Parable of the Good Samaritan

The Biblical parable (moral story) of the Good Samaritan appears in the Gospel According to St Luke, chapter 10 and describes Jesus telling the story to a group of his followers. Jesus uses the parable to explain what is meant by the injunction to ‘love thy neighbour as thyself’. The story concerns a man who is travelling along a road when he is set on by thieves, who rob him, beat him and leave him badly injured.  A priest comes along and passes by the injured man, crossing to the other side of the road to avoid him.  Then a Levite (a member of a group respected by Jews at the time of Christ) came along and also passed the man by without assisting him.  Finally a Samaritan came along.  Samaritans were hated by the Jews and vice versa.  The Samaritan tended to the man’s wounds, took him to safety and paid for his accommodation at an inn.  The story is meant to show that all people should be treated as ‘neighbours’. The term ‘good Samaritan’ has been used ever since to describe someone who helps others. But the story was also used by Jesus to imply that showing compassion was essential to earning salvation. Charles Hare no doubt tells this story on the Emma to try to shame the men from different villages who had been quarrelling with each other.