The Good Samaritan
Who is my neighbor?
In this story, robbers beat a man and leave him hurt by the road.
Two things you can tap
- A verse number shows the Bible’s exact words.
- An underlined word shows what it means.
Story
What happened?
Tap a verse number, like , to read the Bible’s exact words.
Who’s who and what came beforePeople, places, and the story so far. Open it anytime.
Scene Card
Cast
- Jesus: The one the Gospels present as the promised Messiah and the Son of God. People often call him Teacher.
- An expert in the law: A teacher of Moses's law. He asks Jesus a question to test him.
- In Jesus's story: A hurt traveler, a priest, a Levite, a Samaritan, and an innkeeper.
Setting
- Jesus is teaching on his way to Jerusalem. His story takes place on the road from Jerusalem down to Jericho.
When
- During Jesus's work, about 2,000 years ago.
Before the Story
This is a parable. A parable is a short story Jesus told to teach something. The people in it are made up, but the point is real.
Jewish people and Samaritans did not get along. They had distrusted each other for hundreds of years (John 4:9).
An expert asks a big question. He wants to know how to have eternal life. Eternal life means life with God that never ends.
Here's what you know that almost nobody in this story knows: The hero of Jesus's story will be the person the listeners least expected.
Map of the Story
| Scene | Verses | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1. A test question | 10:25-28 | An expert asks how to have eternal life |
| 2. Who is my neighbor? | 10:29 | The expert asks a second question |
| 3. The road to Jericho | 10:30 | Robbers attack a traveler |
| 4. Two men walk by | 10:31-32 | A priest and a Levite pass by |
| 5. The Samaritan stops | 10:33-35 | A Samaritan takes care of the hurt man |
| 6. Jesus turns the question | 10:36-37 | Jesus asks who acted like a neighbor |
Plain Retelling
Scene 1 of 6A Test Question
One day an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (10:25).
Jesus answered with a question. What does the Law say? How do you read it?
The expert knew the answer. He quoted two lines from Moses's law. Love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. And "Love your neighbor as yourself" (10:27).
Jesus told him he was right. Do this, Jesus said, and you will live.
Scene 2 of 6Who Is My Neighbor?
The expert wanted to look good. So he asked another question. "And who is my neighbor?" (10:29).
One likely reason for his question: he wanted to know how far his love had to go. Who counts, and who doesn't?
Jesus answered with a story.
Scene 3 of 6The Road to Jericho
A man was walking from Jerusalem down to Jericho.
Jesus doesn't describe the road. But his listeners knew it. It dropped steeply through rocky desert, and robbers hid along it.
Robbers attacked him. They took his clothes and beat him. Then they left him by the road, half dead. That means badly hurt, close to dying.
Scene 4 of 6Two Men Walk By
A priest happened to come down the same road. Priests led worship at God's temple in Jerusalem.
The priest saw the hurt man. He moved to the other side of the road and kept walking.
Then a Levite came to the same spot. Levites helped at the temple. He saw the man too. He also crossed to the other side and kept walking.
The Bible doesn't say why they passed by. Jesus does not tell us. The story is not about their reasons.
Scene 5 of 6The Samaritan Stops
Then a Samaritan came along the road. Jewish people and Samaritans did not get along.
The Samaritan saw the man. He felt compassion. Compassion means caring deeply about someone who hurts.
He went to the man. He poured oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. Back then, oil and wine were used as medicine.
He put the man on his own animal. He took him to an inn and took care of him there.
The next day, the Samaritan gave the innkeeper two silver coins. That was about two days' pay. He told the innkeeper to take care of the man. He promised to pay any extra cost when he came back.
Scene 6 of 6Jesus Turns the Question
Then Jesus asked the expert a question. "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" (10:36).
The expert answered, "The one who showed him mercy" (10:37). He did not say "the Samaritan."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise" (10:37). Likewise means the same way.
The expert had asked, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus turned the question around. The real question is: Will I be a neighbor?
Meaning
What does it mean?
Read It
What Does This Mean?
| The text says | It means |
|---|---|
| "Love your neighbor as yourself" (10:27) | Care about other people as much as you care about yourself. The expert was quoting Moses's law (Leviticus 19:18). |
| "Wanting to justify himself" (10:29) | He wanted to look right, or to find a limit on who he had to love. |
| "He passed by on the other side" (10:31) | He saw the need and chose not to stop. |
| "Had compassion" (10:33) | He felt the man's pain, and it moved him to act. |
| "Go and do likewise" (10:37) | Be a neighbor to anyone who needs help, even someone you were taught to avoid. |
Back Then
Samaritans and Jewish people were enemies. They disagreed about where to worship God, and they had distrusted each other for centuries (John 4:9).
Two denarii was about two days' pay. A denarius was a normal day's wage for a worker (Matthew 20:2).
The road to Jericho dropped steeply. It wound through rocky desert, and it was known for robbers. (Easton's Bible Dictionary)
Literal Reader Alert
Is this a true event? It is a parable. Jesus made up the story to teach something true. We don't need to know the traveler's name.
Is Jesus saying priests are bad? No. Jesus does not say why they passed by. It's okay to notice things like this. The point is who stopped, and who we will be.
How People Feel
| Who | Feeling | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The expert | Testing Jesus | He wanted to see what Jesus would say (10:25) |
| The expert | Wanting to look right | He asked a second question to justify himself (10:29) |
| The Samaritan | Compassion | He saw a man badly hurt (10:33) |
For you
What does it mean for me?
Your Turn
Who are you in this story today? Tap one.
The hurt traveler
Then this story is for you first. Jesus stops for people who can't help themselves.
Someone walking past
Everyone walks past sometimes. Jesus doesn't shame the expert. He invites him to be a neighbor.
The one who stops
Keep going. Mercy is one of the ways God's love reaches people. If someone is badly hurt, getting an adult or calling 911 is helping too.
The expert, looking for a limit
Jesus doesn't give a list of who counts. Mercy doesn't check first.
You Might Have Heard
"The Good Samaritan means: be nice to strangers."
What's true: Jesus does say, "Go and do likewise." Kindness to strangers matters.
What the story is mainly about: Jesus changes the question. The expert asked, "Who counts as my neighbor?" Jesus asks, "Will you be a neighbor?" And the hero is the one person the listeners looked down on.
Where Jesus is: From the early church to Martin Luther, many Christians have seen Jesus in the Samaritan. This is a way of reading the story, not something Jesus says in it. In that reading, we are the hurt traveler. Jesus came to us, cared for us, and paid what it cost.
Good News
Before anyone could "go and do likewise," someone stopped for them. Jesus crossed the road to reach us when we could not help ourselves.
Big Idea
God's love crosses every border, and Jesus stops for us when we cannot help ourselves.
If this story brings up big feelings, talk with someone you trust, like a parent, pastor, or counselor.
For leaders and parentsLuther, church readings, and notes for teaching.
From Luther
Martin Luther preached on this parable (a sermon for the 13th Sunday after Trinity, printed in his Church Postil). He taught that Christ is the true Samaritan, who binds up our wounds. Then we go and do the same for others.
In Church
Many churches follow a reading plan called the Revised Common Lectionary. It reads Luke 10:25-37 in mid-July of Year C (Lectionary 15).
We quote Luther for what he got right about grace. He also wrote terrible things about Jewish people. Read our note on that.
Memorize
How do I keep it?
One line from this story to learn by heart. Practice a little now. It will come back later so it sticks.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
How did that feel?