to the scholar and says to us, that is what you must do.

• Through his Church and its missionary activity over the centuries, Christ gives this core Jewish and human teaching as a gift to the whole world.

• But Luke tells us that the scholar of the law wanted to “justify himself,” so he asked Jesus “Who is my neighbor?”
• Who was this man required to love like he loved himself? Was it only certain people, fellow Jews? Were there people he was not required to love, like enemies or outcasts or the immoral?
• A very strong movement within Judaism was separatism. The Pharisees thought that best way for Jews to be faithful to God was to separate themselves from Gentiles and even sinful Jews: both groups had been tempting Jews away from the Law throughout Jewish history.
• The Jewish authorities were perplexed that Jesus associated with sinful Jews and even Samaritans.

• To answer the scholar’s question, Jesus composed the story we call the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

• But instead of answering the question, “Who is the neighbor I should love?” Jesus answers a different question: “Who is the man who loves his neighbor?”
• The answer is the hated Samaritan, not the Levite or the Jewish priest.

• To love your neighbor as yourself means to give care to anyone in need that you encounter, even if he is your enemy. The Parable of the Good Samaritan illustrates Jesus’ command to love your enemies and to do good to those who hate you (see Lk 6:27).