Luke 10:25-37
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Jesus is ask by a teacher and expert of the law ask Jesus, “Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?”...Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law?...What do you understand from it?”...The man answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’...Also, ‘Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.’”...Jesus said, “Your answer is right...Do this and you will have eternal life.”...
So to live and get eternal life we must love God and love neighbor...But the man wanted to show that the way he was living was right...So he said to Jesus, “But who is my neighbor?”...To answer this question, Jesus said, “A man was going down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho...Some robbers surrounded him, tore off his clothes, and beat him...Then they left him lying there on the ground almost dead...“It happened that a Jewish priest was going down that road...When he saw the man, he did not stop to help him...He walked away...Next, a Levite came near...He saw the hurt man, but he went around him...He would not stop to help him either...He just walked away...So a priest and a Levite both saw the injured man lying in the road and did nothing about it...“Then a Samaritan man traveled down that road...He came to the place where the hurt man was lying...He saw the man and felt very sorry for him...The Samaritan went to him and poured olive oil and wine on his wounds...Then he covered the man’s wounds with cloth...The Samaritan had a donkey...He put the hurt man on his donkey, and he took him to an inn...There he cared for him...The next day, the Samaritan took out two silver coins and gave them to the man who worked at the inn...He said, ‘Take care of this hurt man...If you spend more money on him, I will pay it back to you when I come again.’”...
Then Jesus said, “Which one of these three men do you think was really a neighbor to the man who was hurt by the robbers?”...The teacher of the law answered, “The one who helped him.”...Jesus said, “Then you go and do the same.”...
We see the hearts of the three men who went by the injured man...Maybe the other two men who did not stop were busy that day, or their minds were preoccupied...They made the choice to passed the injured one...The heart is where we are spiritually...Our choices each day and our conduct does matter for us to reach heaven...Our choices and conduct get us each day a little bit closer or a little bit further to eternal life...
The Parable of the Good Samaritan is about loving your neighbor and behaving is a helpful way towards all people on earth...Jesus has taken eternal life question and has shown us how love and mercy is a part of getting to eternal life with Him and His Father...