Reel Luke

Jesus Tells About a Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37

Helpful Stuff to Know

There was no love lost between Jews and Samaritans. At one point, they’d been part of the same extended family and kingdom, but that was centuries earlier. In Jesus’ day, they didn’t trust each other. They intentionally avoided each other. Jews believed Samaritans hadn’t remained faithful to God and true religious practices. When traveling throughout the region, Jews would often go out of their way to travel around Samaria, adding many miles to their trip.

Only Luke includes this parable.

Be Sure Not to Miss

Jesus told this parable in answer to the question, “Who is my neighbor?” A Jewish person might have felt OK if they were told, “Samaritans are your neighbor and so you must love them even though you (think) you're better than them.” But Jesus turned the story upside down and made the Samaritan the person who loved their Jewish neighbor, showing kindness in the opposite direction from what people would have expected.

Before the Samaritan showed kindness to the Jewish man, two Jewish people did not show kindness to him — a priest and a temple assistant. Jesus turned things doubly upside down by having the “good guys” act badly and the “bad guy” act rightly.

At the beginning of the parable, Jesus introduced “a Jewish man.” At the end of the parable, Jesus simply described him as “the man who was attacked by bandits.”

At the beginning of the parable, Jesus introduced “a despised Samaritan.” At the end of the parable, Jesus simply described him as “a neighbor.”

The Samaritan didn’t help the hurt man just in the moment. He continued caring for him.

Be Careful About

Remember this is a parable that has specific lessons to teach the reader. Don’t read it just as a beautiful and interesting story. Look and listen for the true teaching.

Reel Questions

❮

Reel Setting (place)

Where did this story happen? (Describe the setting — in a house, on a road, by a lake, in a city, etc.)
What do you think that place looked like? smelled like? sounded like?
Do you think it matters that this story happened in that specific place? Why?
What about the place in this story feels familiar? What feels strange?

Reel People (characters)

Make a list of all the people in this story and give a one-word description of each (include “crowd” if there is one). Why did you choose that word?
What does Jesus say and do in this story? List all the things. Does anything surprise you? Why?
Which person (besides Jesus) is most interesting to you? Why?
What details about the characters do you wish were included or explained in the story? Why?
Why do you think [choose a specific character or the crowd] spoke or acted the way they did?
What are some different things that [the person from previous question] could have said or done? How would that have changed the story?
What do you think the onlookers were thinking and feeling as things were happening in this story? Why?
How do you think the main characters might have changed after this story? Why? (Sometimes it tells us, like with Zacchaeus, but other times it doesn’t.)
How do you think the crowd or onlookers might have changed after this story? Why?
If you’d been there, where would you have been standing or sitting? What would you have been thinking or feeling? Why?

Reel Events (plot)

List all the events in the story.
List some details that aren't included but are assumed in the story.
What do you think are the two or three most important moments in this story? Why?
If this story were a film, when would the music be scary or tense? When would it be joyful or upbeat? Why?
What do you think maybe happened right before this story? What do you think maybe happened right after this story?
Does the biblical story before or after this one matter to this story? How? Why do you think that?
What are some different ways things could have happened or ended in this story?
If this story were happening today in your school or town, what are ways Jesus might have acted or explained things for your context?
What would you call this story if it were a full-length book or movie? Why?

Real Faith

What’s a way people could misunderstand or misuse this story?
Why do you think this story is in the Bible? Why would God want us to read and learn from it?
What are you learning about Jesus (or his Father or the Spirit) from this story?
What are you learning about following Jesus (living for Jesus and living like Jesus) from this story?
After reading this story, what are some questions you have about Jesus and following him?

Story-Specific Questions

Why do you think Jesus told a parable where a Samaritan helped a Jew instead of a Jew helped a Samaritan?

Why do you think Jesus told a parable where two people did not help a hurt man before a Samaritan did? Why not just skip the first two unhelpful people?

If Jesus were telling this story to you and your friends (or your school), how do you think he’d tell it? What people would he feature in the story? Why?