I suppose no parable of Jesus is as well-known as “The Parable of the Good Samaritan.”
But why did Jesus tell this parable? And what was the Lord’s main point? People have taken the Lord’s parables - including this one - and tried to make them mean whatever they want. But Jesus had a specific point in mind, and the text shows us the Lord’s point.
Let’s consider the parable together.
The Test (Luke 10:25-28).
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.” (Luke 10:25-28)
The lawyer - or expert in the law - stood up to test Jesus. He asked the Lord, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” - a question that was commonly discussed and debated among the Jewish teachers of Jesus’ day. The rich young ruler in Luke 18:18 asked this same question.
Jesus responds to this “test” by turning the question back on the expert in the law. Jesus replies, “What does the Law say? You’re the expert - how do you understand it?”
The expert in the law replied by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. Jesus gave the same answer (love God with all your being and love your neighbor as yourself) to another expert in the law who asked Him what the greatest commandment was (Matthew 22:34-40).
These passages - especially Deuteronomy 6:5 - would have been familiar to Jewish people from childhood.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 emphasizes the importance of loving God with the entire being and that this love of God must be taught to the next generation.
Leviticus 19:9-18 emphasizes the love that should be shown to one’s neighbor. Multiple groups are mentioned in this passage: the poor, foreigners, hired workers, the deaf, the blind, fellow Israelites, and those among the people.
After hearing the expert in the law’s response, Jesus answers, “You’re correct. Do this, and you will live; do this, and you will have the eternal life which you seek.”
The Self-Justification (Luke 10:29).
But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29)
This passage gives us insight into what’s happening in the mind of the expert in the law. His follow-up question is motivated by “wanting to justify himself” - but what does this mean?
To be justified refers to someone on trial who has been declared innocent. This mindset of “wanting to justify” self is one Jesus confronted often among the religious leaders.
Jesus says to the Pharisees in Luke 16:15 - “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts.”
Jesus spoke the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector to “some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others” (Luke 18:9).
The expert in the law asks this follow-up question to try to declare himself innocent of guilt. Why would this man be trying to declare himself innocent of guilt?
If he has not done what must be done to “inherit eternal life,” where does that leave him?
The experts in the law and the Pharisees commonly interpreted the question of “Who is my neighbor?” to limit it to their fellow Jews and, more specifically, fellow righteous Jews.
The expert in religious law picked up on the remark about the neighbor and sought to limit his responsibility for loving. Some believed this obligation would only be required toward the righteous (Sir 12:1-4). The lawyer was trying to see if that was right and thus confidently establish his righteousness. – NET Bible Translator Notes
In response to the follow-up question asked by a man trying to justify himself, Jesus told the parable.
The Parable (Luke 10:30-35).
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 own 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.’ (Luke 10:30-35)
The parable Jesus tells bears a striking resemblance to something that happened in 2 Chronicles 28:5-15. I’ll summarize here what happens:
The Northern Kingdom of Israel defeated the Southern Kingdom of Judah in battle, killing 120,000 of their mightiest warriors – this happened because Judah had forsaken the Lord God.
Israel took 200,000 captives from Judah and much spoil and brought them all to Samaria – the capital of the Northern Kingdom.
God sent the prophet Oded to rebuke the Northern Kingdom for showing no mercy to their brethren – God’s wrath was upon them now because they showed no mercy, and He commanded them to return the captives.
Some of the leaders of Israel from the tribe of Ephraim opposed the attempt to bring the captives into Israel, and the army of Israel left the captives and the spoils they had taken there.
The leaders from Ephraim took the captives, clothed them, gave them things to eat and drink, addressed the wounds of the injured, and let the feeble ride on donkeys.
They returned them to their brethren in Jericho and returned to Samaria.
2 Chronicles 28:5-15 shows people from Samaria - a reminder of the Samaritan in the parable - showing mercy to Jewish people who have been injured and plundered (robbed).
Now, let’s turn our attention back to the Lord’s parable.
The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was a steep descent – from around 2,500 feet above sea level to nearly 1,000 feet below sea level. The road was about 17 miles long and was dangerous because of the many caves where thieves hid.
As it turns out, the man going to Jericho is attacked and robbed by thieves on this road and is left “half-dead.”
At this point, a priest and a Levite come along and see the man lying there, and they pass by on the other side. Priests and Levites served in the temple and were obliged to remain ceremonially pure (Leviticus 21-22). They were forbidden from touching a dead body – even of a family member (Leviticus 21:11).
Matters of purity were carefully regulated in the priestly class, especially in matters of death. Some of the specific restrictions, such as disfiguring one’s body as an act of mourning, make a clear break from Canaanite mourning rituals (see Leviticus 21:5). The priest could not attend to the ordinary rituals of relatives, and even attending to the body of one’s own wife became a matter of debate in Jewish tradition (see Leviticus 21:4). – First Century Study Bible Notes on Leviticus 21:1-12
If the priest and the Levite stopped to help this man, and it turned out he was already dead (which he would have likely appeared to be dead) - then it would have required them to complete a long process to become ceremonially clean again.
But then a Samaritan comes along, and when he sees the “half-dead” man, he has compassion and helps him.
It’s important to point out that Jews and Samaritans had nothing to do with each other (John 4:9). The Samaritans were a mixed race with part Jewish heritage and part Gentile ancestry. They did not follow the typical Jewish customs and laws - in fact, they only accepted the first five books of Moses as being from God. They even built their own temple, challenging the Jews’ right to have their temple in Jerusalem.
The neighbor in the parable is someone the Jew would have considered an enemy - not a neighbor.
The Point (Luke 10:36-37).
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.” (Luke 10:36-37)
Who was the neighbor to the man who fell among thieves? Who was the “neighbor” to the captives from Judah?
The ones who showed mercy.
Jesus tells the expert in the law to “go and do likewise.” The expert in the law had been trying to limit his obligation to love his neighbors so as to clear himself of any guilt in the matter so that he would be deserving of eternal life.
But this kind of thinking was focused on self and neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith (Matthew 23:23). They were supposed to love mercy.
He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)
In trying to limit his obligation to love his neighbor so that he could justify himself and “earn his salvation” – he didn’t think he needed the mercy of God. And since he didn’t see himself as needing God’s mercy, why would he show such mercy to others?
What this expert in the law failed to see – at least at first – was that he had fallen short of doing what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. He had sinned (Romans 3:9-10, 23) and therefore did not deserve life, but death (Romans 6:23).
“But God, who is rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4-5) sent Jesus, His own Son, to die for us when we were still sinners and His enemies (Romans 5:8, 10). And we do not justify ourselves, but by His blood we are declared innocent (Romans 5:9). We contact the blood of Jesus by being immersed into His death (Romans 6:3-7).
Because the expert in the law didn’t see himself as being “dead in sin” (Ephesians 2:1), he didn’t see himself as needing a merciful Savior to pick him up and make him alive again (Ephesians 2:4-5).
We must show mercy – love our neighbor – not to declare ourselves innocent or make ourselves feel “more saved” compared to someone else, for this was the mindset Jesus condemned in the Pharisees (Luke 18:9-14).
We must show mercy and love our neighbor to imitate our heavenly Father and to walk in love as Jesus loved us (Ephesians 5:1-2).
There is also a salvation message at the end. The Good Samaritan says to the innkeeper that when he returns, he will settle the account. Hallelujah!!!