We often hear someone called a “good samaritan” when they do something to help others, but do you really know where that term comes from? The Bible parable of the Good Samaritan was a way of teaching that goodness and kindness must extend to everyone.
The parable is told in the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament. Jesus tells the story of a man who was captured by robbers. The robbers stripped the man of his clothes and beat him nearly to death, then left him there on the side of the road.
A priest came along the road some time later, and instead of helping the man, he moved to the other side of the road and passed him by. Soon after that a Levite came upon the man, but he did the same as the priest had done – he moved to the other side of the road and passed the man, leaving him alone.
The Samaritan came upon the man shortly after that, but his reaction was different – he took pity on the man and strived to help him. He bandaged the man’s wounds, poured on oil and wine, and then put the man on his donkey and took him into town, where he placed the man in a room in the inn.
The Samaritan gave the innkeeper money for the time the man had spent there, and then pressed more money into his hand, telling the innkeeper to watch after the man, and when the Samaritan came back through, he would make good on any additional expense the man had incurred.
Jesus told the story and then told the listener, “Go and do likewise.”
The lesson passed down through the years has changed in terms of who was on the road and how the man was helped, but the bottom line has always remained the same: It is best to help your neighbor when they are in dire straits, and those who pass by are doing a disservice to their fellow man.
The story of the Good Samaritan has such impact that it has been told over and over in many different religions and contexts, often paired with The Golden Rule, which states, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Back to Sunday School