Who Is My Neighbor?

Reading:
so he asked Jesus, and who is my neighbor? Luke 10:29.

Interpretation:
This is known as the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus is trying to teach a valuable lesson to His listeners; a lesson which teaches that we are all a part of the same creation, all directly related to God and to each other, and we are all obligated to help those others who are in need.
The parable begins with an unidentified individual who is the victim of a mugging - left half dead and naked. The story continues with Jesus pointing out the individuals who walk right past the one who is injured until finally one person stops to render aid to the injured man. Immediately, the story takes a compelling turn as we discover that the helper is a Samaritan a race that was despised by the Jews and considered to be inferior and unclean by any standard the last person you would expect to be put forward as a good example. Not only does this Samaritan help the wounded man, but he takes him to an inn to recover at the Samaritans expense!
This is a great story so far, but Jesus doesnt stop there. The Samaritan promises to come back after a few days to pay any additional expense that the individual might incur.
As we digest the story, we are certainly surprised to see an unlikely caregiver in the character of the Samaritan. But look closer. Who are the individuals who walked past the wounded man and left him naked and dying in the street? The first one was a priest ...