The Samaritans were the newly imported alien population after the fall of Samaria in 722BC, hence the name Samaritan. They were never accepted by the Jews and in the time of Nehemiah the rift was clearly irreparable.
The building of the Samaritan Temple on Mt. Gerizim set the seal on the Jewish rejection of this heretical sect and it was the Jewish king Hyrcanus who destroyed the Samaritan temple in 128BC. The Jewish hatred of the Samaritans was partly historical but was mainly the result of racial hatred.
The Jewish layer asked Jesus in true legalistic fashion to define the word ‘neighbour.’ The parable Jesus gave in reply is most remarkable. We might have expected a parable telling how a Jew should show love to people including the hated Samaritans but in fact Jesus tells the Jewish lawyer that even the despised Samaritans who were the victims of Jewish hatred may be better than the proud Jew to whom Jesus was talking. Jesus was a straight talker and he told people to their face. Good for him.
Jesus illustrated his message by comparing a priest who was at the top of Jewish hierarchy, a Levite who was responsible for the spiritual leadership of the nation and a Samaritan who was despised by all. The Priest and the Levite ignored the man who had been robbed and mercilessly beaten and passed by on the other side of the road. However the Samaritan when he saw the man took pity on him. He poured oil on his wounds and bandaged them and gave the man wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
Jesus asked the Jewish lawyer, "Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The lawyer replied, "The one who had mercy on him." (He couldn’t even bring himself to say the word Samaritan)
Jesus told the lawyer, "Go and do likewise."
The point is that you cannot love someone you hate and in order to love our neighbour who we may not like we need a change of heart. We need to change our attitude towards people so that we can love them.
This is one of the main problems in the world today and just as Jesus told the Jewish lawyer to change his ways and to love those he despised, so he is telling us also to love our neighbour just like the Samaritan did.
