Seminary
Luke 10:25–37

Luke 10:25–37

The Good Samaritan

the Good Samaritan administering to the beaten and injured man

When a lawyer asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbour?” (Luke 10:29), the Savior responded by giving the parable of the good Samaritan. This lesson can help you follow Jesus’s example of loving one’s neighbor.

Marking and making notes in scriptures. Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (1928–2015) invited youth to “mark important scriptures … and refer back to them frequently” (“For Peace at Home,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2013, 30). Look for opportunities to invite students to mark and make notes in their scriptures. Encourage them to do so in a way that makes sense to them rather than instructing them to do it in specific ways.

Student preparation: Invite students to read Luke 10:30–35, looking for where they see Jesus Christ in this parable. Ask them to also look for where they see themselves in the parable.

Possible Learning Activities

Students may benefit from having more than one class session to study the parable of the good Samaritan.

Additional learning activities are available in the “Supplemental Learning Activities” section of the lesson.

For the following activity, invite students to record in their study journals their responses to the following questions. Consider sharing a personal experience and inviting a few volunteers to also share their experiences.

Helping those in need

Think of a time when someone helped you when you needed help.

  • Why do you think this person helped you?

  • How did you feel because of what this person did?

Ponder how likely you might be to help someone in need and why you might or might not help them. As you study, look for truths you learn about Jesus Christ that could increase your desire to help those who are in need.

A parable

One day while Jesus Christ was teaching, a lawyer asked Him what he needed to do to receive eternal life. The Savior taught that in order to inherit eternal life, we need to love God with all our hearts and love our neighbor as ourselves (see Luke 10:27). The lawyer then asked another question.

Read Luke 10:29, and consider marking the question the lawyer asked Jesus.

  • How would you answer the lawyer’s question?

Jesus responded to the lawyer’s question by telling a parable known as the parable of the good Samaritan. As you study this parable, keep in mind that the Samaritans and Jews generally despised each other and often avoided interacting with each other. One reason the Jews considered the Samaritans unacceptable was because Samaritans were partly Jewish and partly gentile and they mixed the religious beliefs of both.

Seeing the Savior in the parable

Read the parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:30–35. You may also want to watch the video “Parable of the Good Samaritan” (5:11) as you follow along in your scriptures. This video is available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

As you study this parable, think about how the Samaritan is symbolic of Jesus Christ.

5:11

Consider displaying an image of Jesus Christ before asking the following question:

  • What can we learn about Jesus Christ from this parable? (Consider listing your responses to this question in your study journal.)

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

Elder Neil L. Andersen

The Savior is our Good Samaritan, sent “to heal the brokenhearted” [Luke 4:18; see also Isaiah 61:1]. He comes to us when others pass us by. With compassion, He places His healing balm on our wounds and binds them up. He carries us. He cares for us.

(Neil L. Andersen, “Wounded,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 85)

  • What are some examples in the scriptures of the Savior doing what Elder Andersen described?

  • When has the Savior been like the good Samaritan for you?

Consider sharing a personal experience in which you recognized the Savior’s compassion and willingness to help all who are injured spiritually.

Following the example of Jesus Christ

After giving the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus Christ, the master teacher, asked the lawyer what he had learned and invited the lawyer to act. Read Luke 10:36–37, looking for the Savior’s invitation to the lawyer.

  • How can you apply the Savior’s invitation in your own life?

  • What does this invitation teach you about the Savior’s feelings for all of Heavenly Father’s children?

We have many opportunities to follow the Savior’s counsel to “go, and do thou likewise” (Luke 10:37) in many different settings we find ourselves in, such as at home, at school, online, in our ward or branch, and among strangers.

Consider dividing the class into small groups to discuss the following questions. Assign each group one or more of the settings listed in the previous paragraph to focus on as they answer these questions.

  • What are some specific ways you could follow the Savior’s example to show love to your neighbor in this setting?

  • What can make it difficult to show love to your neighbor in this setting?

  • If a person struggled to show love to their neighbor in this setting, what could you teach them about Jesus Christ that might help?

    After students have finished their discussion, invite volunteers from each group to share some of their responses.

    Invite students to think about what they have learned in this lesson. Consider giving them time to write their thoughts and impressions in their study journals. Consider also giving students an opportunity to share what they have felt prompted to do because of what they have studied today.

  • What is something you have felt prompted to do as a result of what you have studied today?

Commentary and Background Information

How is the parable of the good Samaritan symbolic of our journey through life?

Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

Elder Gerrit W. Gong

On our dusty roads to Jericho, we are beset upon, wounded, and left in pain.

Though we should help each other, too often we pass to the other side of the road, for whatever reason.

However, with compassion, the Good Samaritan stops and binds our wounds with wine and oil. Symbols of the sacrament and other ordinances, the wine and oil point us to the spiritual healing in Jesus Christ. The Good Samaritan puts us on His own donkey or, in some stained-glass accounts, carries us on His shoulders. He brings us to the inn, which can represent His Church. At the Inn, the Good Samaritan says, “Take care of him; … when I come again, I will repay thee” [Luke 10:35]. The Good Samaritan, a symbol of our Savior, promises to return, this time in majesty and glory.

(Gerrit W. Gong, “Room in the Inn,” Liahona, May 2021, 24–25)

Why did the Savior use a Samaritan rather than a Jew as the one who helped the wounded man?

President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained:

President M. Russell Ballard

There was considerable antipathy between the Jews and the Samaritans at the time of Christ. Under normal circumstances, these two groups avoided association with each other. It would still be a good, instructive parable if the man who fell among thieves had been rescued by a brother Jew.

His deliberate use of Jews and Samaritans clearly teaches that we are all neighbors and that we should love, esteem, respect, and serve one another despite our deepest differences—including religious, political, and cultural differences.

(M. Russell Ballard, “Doctrine of Inclusion,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2001, 36)

What should I do when opportunities to help others come at inconvenient times?

President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, taught:

President M. Russell Ballard

Opportunities to serve others in meaningful ways, as we have covenanted to do, rarely come at convenient times. But there is no spiritual power in living by convenience. The power comes as we keep our covenants.

(M. Russell Ballard, “Like a Flame Unquenchable,” Ensign, May 1999, 86)

President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018) reminded us:

President Thomas S. Monson

Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.

(Thomas S. Monson, “Finding Joy in the Journey,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 86)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Parallels between the parable of the good Samaritan and the plan of salvation

Invite students to read Luke 10:30–35, looking for how the parable of the good Samaritan can be symbolic of the plan of salvation. Some symbols include the following:

  • Going down from Jerusalem: leaving the premortal existence and coming to earth

  • A certain man: us

  • Samaritan: Jesus Christ

  • Traveling the road to Jericho: this mortal journey

Invite students to discuss what lessons the parable teaches about mortality and returning to the Father. Ask follow-up questions such as these: What are some of the ways we become spiritually wounded during our time on earth? How have you experienced the Savior binding up your wounds?

For other ideas about ways this parable can symbolize the plan of salvation, see John W. Welch, “The Good Samaritan: Forgotten Symbols,” Ensign, Feb. 2007, 40–47.

Studying the parable from the perspectives of the priest and Levite

Consider inviting students to study the parable from the perspectives of the priest and the Levite. Invite them to think about some of the possible reasons why the priest and the Levite did not stop to help the man in need.

Ask students to compare these possible reasons to their own responses to opportunities to serve. Invite students to ponder how they can overcome their own obstacles to loving and serving their neighbor.

Learning as we come to the Lord’s inn (Church)

Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles compared the inn from the parable of the good Samaritan to the Lord’s Church (see “Room in the Inn,” Liahona, May 2021, 24–25). He suggested that we can learn important lessons about ourselves and Jesus Christ as we come to His inn. Consider selecting and inviting students to study portions of this talk to learn more about how they can help others experience the healing the Savior offers by inviting them to His Church.