The Good Samaritan is the parable Jesus told when a lawyer asked, And who is my neighbor?
A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers.
A priest passed by.
A Levite passed by.
A Samaritan came near, bound the wounds, paid the inn, and promised to return.
Which of these three proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?
The one who showed him mercy. Jesus said, You go, and do likewise.
A lawyer stood up to test Jesus. What shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus sent him to the Law. He answered well: love God with all the heart, and the neighbor as yourself. Do this and you will live. Wanting to justify himself, he asked for a border on neighbor. Jesus did not draw a map. He told a road. Jerusalem down to Jericho is a descent, a known place of ambush. Religious traffic walks that road and keeps its hands clean. The surprise is the third man. Jews and Samaritans had no dealings. This one sees, has compassion, approaches, pours oil and wine, lifts the body onto his own animal, stays the night’s cost, and leaves credit for whatever more. Neighbor in the story is not the victim’s category. Neighbor is the one who became neighbor by mercy. The lawyer cannot even say “Samaritan.” He says, The one who showed him mercy. That is enough. Eternal life was the first question. Love of God and neighbor was the Law’s answer. The parable will not let neighbor mean my kind only. It also will not let mercy stay a theory. Go and do likewise is the last word. The Son who told it would soon be the One who found the half-dead on another road and paid what more it cost.
- The lawyer asked for a limit. Jesus gave a person who refused the limit.
- Priest and Levite know holy things and still walk by.
- Compassion moves the feet. Seeing without stopping is not mercy.
- The Samaritan’s care is practical: oil, wine, cloth, a beast, coins, a promise to return.
- Neighbor is proven in the act, not in the passport.
- “Do this and you will live” still stands over the conversation. No one justifies himself.
- The church reads the story as command and as a shadow of the Savior who crossed the divide.
- The Question – Who is my neighbor? asked to justify.
- The Road – Descent, danger, a man half dead.
- The Passersby – Office without mercy.
- The Unexpected Helper – A Samaritan who comes near.
- The Cost – Time, touch, money, and a return.
- The Verdict – The one who showed mercy.
- The Charge – Go and do likewise.
- Luke 10:25-29 – “And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? How do you read it?’ And 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 answered correctly; do this, and you will live.’ But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’”
- Luke 10:30-35 – “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, 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, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’”
- Luke 10:36-37 – “‘Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You go, and do likewise.’”
- Leviticus 19:18, 34 – “You shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord… You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself.”
- Deuteronomy 6:5 – “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
- Matthew 22:37-40 – The two commandments; on these hang all the Law and the Prophets.
- John 4:9 – “For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.”
- Luke 9:52-53 – A Samaritan village would not receive Him because He was going to Jerusalem.
- Luke 17:16-18 – The one leper who returned to give thanks was a Samaritan.
- Micah 6:8 – Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with your God.
- Hosea 6:6 – “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”
- James 2:8, 15-16 – The royal law: love your neighbor as yourself. Faith without deeds toward a brother in need is dead.
- 1 John 3:16-18 – He laid down His life for us; we ought to lay down our lives; let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
- Romans 13:8-10 – Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love is the fulfilling of the law.
- Isaiah 58:6-7 – Loose the bonds; share bread; bring the homeless poor into your house.
- 2 Chronicles 28:15 – Men of Israel clothed the captives from Judah, put them on donkeys, and brought them to Jericho—an older mercy on that same road.
What shall I do to inherit eternal life? Love God. Love your neighbor. Do this and you will live.
And who is my neighbor?
A priest saw him and passed by. A Levite saw him and passed by. A Samaritan saw him and had compassion.
Which of these three proved to be a neighbor? The one who showed him mercy.
You go, and do likewise.
Do not ask for a smaller map. Come near. Bind the wounds. Pay what more it costs.
He laid down His life for us. Love in deed and in truth. The inn is not the end of the story. He said He would come back.
Entry compiled for the JESUSaves.com Bible Glossary. Optimized for wiki.js Visual Editor.