The parable of the Good Samaritan: meaning

The parable of the Good Samaritan is found only in Luke (Luke 10:25–37). Jesus did not tell it as a stand-alone story. It was His answer to an expert in the law of Moses who wanted to test Him, and to understand the parable we need to start with that conversation.

A question about eternal life

And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.
Luke 10:25–27 · King James Version (1769)

William MacDonald notes that the lawyer was probably not sincere: he wanted to catch Jesus out, and he spoke of eternal life as something a person could earn. Jesus pointed him to the Scriptures, and the man answered well. He joined two commandments of the Old Testament: to love God with all the heart (Deuteronomy 6:5) and to love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18). Jesus told him to do this and he would live (Luke 10:28).

John MacArthur explains that the promise of the law is real, but no sinner can keep it perfectly, so its demands are meant to send us looking for God’s mercy. Albert Barnes says the same: Jesus was showing the man that he needed a better righteousness than his own. The fitting reply would have been a confession. Instead the lawyer tried to defend himself.

But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?
Luke 10:29 · King James Version (1769)

Barnes and MacArthur point out that many teachers of the day drew the circle of “neighbor” narrowly: fellow Jews, or only the righteous among them. Yet the same chapter of Leviticus told Israel to love the foreigner living among them as themselves (Leviticus 19:34). The New Geneva Study Bible notes that in the law “neighbor” covers anyone an Israelite dealt with, whether a fellow Israelite or a foreigner.

The story Jesus told

And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
Luke 10:30 · King James Version (1769)

MacArthur describes the road: a rocky, winding descent of about 3,300 feet over some 17 miles, notorious for robbers. Jesus’ listeners knew it well.

And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
Luke 10:31–32 · King James Version (1769)

Priests served in the temple, and Levites assisted them. Older commentators note that many of them lived in Jericho, and that both men saw the wounded man, so they did not pass by out of ignorance. Interpreters guess at their reasons, such as fear of the robbers, but Jesus gives them no excuse. The very people who taught God’s law walked past a dying man.

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
Luke 10:33–35 · King James Version (1769)

Jews and Samaritans had long been bitter enemies, and Jesus’ audience would hardly expect a Samaritan to be the hero. MacArthur explains the details: many travelers carried a little oil and wine as first aid, and the wine served to clean the wounds. Two denarii were two days’ wages, probably enough to keep the man at the inn until he recovered. The Samaritan gave his time, his supplies, his animal and his money, and promised more.

Who proved to be a neighbor?

Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Luke 10:36–37 · King James Version (1769)

The lawyer had asked who his neighbor was, as if the question were who deserves his love. Jesus asks something else: who acted as a neighbor? The New Geneva Study Bible and MacArthur both note this turn. The question is no longer whom I am obliged to love, but to whom I can be a neighbor. MacDonald adds that if a Samaritan could be a true neighbor to a Jew, then everyone in need is our neighbor.

The lawyer gave the right answer, though Henry and Alexander Lopukhin suggest he could not bring himself to say the word “Samaritan.” Jesus sent him away with a command, not a debate: go and do the same.

What the parable teaches

First, love does not set limits. Matthew Henry calls the parable an explanation of the law of loving our neighbor “without regard to nation, party, or any other distinction.” The need of the person in front of us, not his group or background, is what calls for mercy.

Second, the parable exposes the heart. The lawyer knew the right words, and so did the priest and the Levite. Henry observes how many excuses people find to avoid trouble or expense in helping others. Mercy is shown by stopping, not by knowing the commandment.

Third, many commentators see in the Samaritan a picture of Christ. Henry, MacDonald and the New Geneva Study Bible compare us to the wounded man, unable to save ourselves, and Jesus to the despised stranger who came to us, bound up our wounds and paid for our care. Others, such as Warren Wiersbe, warn against turning the parable into an allegory of salvation, because its plain point is practical: help anyone you can help. Both readings meet in one place. We love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19), and the mercy we have received in Jesus sends us out to show mercy to others (Galatians 6:10).