You want me to do WHAT? For HIM???

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?" He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live."
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.' Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." Luke 10:25–37

Who’s the forgotten man in all of this?
In some ways, it seems to me that there is a lot of talk about everyone but the traveler.
Bernard Brandon Scott suggests (this is, of course, a very cursory reading of his comments in "Hear Then the Parable) that the first hearers of this story would be listening for a hero, for one with whom they can identify. The priest and Levite would probably be regarded with a certain measure of anti-clericalism, and so there would be no problem in writing them off as not worthy of imitation. Yet, the Samaritan is ruled out as well. In listening for one with whom to identify  -  only the beaten man is left.
Interesting.
I am fairly sure that those who listen to this parable and identify with the Good Samaritan - are often - how does one say it? Not sufficiently . . . humble.
While I tire of reading sermons where they take a long detour to talk about how Jews and Samaritans did not get along, etc. etc. etc. etc. There is much there, and it may well be necessary to spend some time with this reality. This animosity is fairly central to the shock of the story. . .
I have wondered at the beaten man. Can I identify with him?
I have wondered at Jesus. “He was despised and rejected a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” Seems like the beaten man, AND the Samaritan are embodied in the one who goes to the cross.
Is this one where we are called to ste outside the story, rather than listen for ourselves here?
I doubt that, but I wonder.
On a quite different tack, I liked this sermon illustration: “A little one said to her grandpa. “Grandpa tell me a story.” “What kind of story?” the grandfather asked. “One about me.”
How is this story about me?
Who does it call me to be? Well, there was this traveler, who was beaten, hung on a cross, and left not half dead, but entirely and truly and tragically dead. He’s the one who said: "Go and do likewise."