In Luke 10, Jesus was asked a question by a religious lawyer that only a lawyer could ask. As a Jew he knew God had commanded him, “to love your neighbor as yourself.” Instead of looking a neighbor to love, he asks the question, “Who is my neighbor?” He was thinking he didn’t have to love anyone who didn’t meet this qualification.
Jesus responds by telling a story that draws the boundaries of your neighbors as far and wide as possible. Jesus picks a character who have been most hated by the religious lawyer, and made him the hero of the story. His point- there is no only you meet who is not worthy of God’s or our merciful love.