“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 neighbour as thyself.”

Luke 10:27 (KJV)

The story

The parable exists because of a question asked in bad faith. A certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He is an expert in the law testing a teacher, not a seeker looking for help. Jesus does not answer but redirects: What is written in the law? how readest thou? The lawyer's reply is faultless, joining Deuteronomy and Leviticus into a single command to love God entirely and thy neighbour as thyself. Jesus confirms it without qualification: Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. Luke 10:25-28

That should have ended the exchange, and the narrator tells us exactly why it did not. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? The question is not a request for information. If neighbour can be defined narrowly enough, the command becomes achievable and his conscience is safe. He wants a boundary drawn so he can stand on the right side of it. Jesus refuses to supply one and tells a story instead. Luke 10:29

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. Stripped and unconscious, the victim carries no marker of nation, class, or religion. He cannot be identified as one of us or one of them, which quietly dismantles the lawyer's whole project. He is simply a human being in need, and that is the only fact anyone passing has to work with. Luke 10:30

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. Both are men whose lives are organised around the service of God, and Jesus offers no excuse for either, though his hearers could have supplied several about ceremonial cleanness and personal risk. The Levite's detour is the more damning, because he came and looked first. He gathered the information and still chose distance. Luke 10:31-32

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him. To this audience, Samaritan was close to an insult; the story makes him the only one who acts. His compassion is expensive and specific. He bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, set him on his own beast, walked, brought him to an inn, and took care of him, then paid two pence to the host and guaranteed the rest: whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Jesus then reverses the original question. Not who qualifies as my neighbour, but Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? The lawyer answers without using the word Samaritan: He that shewed mercy on him. Jesus said, Go, and do thou likewise. Luke 10:33-37

Quiz

1. What was the lawyer's motive in asking his first question?

   • He tempted Jesus
   • He sought comfort
   • He was sent by the crowd
   • He wished to follow him

2. How does Jesus respond to the opening question?

   • With a parable
   • With a question about what is written in the law
   • With a rebuke
   • With silence

3. What four things is God to be loved with, in the lawyer's answer?

   • Heart, soul, strength, and mind
   • Heart, hands, voice, and mind
   • Soul, spirit, body, and will
   • Mind, heart, wealth, and time

4. What does the narrator say prompted the question about the neighbour?

   • Genuine confusion
   • A dispute with the priests
   • He was willing to justify himself
   • The crowd demanded it

5. Which direction was the traveller going?

   • Down from Jerusalem to Jericho
   • Up from Jericho to Jerusalem
   • From Samaria to Galilee
   • From Bethany to the Jordan

6. In what condition did the thieves leave him?

   • Bound to a tree
   • Stripped, wounded, and half dead
   • Robbed but unharmed
   • Taken captive

7. What does the text say the Levite did before passing by?

   • He prayed
   • He called out
   • He came and looked on him
   • He sent word ahead

8. What is named as the Samaritan's motive?

   • He had compassion on him
   • He knew the man
   • He feared the law
   • He hoped for reward

9. What did the Samaritan use on the wounds?

   • Water and cloth
   • Oil and wine
   • Herbs and salt
   • Balm of Gilead

10. What open-ended commitment did the Samaritan make?

    • To return within a week
    • To send a physician
    • To repay whatsoever the host spent more
    • To bring the man home

11. How does Jesus reframe the lawyer's question at the end?

    • Who is worthy of love?
    • Which of these three was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
    • Who kept the law?
    • Which of these feared God?

12. How does the lawyer refer to the Samaritan in his answer?

    • He that shewed mercy on him
    • The stranger
    • The Samaritan
    • The traveller

Discussion

1. The lawyer asks who is my neighbour in order to limit the command. What questions do people ask today that sound like a search for truth but are really a search for a boundary that lets them off?
2. Jesus never answers the question as asked. He changes it from who deserves my love to what kind of person am I being. Why does that reframing make the command harder to evade?
3. The victim is stripped, so no one can tell whose side he is on. How much of your willingness to help depends on first identifying whether someone is one of us, and what would change if that information were unavailable?
4. The Samaritan's mercy costs time, oil and wine, his own transport, money, and an open-ended promise to pay more. Where does compassion in your life stop at feeling sorry rather than becoming costly and specific?