When Jesus was asked what was important in the Torah and how one can inherit eternal life, he answered with this parable. With it he demonstrated the meaning of the commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Leviticus 19:18). In fact, Jesus is telling us that the essence of the Torah is to relate to our neighbor in a fair and ethical way. When we serve our neighbor with mercy and extend a hand to help, we are obeying Jesus' command and also upholding the Torah. But how are we to do it, or what will it look like? The parable of the Good Samaritan demonstrates the principle behind the word.
One of the important elements in the parable is time. The people who passed by the injured man were very busy. The Samaritan, on the other hand, even though he too was busy, sacrificed his time and energy. Let us never allow time pressures to prevent us from helping our neighbor! Instead, when we have an opportunity to help someone, let us be ready to sacrifice our precious time, even in the middle of life's race. There is something more important, so let us lend a hand.
If we were to come upon someone on the side of the road who has been the victim of a mugging, no doubt we would stop to help. But situations are rarely that obvious, and often it just looks different. It may be someone in the congregation having financial difficulties, or someone at work suffering from depression, or a friend going through a time of spiritual frustration. Also in situations like these it is easy to ignore the need. If we are ready to help, it is going to take initiative, time, and energy. Let us never pass by on the other side! If we help a person who is weak and spiritually frustrated, then we are acting like the Good Samaritan.