The story of the Good Samaritan
- Feb 11
- 8 min read
A Lawyer asks a question (25-29)
And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” So he answered and said, “‘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.’” And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
a. A certain lawyer stood up and tested Him: The lawyer (an expert in the Jewish Mosaic and rabbinical law) tested Jesus. The idea behind the ancient Greek word for "tested" doesn’t necessarily mean "mean" or evil. This may have been a sincere question from a sincere seeker.
b. What shall I do to inherit eternal life? The biblical understanding of eternal life doesn’t necessarily refer to its duration because every person is immortal, either in heaven or hell. It doesn’t refer to a life that begins only when we die. Eternal life is a particular quality of life, a life that comes from God, and one we can have right now.
c. What is written in the law? Jesus pointed the lawyer back to the commandments of God. If the question was, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” then the answer was simple: keep the law of God, and keep it perfectly.
i. “The first part seemed mildly sarcastic, ‘What does the Law say?’ In other words, ‘You are the lawyer who interprets the Law; you tell me what it says.’” (Pate)
d. “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”: The lawyer was wise enough to know this was the essence of the law. Knowing the requirements of the law, now all he had to do was live it: do this and you will live.
i. Though impossible, we know what it means to love God with all we are. But there has been much confusion about what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. This doesn't mean we must love ourselves before loving others; it means we should care for others as we do for ourselves.
e. But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” The lawyer measured himself against both commands. He figured that he obeyed the first command well enough, but his keeping of the second commandment depended on how one defined “neighbor.” (The story of the Good Samaritan)
i. His first and perhaps greatest mistake was in assuming that he had fulfilled the first commandment. When we think about the meaning of the words, who among us has loved God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind? Even when we worship God, we can easily be distracted in any of these areas, and even more so in our daily lives.
ii. His second mistake was thinking he could love God fully while possibly failing to love his neighbor. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. (1 Jn 4:20-21)
iii. His third mistake was in the way that he wanted to narrowly define neighbors. If only our friends and those who are easy to love were our neighbors, then perhaps this man fulfilled it in an imperfect way. It all depends on how broad the definition is. In Jesus' time, Jews were taught to love their neighbors but also to hate their enemies as a duty to God. It all depends on who your neighbor is and who your enemy is.
2. (30-35) Jesus defines neighbors with an illustration.
Then Jesus answered and said, “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’”
a. A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves: The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was infamous for crime and robbery. It wasn’t surprising to Jesus’ listeners that He set the story on this particular road.
i. “That road was famous for its lurking dangers, especially robbers (see Josephus, J.W. 2.451-75).” (Pate)
ii. “He was an obviously reckless and foolhardy character. People usually travelled the Jerusalem to Jericho road in groups if they were carrying goods or valuables. Seeking safety in numbers, they travelled in convoys or caravans. This man had no one but himself to blame for the plight in which he found himself.” (Barclay)
b. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road: The priest and the Levite (both categories of religious officials) saw their Jewish brother lying in his terrible condition—but neither of them did anything. They both passed by on the other side.
i. “Priest and Levite are mentioned here, partly because they were the most frequent travelers on this road, and partly to show that these were the persons who, from the nature of their office, were most obliged to perform works of mercy and from whom a person in distress had a right to expect immediate succor and comfort, and their inhuman conduct here was a flat breach of the law.” (Clarke)
ii. Think of all the excuses that they could have used:
• “This road is too dangerous for me to stop and help the man.”
• “He might be a decoy for an ambush.”
• “I’ve got to get to the temple and perform my service for the Lord.”
• “I’ve got to get home and see my family.”
• “Someone really should help that man.”
• “If I’m going to serve at the temple, I can’t get my clothes bloody.”
• “I don’t know first aid.”
• “It’s a hopeless case.”
• “I’m only one person; the job is too big.”
• “I can pray for him.”
• “He brought it on himself; he should have never been alone on such a dangerous road.”
• “He never asked for help.”
ii. But all of these are simply excuses. “Every man who refused to help the poor gave at least one admirable excuse.” (Spurgeon)
c. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion: when Jesus’ listeners heard about the priest and the Levite, they probably expected Jesus to say next that a common Jewish man came and helped. If that happened, this story would take a different direction. Jesus showed the corruption of the religious leaders in that day. But Jesus shocked them by saying that the man who helped was a Samaritan.
d. A certain Samaritan: Generally speaking, Jews and Samaritans despised each other both racially and religiously. The culture provided ample reasons for the Samaritan to despise this Jewish man and disregard him.
i. Some rabbis taught that a Jew was forbidden to help a Gentile woman who was in distress giving birth because if they succeeded, all they did was to help one more Gentile come into the world. They often thought that Samaritans were worse than other Gentiles were.
e. He had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
Instead of passing by, the Samaritan loved him sacrificially. He didn’t wait to be asked; to see the need right in front of him was enough to make him do something. He also gave freely of both his time and his resources.
i. The wine, containing alcohol, had an antiseptic effect on the man’s wounds. The oil helped to soothe the wounds, easing the pain. To set him on his animal meant that the Samaritan himself walked.
ii. He took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper: it seems that two denarii would provide for the man’s needs in the inn for at least two or three weeks.
iii. There are many ways that the Samaritan was like Jesus.
• The Samaritan was an outsider, despised by many.
• The Samaritan came after others failed to meet the need.
• Before it was too late, the Samaritan arrived.
• The Samaritan came with everything necessary.
• The Samaritan came right to the afflicted man.
• The Samaritan gave tender care.
• The Samaritan provided for future needs.
3. (36-37) Jesus applies the parable.
“So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
a. Which of these three do you think was the neighbor? According to the thinking of the day, the priest and the Levite were neighbors to the man who had been beaten and robbed. But they didn’t act like neighbors at all.
i. “We are arrested by the fact that He completely shifted the ground of the question and by this reply said, in effect, that the question as to who is a neighbor was not so important as the question of to whom he was a neighbor.” (Morgan)
b. He who showed mercy on him: The lawyer knew who the true neighbor was, yet he could not bring himself to say the name “Samaritan.” We might have expected him to be an enemy, but he was instead a neighbor who showed mercy on him.
i. Obviously the lawyer knew that he could no longer justify himself. He did not have this kind of love, a love that went beyond what he wanted to think of as “neighbor.”
c. Go and do likewise: Jesus allowed the parable to answer the lawyer’s question and guide the application. I am to love my neighbor, and my neighbor is the one who others might consider my enemy. My neighbor is the one with a need right in front of me.
i. Spurgeon wrote that “when we see innocent persons suffering as the result of the sin of others, our pity should be excited.” He then gave examples of situations that should provoke pity in the believer:
• A drunken father's actions can leave children sick and starving.
• Wives overworked and burdened because of lazy and cruel husbands.
• Workers oppressed in wages and working conditions, just to survive.
• Accidents and disease afflict those who work.
ii. This doesn’t mean running after every need that might present itself. After all, the Samaritan didn’t establish a hospital for unfortunate travelers. But it does mean a concern for the ones plain before us, in both social and spiritual needs. “The world would be a changed place if every Christian attended to the sorrows that are plain before him.” (Maclaren)
iii. Many—even most—people don’t have this kind of love for God or others. How then will they receive eternal life?
• First, they refuse to inherit eternal life through their actions. Instead, believe in Jesus; trust God that Jesus paid the penalty you deserve for every time you have fallen short of loving God or loving others the way you should.
• Then, having received eternal life—God’s kind of life in you—God will give you the resources to love Him and other people in a much better way. You can’t do it apart from having His life in you.
iv. “Let it never be forgotten that what the law demands of us the gospel really produces in us.” (Spurgeon)
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