Parable of the Good Samaritan — 3 Valuable Lessons

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is a wonderful story that Jesus tells to illustrate how we have to love our neighbors as ourselves. It is about a generous person who was ready to provide help to a stranger in distress without hesitation. We should never ignore people when they are in need and assist them no matter who or what they are. The Parable of the Good Samaritan puts the greatest commandment to love others into action.

Let us now read the Parable of the Good Samaritan

3 Lessons from the Story of the Good Samaritan (Parables of Jesus)

Here are 3 valuable lessons we can learn from this well-known story.

1. Offer Help for People in Need and Go the Extra Mile — The first lesson from the parable of the good Samaritan is that we should go above and beyond in caring for people just like we would do for ourselves. We must act swiftly to help people who suffer and not wait until it is convenient. We should not stop doing things when it starts to cost us. We should not think about what we will gain when we support others, whether it is physical, monetary, emotional, or social. We should be willing to get involved in the lives of people who need our help and be generous and kind. The good Samaritan treated and bandaged the traveler’s wounds. He set the traveler on his donkey, and took him to an inn, and cared for him throughout the night. He went the extra mile and paid the innkeeper to care for the traveler until the injured man was healed and left a line of credit open that he would fulfill.
2. Grow Beyond Prejudices and Be Kind Even to Haters — The second lesson from the parable of the good Samaritan is the importance of showing kindness to others, especially those we do not know or those we might be reluctant to assist. The Jews hated the Samaritans during the days of Jesus on earth. Samaritans were considered half-breed mongrels who were unfaithful and were avoided and shunned by the Jewish society. Jesus portrays the Samaritan as a righteous man and the one who loves the Almighty Creator as he was the only one in the story who kept God’s commandment of loving others. He grew above and beyond his prejudices by helping a Jew who would have thought lowly of him. The injured man was not helped by his fellow Jewish brethren. The good Samaritan gave two days’ wages to care for a person who was ethnically different from him. Moreover, the innkeeper trusted the Samaritan, probably because he had proven himself to be trustworthy in his previous dealings with him. We should never discriminate against people based on their race, caste, or region. When God provides us an opportunity to serve someone, we should ask for His grace to care for that person with love and respect. We should rise above the stereotypes and be the best God wants us to be.Jesus wants to affirm through this parable that salvation belongs to all and every person is precious to Him regardless of race or ethnicity and everyone is equally loved by God.
3. Be a Doer, Not a Talker — The third lesson from the parable of the Good Samaritan is that we should doers of the Word and not hearers and talkers. We know from the story that both the priest and the Levite passed by on the other side without helping the injured man. They would have done this to avoid ritual uncleanness as they would have assumed that the person was dead, and touching a dead body would make them unclean. Otherwise, they must have avoided helping the man as they thought they had important things to attend to. These men knew the scriptures more than the Samaritan, and they offered sacrifices on behalf of the people. These respected members of the community were just readers of the Word of God and never followed it in their daily life. Likewise, we hold no moral or spiritual high ground because of our heritage. We are sinners like everyone else, and we need to understand that being a Christian at birth would not exempt us from the need for salvation. We should never ignore the spirit of the Law of God, love the Lord our God with all our hearts, and love others as ourselves. We should carry the Good News of the Gospel to our neighborhood through our actions and not just by our words and intentions.

Read our awe-inspiring collection of Parables of Jesus Christ with lessons that can be applied to our daily lives.