Story of the Good Samaritan

A certain expert in the law of Moses stood up and tempted Jesus, or tested Him, not through a genuine desire to learn how to inherit eternal life, but rather to justify his own selfish and ungodly behavior.

This tendency is common in human nature. Individuals will often try to rationalize their own inappropriate behavior, as an attempt to convince themselves and others that their actions are justifiable, proper, and acceptable, especially when confronted with divine teachings that suggest otherwise.

And so, he asked Jesus what we might call a loaded question, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

Jesus didn’t answer the question, but instead asked a question. Jewish people were taught the Ten Commandments from early childhood. So, He asked, What is written in the law? What does the law of Moses say? What is your understanding of it?

This teacher of the law was quick to answer, to give an answer that Jesus would agree was correct.

You’ve answered correctly, Jesus said. You’ve answered your own question. Now simply go and do that and you will fare well, you shall live.

Who is My Neighbor?

It says he was willing, that is, he was determined to show and exhibit himself as righteous, or, that is, to be the way one ought to be. And so he answered Jesus, how do I know who my neighbor is?

What was his point? His point was, If I don’t know who my neighbor is, how can I love him as myself? He was saying, it’s just so vague, Jesus. Now, if I only knew who my neighbor was, I might be able to obey that commandment. But alas, who can know such things? I guess my lack of concern for the well-being of anyone but myself is normal, appropriate, and acceptable.

The Parable of the Samaritan

Jesus is describing a man who requires help, a needy and misfortunate one, we might say, who has been seriously injured by a gang of thieves who have stripped him of his clothing and left him nearly dead on the roadside, incapacitated and unable to help himself. He is at the mercy of whoever might discover him there. And if left without help and assistance, he will likely die there by the road.

It so happened that a priest came by. And when he noticed the man lying there, he went by on the other side of the road to avoid him. After all, it wasn’t his problem. And he’s got priestly things to do. He may have wanted to help, but he had important things to take care of. Someone else will come along and give him a hand. And like we sometimes say, I would rather not get involved.

After that, a Levite, a member of the priestly tribe of Levi, a religious man, a righteous man, came by. Surely this Levite will help the man. But when he saw him kying there, he too chose to pass by on the other side rather than give assistance.

What did the Good Samaritan do?

Unlike the first two passersby, his heart was moved, he had pity, and he had compassion for the man. His heart was stirred to do whatever he could do to help him.

He gave the man medical attention, dressing his wounds with oil and wine and covering them with bandages. He placed the injured man on his own animal, then carried him to an inn, and spent the rest of the day and night taking care of him.

The next day he gave the innkeeper two denarii. A denarius was a valuable Roman coin, which took its name from being worth ten donkeys. He gave him two of them, the monetary value of twenty donkeys, and asked the innkeeper if he would use the money to assist the man in his recovery. And he promised to repay him later if he spent more than that amount.

Samaritans and Jews

This third man who came by and helped the injured man was a Samaritan. Now, the people of Samaria were hated by the Jews. And the man Jesus was telling the story to, this teacher of the law, would also certainly have had great disdain for Samaritans, who were considered by the Jews to be a despicable group of people.

How ironic that the one who would have been hated by the Jews, the same Jews who considered themselves to be righteous, was the one who did the right thing in this situation and helped the man, thus becoming the hero of the story. This parable challenges the prejudices that existed at the time between the Jews and Samaritans, as well as the prejudices that exist in our culture today.

A Certain Man

Notice that Jesus started this story by saying, a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. A certain man. This suggests that the story is a true story as opposed to being fictitious. And if it was indeed a true story, then Jesus was speaking of the righteous acts of a good and upright man, who happened to be a Samaritan. But in the thinking of a Jewish person, how could a Samaritan be righteous?

Who was the Good Samaritan?

The only one who did anything to help the man was the Samaritan. The other two were not his neighbors at all, as they completely ignored his condition and chose their personal interests over those of the injured traveler. They turned a blind eye to his situation.

The good Samaritan was the one who showed mercy and the only one who behaved himself like a neighbor to the man in need. This teacher of the law, this man who was trying to justify his selfishness, could not help but respond with the correct answer. The injured man’s neighbor was the one who helped him. There was no question as to who the neighbor was.

Meaning of the Good Samaritan Parable

What is this story telling us? It is telling us that we should become the one who shows mercy to the ones in need. Showing mercy and compassion is how we love our neighbor as ourselves.

If we were in need, what would we want? We would want someone to show mercy and help us. If that’s what we would want for ourselves, then to love our neighbor as ourselves would be to give mercy to those who need it. Jesus helps us to understand this further in the Beatitudes.

Blessed, or supremely happy, are those who show mercy, like the good Samaritan, because they themselves shall obtain mercy in their own time of need.

He was saying, let this attitude be in you, to be one who goes out of their way to show mercy to the needy. This is something that is near and dear to the heart of God, that is, the helping of those in need, and there is great blessing in it.

The one we show mercy to is our neighbor, and we are their neighbor as well.