The Good Samaritan

A teacher of the law came to test Jesus. "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus turned the question back. "What does the law say?" The man answered, "Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself." "You have answered right," Jesus said. "Do this and you will live."

But the man asked, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus told him a story. "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him. They stripped him, beat him, and left him half dead on the road."

"A priest came down the road. He saw the wounded man and passed by on the other side. Soon a Levite came. He also saw, and he also passed by on the other side."

"Then a Samaritan came along." (For Jews and Samaritans, in those days, were enemies.) "When he saw the man, he had compassion. He went over and bandaged the wounds, pouring on oil and wine."

"He set the man on his own donkey and brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day, he gave the innkeeper two silver coins. 'Take care of him,' he said. 'Whatever more you spend, I will repay when I come back.'"

Jesus asked, "Which of these three was a neighbor to the man who fell among robbers?" The teacher said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said, "Go, and do likewise."