The Parable of the Good Samaritan is one of several stories told by Jesus, and, like many parables, only appears in the Gospel of Luke. At the heart of it is the Golden Rule—that we must treat others as we would expect to be treated ourselves.

The story begins with “an expert in the Law” asking Jesus how to inherit eternal life. When Jesus asks the expert to consider the Law, he begins by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5, which says to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength. The expert then quotes Leviticus 19:18, that you must also love your neighbor. Jesus tells the expert that he has found his answer, but when the expert is not satisfied, Jesus uses a parable as a novel means of getting him to seek the answer out himself.

The story concerns a man who is going from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he is robbed and left for dead by the side of the road. A priest passes and does nothing. Then a Levite passes and does nothing. Yet when a Samaritan comes past, he stops, takes care of the man’s wounds, and gives him food, before paying for the man to stay in an inn. Jesus ends the story by asking the expert who is the better neighbor.

The stranger is helped onto the back of the Samaritan’s horse, while other passers-by disappear into the distance, in this 1890 depiction by Vincent Van Gogh (after Eugène Delacroix).

A story of Luke

Although Matthew (22:34–40) and Mark (12:28–34) include the Law expert’s question, they do not include this parable. Because of this omission, some scholars question the authenticity of the story as a true parable of Christ. Nonetheless, the story gives the reader an insight into the theology of the author of Luke. Given that he was probably a Greek-speaking Gentile, the parable is a perfect analogy of Jesus extending His favor to non-Jews.

In particular, the positioning of a non-Jew—and Samaritan—as the protagonist of a parable would have shocked contemporary Jewish audiences, due to a longstanding rivalry between the Jews and the Samaritans since the 5th century BCE. In telling this parable, Jesus helps His audience to see the kindness in a figure they would traditionally consider an adversary, emphasizing the message of the parable: to love your neighbor, and enemy, as you love yourself.

Road from Jerusalem

Roads and pathways are “liminal” spaces—they signify a transition from one place to another. In a literal sense, roads are ungoverned, dangerous spaces. With Jerusalem being a popular destination for trade and pilgrimage, it would come as no surprise to find bandits lying in wait. In the Bible, roads are often metaphorical, suggesting a pathway to wisdom, immorality, goodness, or God.

Samaria

Samaria is a region in modern Israel that roughly equates to the biblical Northern Kingdom of Israel. Samaria was also the name given to the city built in the 9th century BCE by King Omri, who declared it capital of the region. In 722 BCE, following the fall of the city of Samaria to the Assyrian empire, many foreign groups (2 Kings 17:24) were moved into the land by the Assyrians, eventually forming what would become known as Samaritans. These groups were largely composed of Gentiles, and for this reason, Judeans were wary of the Samaritans, who were not viewed as ethnically or religiously Jewish. Over time, Samaritans came to be seen as unclean people, who lived sinfully and worshipped at the altars of pagan gods.

In the New Testament, Jesus initially commands His disciples to avoid frequenting any Gentile or Samaritan city. Later, however, Jesus visits Samaritan areas, healing the sick, casting out demons, and showing compassion where others had not. It seems fitting, therefore, that the merciful man in this parable should be a Samaritan.

See also: The Golden Rule • Parables of Jesus • The Prodigal Son • Workers in the Vineyard