In Luke’s Gospel the parable of the Good Samaritan is part of Jesus’ conversation with a lawyer about loving God and neighbors or compatriots. In order to better understand how this passage in Luke 10.25–37 is structured with the parable inside the exchange with the lawyer, it is helpful to see how parables function in Luke’s Gospel.

What kind of speech is meant when we use the term parable? A parable is a short story that refers to something outside the parable itself. Jesus’ parables refer to the kingdom of God. The English term parable comes from the Greek term παραβολη (parabole), but the Greek term has a somewhat broader range of meaning and includes, for example, what we often call riddles. The Greek word παραβολη was often used to translate מָשָׁל (mšl) in the Hebrew Scriptures, but this Hebrew term likewise has a broader range of meaning than the Greek, so that מָשָׁל includes, for example, proverbs. Although parables are related to other kinds of speech like riddles and proverbs, parables emphasize story. Jesus’ parables are short stories that refer to God’s realm of power, God’s kingdom.

In Luke’s Gospel, as well as in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, Jesus’ parables generally have a very familiar setting, but these little stories also usually have some surprising element that turns that familiar world upside down. This is what God’s power is doing now, Jesus is saying. How does this happen with the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke’s Gospel?

Luke and Parables

The Good Samaritan is the first parable to occur in the large section of Luke called the Travel Narrative (9.51–19.27). Jesus has determined to go to Jerusalem in spite of the increasing conflict that he faces (9.51–56; 13.31–35). Jesus’ ministry of teaching receives the greatest emphasis in this section (see the article on Luke). Luke’s Travel Narrative includes twenty-four of the Gospel’s twenty-nine parables. In contrast, Matthew’s Gospel has twenty-three parables and Mark’s has six. But there is no consensus on the count of parables. The index of Scott’s Hear Then lists thirty-three, the index of Crossan’s In Parables has thirty-seven, and Jeremias’ Parables has forty. For inclusiveness here, the slightly broader definitions and higher number of parables in Jeremias are used.

In Luke’s Gospel only a few parables occur before or after the Travel Narrative: Children in the Market (7.31–35) from Q, the Sayings Source Luke shares with Matthew, and Two Debtors (7.41–43) from L, Luke’s own source or sources not shared by Mark or Matthew. Luke’s use of Mark’s parables more often falls in the order of Mark’s narrative rather than being gathered into the Travel Narrative section. Before the Travel Narrative is the Sower (8.5–8) and after the Travel section are the Wicked Husbandmen (20.9–18) and the Fig Tree (21.29–31).

Within the Travel Narrative, less than half of the parables are from Mark and Q. From Mark are the Mustard Seed (13.18–19) and Doorkeeper (12.35–38). Eight are from Q: Return of the Unclean Spirit (11.24–26), Burglar (12.39–40), Servant Supervising (12.42–46), Going before the Judge (12.58–59), Leaven (13.20), Great Supper (14.16–24), Lost Sheep (15.4–7), and, at the end of the Travel Narrative, the Pounds (19.12–27).

Where does Luke find the fourteen parables in the Travel Narrative that have no hint in Mark or Q? Do any of them show clear signs of Luke’s own composition? No, not clear signs; but Luke is a master stylist. Still, these fourteen must be categorized as L source parables of Jesus. It has been claimed that many of Jesus’ parables communicate the ipsissima verba (actual words), or the ipsissima vox (actual voice), or ipsissima structura (actual structure) of a historian’s reconstruction of Jesus. No such reconstruction is claimed here, but these efforts are certainly reminders that Jesus’ parabolic stories as well as his parabolic actions (eating with tax collectors, etc.) provide an important facet of Luke’s presentation of Jesus.

The most famous series of parables in Luke’s Travel Narrative is the joyful Lost and Found group. This begins with the Q source Lost Sheep (a man celebrating with his friends; 15.4–7), continues with the L source Lost Coin (a woman celebrating with her girlfriends; 15.8–10), and climaxes with the Lost Son (the Prodigal Son, a father celebrating with his household; 15.11–32).

What are Luke’s other L source parables in the Travel Narrative? Here they are simply listed together: Good Samaritan (10.30–35), Friend at Midnight (11.5–8), Rich Fool (12.16–21), Barren Fig Tree (13.6–9), Closed Door (13.24–30), Places at Table (14.7–11), Tower Builder and War Campaigner (14.28–32), Unjust Steward (16.1–8), Lazarus and the Rich Man (16.19–31), Servant’s Reward (17.7–10), Unjust Judge (18.1–8), Pharisee and Publican (18.9–14).

Parables and Settings: Two Levels of Effects

How do these parables function in Luke’s story of Jesus? The parables in Mark and Matthew are most often preceded by phrases like these: he spoke to them in many parables, he put another parable before them, again he put a parable before them. In contrast, the parables in Luke are most often preceded by a related aspect of Jesus’ ministry: a healing, a controversy, and most of all teaching—teaching about God’s kingdom, trust, the life of prayer, repentance, hope, humility, and other issues vital to Jesus’ mission. These preceding comments sometimes have a key word repeated in the parable itself, but more often the key word is repeated after the parable in a comment of explanation.

The way these parables function in Luke’s story of Jesus allows most of them to have at least two distinct levels of effect: one is an effect of the parable itself, the bare short story with its familiar world often turned upside down. The parable itself jolts listeners to see how God’s reign is invading their world in an unexpected way. The second level of effect is from the setting expressed in the words before and after the parable itself. The incident or the teaching or the explanation draws its own impact from the parable. This second level of effect is sometimes achieved by a focus on one word in the parable, and sometimes it provides an additional, related thought. There may even be third and fourth levels of explanation that provide additional effects, or even options of effects to accompany the parable.

One helpful way in which some readers distinguish the levels of effect is to imagine Jesus telling the same parable in several different settings on various occasions. What is the common effect the parable itself may have had in all these settings? That is level one. Then in Luke’s Gospel (or those of Matthew or Mark), how does the particular setting there shape the effect of the parable? That is level two. Both levels may provide important insights for listeners and readers.

The Good Samaritan

The Good Samaritan has two particular levels of effect in Luke 10.25–37. One is from the parable itself (Luke 10.29b–35), and the second is from Jesus’ conversation with the law expert about loving God and neighbors (Luke 10.25–29a, 36–37).

The structure of Luke 10.25–37 is partly demonstrated by the indentation and spacing of this translation:

An expert in the Law of Moses went up and asked Jesus a question to undermine him: “Teacher, what deed must I do to have eternal life?”

Jesus answered him, “What is written in the Law of Moses? How do you recite it?”

The expert replied, “It says ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind,’ and also, ‘Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.’”

Jesus said to him, “You have given the right answer. Keep on doing this and you will live.”

But the expert, wanting to make himself look good, asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus replied:

A man was going down the mountain road from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by a gang of robbers who stripped him of everything, beat him up, and ran off, leaving him nearly dead.

By chance a priest was going down that road. But when he saw the man, he went by on the other side.

It also happened that a temple worker came to that place. When he saw the man who had been beaten up, he also went by on the other side.

Then a foreigner from Samaria traveling along that road happened upon that man, and when he saw him, he was filled with compassion and went to help him, and treated his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them, and put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next morning he gave the innkeeper two days’ wages and said, “Take care of this man, and whatever more you spend on him, I will repay you when I return.”

Then Jesus asked, “Which one of these three people do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by the gang of robbers?”

The expert answered, “The one who showed him compassion.”

Then Jesus said to him, “You go and do the same.”

Level one: The parable alone first paints an ugly and all too familiar picture; someone is mugged, half-dead, even our religious leaders don’t try to help. Then—what?! It is a Samaritan who gives lots of help, but no one gets along with these foreigners. What is going on here? God’s reign turns our familiar world upside down. God’s help, real help, comes from a completely unexpected person. Now how are we to live if this is how God’s reign is coming?

Level two: The conversation Jesus has with the law expert has multiple aspects; they include conflict, law, loving God and neighbors, judging who is a rightful neighbor, and other aspects. After the parable is presented, the questions and answers now turn the parable into an example story. Go and do likewise means follow the example of the one who helped. Now how are we to help someone ignored by others?

With many parables the level-two effect predominates and sometimes completely suppresses the level-one effect. This is even more true in Luke than in Matthew or Mark. Therefore, to notice the precise structure of Luke’s story with setting and parable is to open a door to important additional effects of that story.