18 · Parable of Jesus

The Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25–37

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A Samaritan traveler helps an injured adult man beside a road in a biblical landscape while two other travelers are visible farther away.

A Samaritan helps the man others passed by. Jesus asks who became his neighbor.

How does Jesus redefine neighbor?

Choose a perspective

There is no score – choose the perspective you find closest and discuss why.

Discuss: Whom do you want to become a neighbor to?

After your discussion: compare with our assessment

Our assessment

A captures Jesus' clear reshaping of the question. The expert asks who his neighbor is, which can become a question about where the boundary of obligation lies. Jesus ends by asking who became a neighbor to the person in need. C takes the story's unexpected central figure seriously. It is the Samaritan, rather than the priest or Levite, who shows the mercy Jesus tells the expert to imitate. Against the background of tensions between Jews and Samaritans, this choice matters.

18 · Luke 10:25–37

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Text & context

Full translation

25 Then an expert in the law stood up to test him and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.” 29 But wanting to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus took up the question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 By chance a priest was going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite also came to the place. He saw him and passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan who was traveling came to him. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion. 34 He went to him, bandaged his wounds, and poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and cared for him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him. Whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I return.” 36 “Which of these three do you think became a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37 He answered, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Translated from the Greek text – SBLGNT

What is happening here?
An expert in the law asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus has him summarize the law through love of God and love of neighbor and tells him that he has answered correctly. The man then wants to “justify himself” and asks, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus responds with the story of a beaten man left half dead on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. A priest sees him and passes by. A Levite sees him and does the same. A Samaritan, however, sees him and is moved with compassion. He helps the man practically, uses his own resources, brings him to an inn, and accepts continuing financial responsibility for his care. Jesus does not end by defining exactly which people count as “neighbors.” Instead, he asks which of the three became a neighbor to the injured man and then says, “Go and do likewise.”
Notice this

The expert asks: “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus ends with: “Who became a neighbor?” From: Which people fall within my responsibility? to: Will I become a neighbor to the person in front of me? Also notice the verb “see.” The priest sees the man. The Levite sees the man. The Samaritan sees the man. All three see. The difference lies in what happens after they have seen. The Samaritan's compassion also costs him time, resources, money, and continuing responsibility.

Language & translation

From the Greek

ἐκπειράζων αὐτόν – ekpeirazōn auton

to test him The expert's opening question is not presented as entirely neutral. Ekpeirazō can mean to test or put someone to the test.

δικαιῶσαι ἑαυτόν – dikaiōsai heauton

to justify himself Luke states the man's motive when he asks who his neighbor is. The phrase can also carry the sense of seeking to show or defend himself as being in the right.

ἡμιθανῆ – hēmithanē

half dead The attacked man is left in an extremely vulnerable condition.

ἀντιπαρῆλθεν – antiparēlthen

passed by on the other side This verb is used of both the priest and the Levite. Luke tells us that they see the man and pass by, but he does not give their motives.

ἐσπλαγχνίσθη – esplagchnisthē

was moved with compassion From splagchnizomai, a strong word for deep compassion. In the story, the compassion immediately leads to action.

προσελθὼν – proselthōn

went to him The contrast is concrete: the others pass by; the Samaritan approaches the injured man.

δύο δηνάρια – dyo dēnaria

two denarii The Samaritan spends his own resources on the man's continuing care and promises to cover additional costs.

πλησίον γεγονέναι – plēsion gegonenai

to have become a neighbor Jesus' closing question asks who became a neighbor. This is an important shift from the expert's original question, “Who is my neighbor?”

ὁ ποιήσας τὸ ἔλεος – ho poiēsas to eleos

the one who did/showed mercy Mercy is described as something done, not merely felt.

πορεύου καὶ σὺ ποίει ὁμοίως – poreuou kai sy poiei homoiōs

go and do likewise Jesus ends with a direct command to act.

Translation note

Independent English translation from the Greek text, using SBLGNT as the primary Greek edition.

Compare for yourself

Read Luke 10:25–37 as a whole and pay particular attention to: Also compare John 4:7–9 for an explicit New Testament indication of tension between Jews and Samaritans.

  • ekpeirazō
  • dikaioō
  • antiparerchomai
  • splagchnizomai
  • proserchomai
  • eleos
  • plēsion
  • poieō

Read Luke 9:51–56 alongside this parable as well. There the disciples want to call down fire on a Samaritan village; here Jesus makes a Samaritan the person whose mercy is to be imitated.

Continue the conversation

Discuss further
  1. Why do you think the expert wants to know exactly who his neighbor is?
  2. Why do you think Jesus makes a Samaritan the model in the story?
  3. What is the difference between feeling compassion and actually “doing mercy”?
  4. What costs does the Samaritan accept in order to help the man?
  5. Are there people or groups whom we find easier to imagine as recipients of help than as examples worth following?
Parallel passages
  • Leviticus 19:18
  • Deuteronomy 6:4–5
  • Luke 9:51–56
  • John 4:7–9
Sources
  • The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition (SBLGNT), Michael W. Holmes, ed.
  • Luke 10:25–37
  • Leviticus 19:18
  • Deuteronomy 6:4–5
  • Standard Greek lexical resources for ekpeirazō, dikaioō, antiparerchomai, splagchnizomai, eleos, plēsion, and poieō