Good Samaritan
- ANCIENT SOURCES: see Good Samaritan (sources)
- LIST OF SCHOLARLY AND FICTIONAL WORKS: see Category:Good Samaritan (subject)
The Good Samaritan was one of the Parables of Jesus, according to the Gospel of Luke (10:25-37).
Overview
The question is about salvation ("What must I do to inherit eternal life?"). Jesus' answer confirms that love for God and love for your neighbor are the requirements. When solicited to clarify what "love for your neighbor" means, Jesus replies with a parable. The protagonist is not a Jew, but a Samaritan, that is, a member of an "other" religious community, somebody who was not "expected" to be saved. The Samaritan is presented as a person, whose righteousness is superior to that of the Jewish priest and the Jewish levite who saw the man in need but passed by. The Samaritan instead "was moved with pity" and "took care" of the man in trouble. The Samaritan is the example of a righteous person who "inherited eternal life" since he was "the one who showed mercy."
The point of the Parable was not that "your" neighbor includes those who were outside the community of faith of Israel, but that salvation was open to all those who love their neighbor, regardless of their community of faith.