The parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the best-known stories Jesus ever told. Hospitals, laws and charities are named after it. But the story began with a question someone asked to win an argument.
The question behind the story
One day an expert in the law stood up to test Him. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘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 ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus said. “Do this and you will live.” But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Luke 10:25–29 (BSB)
The expert in the law knew the right answer: love God, and love your neighbor as yourself. His question was really, “How far does ‘neighbor’ go? Who can I leave off the list?”
The story Jesus told
A man was traveling the steep, dangerous road from Jerusalem down to Jericho when robbers beat him and left him half dead. A priest came by and passed on the other side. So did a Levite, who served at the temple. Both were religious leaders, and both kept walking.
But a Samaritan on a journey came upon him, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
Luke 10:33–34 (BSB)
That’s the twist. Jews and Samaritans had hated each other for centuries. Jesus’ listeners would have expected the Samaritan to be the villain. Instead, he’s the one who stops, pays and takes care of a stranger at real cost to himself.
Jesus turns the question around
Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” “The one who showed him mercy,” replied the expert in the law. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.
Luke 10:36–37 (BSB)
The lawyer asked, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus answered with a different question: which of the three men was a neighbor to the one in need? The point isn’t to define who deserves our love. It’s to become people who show mercy to whoever is in front of us, even people we’d rather avoid.
Many Christians since Origen and Augustine have also seen a picture of Jesus in the Samaritan. We were the ones left beaten on the road, and He came to us, the one we had rejected, and paid the cost to heal us. That is a fitting way to connect the story to the gospel, though it isn’t the point Jesus was making here. He told the story to show us how to love our neighbor. We love our neighbors because He first loved us.
Reflect
- Who is someone in your life it would be easier to pass by, the way the priest and the Levite did?
- What keeps you from stopping: time, money, fear, or not knowing what to do?
- What’s one way you could “go and do likewise” this week?
Pray
Jesus, thank You for stopping for me when I couldn’t help myself. Open my eyes to the people I usually pass by, and give me a heart of mercy. Show me one way to be a neighbor this week. Amen.
Keep going
- Watch our message “Who Is My Neighbor?” (Luke 10:25–37).
- See how Clarity serves our neighbors on our Community Involvement and Missions page.
We’d love to see you on Sunday. Clarity Church meets Sundays at 10am at Edinbrook Elementary in Brooklyn Park. Come as you are.