The Good Samaritan: Stopping to Become a Neighbor

Luke records a conversation that begins with a test. “There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"” (Lk 10:25) A scholar of the law was someone who studied the Law of Moses closely, and his question touches what matters most to every believer.

Jesus does not answer right away. He asks in return what is written in the law and how the man reads it. The scholar answers correctly: “He said in reply, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."” (Lk 10:27)

Jesus affirms him: “He replied to him, "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live."” (Lk 10:28) But Luke writes that the man, wishing to justify himself, asked who his neighbor was. Perhaps he hoped for a clear line: whom he was bound to love, and whom he could leave alone.

Jesus answers with a story. A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. Along the way he fell victim to robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went off leaving him half-dead. Imagine that lonely road, and a man lying there helpless, perhaps no longer able even to call for help.

By chance a priest was going down that road. He saw the man but passed by on the opposite side. Then a Levite came to the same place. He too saw him and passed by on the opposite side. The text gives no reason. It records only this: they saw, but they did not stop.

Then a Samaritan traveler came along. For Jesus' listeners this character was a surprise, because some people at that time looked down on Samaritans. When he saw the wounded man, he was moved with compassion. Perhaps he also knew the road was dangerous, yet he did not keep his distance.

He approached, poured oil and wine over the man's wounds, and bandaged them. He lifted him onto his own animal, brought him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he gave two silver coins to the innkeeper. He asked him to look after the man and promised to repay any extra cost on his way back.

Then Jesus asked the scholar which of the three had been neighbor to the robbers' victim. The answer was clear, and Jesus closed the conversation with a short command: “He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."” (Lk 10:37)

The Jericho Road and the Samaritans

This parable is found in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 10, verses 25 to 37. It is a story Jesus told, not a report of an event, so its characters have no names. Pope Francis explains that the priest and the Levite were figures connected with worship in the Temple, and that the Law of the Lord required people to help in such a situation.

The choice of the third character is startling. Fratelli Tutti notes that for some Jews of that time, Samaritans were looked down upon, considered impure, and not counted among those who should be helped. The encyclical also recalls that Jesus himself was a Jew, and it was he who completely transformed that way of seeing.

Becoming a Neighbor to Everyone

Pope Francis teaches that those who faithfully come to the house of God do not automatically know how to love their neighbor, and that there is no true worship unless it is expressed in service to others. He even insists that ignoring human suffering means ignoring God. Love of God and love of neighbor, as in the scholar's answer, cannot be separated.

Jesus turns the scholar's question around. He does not say who deserves to be called a neighbor; he asks who acted as one. Fratelli Tutti puts it this way: we no longer say that we have neighbors to help, but that we ourselves must become neighbors to others. The encyclical also invites Christians to recognize Christ himself in abandoned or excluded brothers and sisters.

For teenagers and young adults, the road to Jericho might be a school hallway, a group chat, or their own home. There is the friend being bullied, the younger sibling who is overwhelmed, the elderly neighbor who rarely has visitors. Like the Samaritan, the first step is deciding to stop and come closer, then acting in real and faithful ways, without waiting for recognition or thanks.

This story is retold by the Light of Saints editorial team from the Catholic edition of Scripture and the Church sources listed, with the help of AI, and checked by an editor. Some of the atmosphere and the characters' feelings are our portrayal. For the full text, read the passage in Scripture.