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The Good Samaritan: When Your Enemy Is the Hero

The Good Samaritan: When Your Enemy Is the Hero

Last updated on: August 6, 2026 at 2:40 pm by Beverly R. Green

The Good Samaritan: When Your Enemy Is the Hero 2026-08-06T14:40:23-04:00 Beverly R. Green

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Jesus’ placement of this parable on the road to Jericho was not an accident. | Image created for Patheos.

Luke 10:25-37

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

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.'”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

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.

A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

I Chase Sunsets series note:

This is “The Art of the Parables” series. To read part one, click here.

But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 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. The next day he took out two denarii (about two days’ wages) 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.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

The Journey

Jesus’ placement of this parable on the road to Jericho was not an accident. The setting is very important to the plot. According to Faith ND (University of Notre Dame), “A person walking from Jerusalem to Jericho would be ‘going down’ in elevation and leaving a semi-dry area for a totally barren and parched one. The trip between Jerusalem and Jericho would have been about 18 miles, and in that distance, travelers would have descended more than half a mile in elevation. The majority of those 18 miles would be in desert-like conditions.

“Jericho is an ancient town—the oldest continually-inhabited city in the world, in fact—and it sits in the Dead Sea valley below the elevated range that holds Jerusalem. It has survived as an oasis in the desert of the Dead Sea valley because of the presence of an ancient spring.

“The road between Jerusalem and Jericho was a major thoroughfare for trading caravans, military personnel, and the pilgrims who visited Jerusalem multiple times each year. Given the isolated terrain, people on this road were easy targets for bandits, who would have found ample hiding places and escape routes into the desert where no one would pursue them. When Jesus said that “a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho,” his listeners surely would have recognized the dangers that this journey posed.

“A person who was robbed and beaten on this road would have been in a very vulnerable position—there would have been no food or water to find along the path to recover with, and no shelter from the elements. The victim would be utterly exposed and isolated—desperate for help. Moreover, anyone coming upon such a victim would have not been able to easily avoid them. At points, the road is so narrow, a passerby would have had to literally step over the body. The callousness of the priest and Levite who ignored the victim stands out even more, given the geography.

The Samaritans

“In a further surprise, Jesus subverted his hearers’ expectations by explaining that it was a Samaritan who helped the man. Samaritans were known as the ones who would rob Jews on this road as they went “up” to Jerusalem from Jericho for their holy days. The listeners would not have expected a Samaritan to be unsympathetic to the plight of the victim, but they would also have expected the Samaritan to be the perpetrator!

So who were the Samaritans, really? They maintained that they were pure descendants of the northern Israelite tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh who survived the Assyrian conquest. They were committed to strictly following only the first five books of the Bible (the Torah or Pentateuch) and built their primary temple on Mount Gerizim, rejecting the legitimacy of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. Because of centuries of deep ethnic and theological conflict, first-century Jews and Samaritans despised one another and generally refused to interact.

This presents a real problem when Jesus says that a Jewish priest and a Levite both see the man, but cross to the other side and walk by. Though they were religious leaders, they avoided him, possibly to remain ritually pure in case he was dead, possibly because they were obligated to “be somewhere,” or possibly just out of pride. Whatever the reason, these men have been the objects of harsh criticism for centuries.

But back to the Samaritans: For the Biblical Archaeology Society, Dr. Amy-Jill Levine explains that Samaritans “were not simply outcasts: They were the despised enemies of the Jews. Yet where listeners would have expected a Jew to be the hero of Jesus’ story, instead they would have been shocked to hear that it is a Samaritan. Only by understanding this reality does the powerful message of the parable come through” by suggesting “that enemies can prove to be neighbors, that compassion has no boundaries, and that judging people on the basis of their religion or ethnicity will leave us dying in a ditch.”

“Part-Time Christian”

This study brings to mind a song from a play I was in around 1972. The play is It’s the Lord’s Thing, by Lani Smith and the song is titled “Part-time Christian.”

When you see a man at the side of the street

Who was left for dead by some thieves he did meet

It’s much easier to walk right on by and just say

I’m a Christian on some days, but not today

When you see someone who’s been laid off his job

And his wife and kids become a starving mob

It’s much easier to turn on your heel and just say

I’m a Christian on some days, but not today.

When someone you meet tries to treat you unfair

And he leans on you more than you want to bear

It’s much easier to haul off and sock him and say

I’m a Christian on some days, but not today.

It’s much easier to be a part-time Christian than it is to live it all of your life.

The Confession

This brings me to a very awkward moment in this study. Sometimes, I think God teaches us humility in very real ways in very opportune moments.

Last Friday evening, I was coming home from a wedding in a very rural part of the county. It was after 10:30, and I was on an unfamiliar road. Suddenly, on the right shoulder of the road, my headlights caught a person slumped in the ditch. I couldn’t tell whether the person was male or female, or whether they were in any kind of distress. It was only a quick impression from a car traveling about 45 mph. There was no other car in sight, and there were no houses nearby.

I did not stop. I was the priest. I was the Levite. I was the hypocrite that I have always believed them to be. I am not the tower of faith that I like to believe I am. I’m a nearly 70-year-old woman who has apparently become another victim of a society that expects danger to be lurking on dark roads.

What I did do was call 911 to report a possible problem and give the location as best I could. The dispatcher took my name and number, but I did not hear of anything afterward. I have felt so hypocritical ever since, and I feel a little softer toward that Jewish priest and Levite in the parable.

The church celebrated the Lord’s Supper this morning. They say that confession is good for the soul. I’ll let you know about that.

From Sheila Alewine we learn:

7 Traits of a Good Samaritan

1. We Must See Others with the Eyes of Our Heart: All three of the men in Luke 10 – the priest, the Levite, and the Samaritan – saw the man lying by the side of the road. Having hard hearts, the priest and the Levite walked on, unaffected by his plight. They saw superficially. The Samaritan saw his need.

2. We Must Feel Compassion Toward Others: As believers, we must never forget what our condition used to be before we met Christ. According to Ephesians 2:1-3, we were “dead in our trespasses and sins.” We lived according to this world, in disobedience to God. We were separated from God and had no hope (Ephesians 2:11-13). What changed? Someone brought us hope by telling us about Jesus! Remembering our past will cause us to be compassionate for those who are still separated from God and in spiritual need.

3. We Must Make a Personal Touch: The Samaritan bandaged up the man’s wounds and poured oil and wine on his injuries. Very often, meeting the needs of others can be messy. We may have to get our hands dirty. The Samaritan made a personal touch that ministered healing to the injured man. We must be willing to make personal touches which can change a life, even when it’s messy or difficult.

4. We Must Give Up Our Own Comfort: The Samaritan was on a journey, with an intended destination. He put the man on his own beast, willing to give up his own comfort, and changed his plans to meet the need at hand.

5. We Must Give Generously: When the Samaritan arrived at the inn, he opened his wallet and covered the expense of the man’s room and board, as well as his own extra expenses incurred by a detour in his journey. He himself took care of the man – bathing and bandaging his wounds, getting food for him to eat, and settling him into a bed to rest. Not only did he pay for the current expenses, but he reached deeper into his pocket and paid for the future care of the man, committing to whatever expense might be incurred until the man was back on his feet. The Samaritan shared what he had. He gave his best. He was willing to invest his own resources to meet the needs.

6. We Must Involve Others: The Samaritan recognized that he could not care for the injured man by himself. He had to continue his journey. He did what was right at the time, meeting the immediate needs of the man, but also gave thought to what would happen to the man after he left. He recruited the help of the innkeeper. He wisely involved others. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 reminds us that as Christ-followers, we are dependent upon one another.

7. We Must Be Willing to Show Mercy: Everything the Samaritan did for the injured man can be summed up in this word: mercy.

Showing Mercy

Deuteronomy 7:9 – “Know, then, that the Lord, your God, is God: the faithful God who keeps covenant mercy to the thousandth generation toward those who love him and keep his commandments.”

Psalm 25:10 – “All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth toward those who honor his covenant and decrees.

Isaiah 30:18 – “Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.”

Lamentations 3:22-23 – “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Ephesians 2:4-5 – “But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved.”

Titus 3:5 – “He saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit.”

Hebrews 4:15-16 – “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

James 3:17 – “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.”

1 Peter 1:3 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”–Jesus (Matthew 5:7)

Read Part 3: The Prodigal Son: Two Rebels, One Grace

God bless you!

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