Parable of the Good Samaritan

Text and Content

This parable appears only in Luke 10:25-37. A lawyer asks Jesus how to inherit eternal life. He answers his own question with the commands to love God (Deuteronomy 6:5) and to love one's neighbor (Leviticus 19:18), and then asks further, "And who is my neighbour?" Jesus answers with a parable.

In the parable, a certain man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho falls among robbers and is left half dead. A priest and a Levite see him but pass by on the other side. A Samaritan on a journey, however, has compassion on him. He pours oil and wine on the man's wounds and binds them up, then sets him on his own beast, brings him to an inn, and takes care of him. The next day he gives the innkeeper two denarii ("two pence" in the KJV) and promises that whatever more is spent, he will repay when he comes again. When Jesus asks, "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?" the lawyer answers, "He that shewed mercy on him." Jesus then says, "Go, and do thou likewise."

Background

The road from Jerusalem to Jericho descends steeply from the hill country into the Jordan Valley. It had many isolated stretches and is known to have been frequented by robbers. At the time, Jews and Samaritans were hostile to one another and avoided contact (John 4:9). For a Jewish audience, therefore, the very premise that a despised Samaritan would be the one to give help would likely have come as a surprise. The denarius is understood to have been a silver coin worth roughly a laborer's daily wage (Matthew 20:2).

The text does not explain why the priest and the Levite passed by. A common explanation is that they were mindful of the purity laws under which touching a corpse caused defilement (Numbers 19:11; Leviticus 21:1), but this is a conjecture on the part of interpreters.

Significance in the Wider Context of Scripture

The parable extends the scope of love for one's neighbor beyond ethnic and religious boundaries. The lawyer asked about the object of love: "Who is my neighbour?" Jesus turns this into a question about action: "Who proved to be a neighbor?" The parable is read in connection with the following passages:

• Leviticus 19:33-34, which commands love for the stranger
• Luke 6:27-36, which commands love for one's enemies
• Galatians 5:14, which teaches that the law is fulfilled in love for one's neighbor
• James 2:15-17, which warns against faith without works

Interpretation and Debate

• Allegorical interpretation: In the early church, Augustine and others read each detail of the parable symbolically. In this reading, the man attacked by robbers represents Adam, the Samaritan represents Christ, and the inn represents the church. Some preaching today still identifies the Samaritan with Christ.
• Central-lesson interpretation: Since the modern era, many biblical scholars have held that a parable conveys a single central lesson, and they caution against reading its details as symbols.
• Law and grace: Some interpreters in the Reformed tradition focus on the context. Noting that the lawyer asked his question "willing to justify himself" (Luke 10:29), they hold that the parable exposes the impossibility of keeping the law perfectly. Other interpreters place the emphasis on the practical command "do thou likewise." Still others stress the parable as a basis for the church's social service, or diakonia.
• Distinguishing the text from later labels: The text itself never calls the Samaritan "good"; the name "Good Samaritan" was attached later. Laws that protect people who help someone in an emergency are commonly called "Good Samaritan laws," a designation that likewise derives from this parable.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, this parable is frequently used as a sermon text on love for one's neighbor and charitable relief. It is also a common story in Sunday school curricula and Bible dramas. The words "Go, and do thou likewise" are often quoted when churches present their service and relief ministries or their medical missions.