FUNCTIONAL FAITH
The Wording

The Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25–37

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Berean Standard Bible

Goodspeed New Testament

25

One day an expert in the law stood up to test Him. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Then an expert in the Law got up to test him and said, “Master, what must I do to make sure of eternal life?”

26

“What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you read it?”

Jesus said to him, “What does the Law say? How does it read?”

27

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

He answered, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole strength, and your whole mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as you do yourself.’ ”

28

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus said. “Do this and you will live.”

Jesus said to him, “You are right. Do that, and you will live.”

29

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

But he, wishing to justify his question, said, “And who is my neighbor?”

30

Jesus took up this question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.

Jesus replied, “A man was on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers, and they stripped him and beat him and went off leaving him half dead.

31

Now by chance a priest was going down the same road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

Now a priest happened to be going that way, and when he saw him, he went by on the other side of the road.

32

So too, when a Levite came to that spot and saw him, he passed by on the other side.

And a Levite also came to the place, and when he saw him, he went by on the other side.

33

But a Samaritan on a journey came upon him, and when he saw him, he had compassion.

But a Samaritan who was traveling that way came upon him, and when he saw him he pitied him,

34

He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

and he went up to him and dressed his wounds with oil and wine and bound them up. And he put him on his own mule and brought him to an inn and took care of him.

35

The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Take care of him,’ he said, ‘and on my return I will repay you for any additional expense.’

The next day he took out a dollar and gave it to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend I will refund to you on my way back.’

36

Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

Which of these three do you think proved himself a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?”

37

“The one who showed him mercy,” replied the expert in the law. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

He said, “The man who took pity on him.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do so yourself!”

Functional Faith Reading

The Greek verb translated "inherit" in verse 25 is klēronomēo, which carries the sense of receiving what is already yours by lineage — not earning a reward but entering a birthright. The lawyer already knew the answer; the Torah had always said hesed, that steadfast faithful love toward Jehovah and toward neighbor, was the center of the whole structure.

The common reading turns this passage into a lesson about being nicer, a simple moral upgrade. That flattening misses what is actually at stake — the lawyer's question "who is my neighbor?" is a boundary-drawing question, a legal maneuver designed to shrink the demand down to a manageable size.

The Pioneer answered not with a definition but with a direction. The Samaritan — despised, ritually suspect, the wrong kind of person entirely — became the Pattern-holder in the story. He did not ask whether the wounded man qualified. He moved toward him. This is precisely what the Father sent the Pioneer to model: costly love that crosses every boundary the religious imagination erects to protect itself.

For anyone walking the Way, this passage removes the exit. You do not get to define your neighbor before you decide whether to love them. The road decides for you.

Sit with this

What boundary have you drawn around "neighbor" that the Pioneer would simply walk across?

Sources

SBL Greek New Testament (SBLGNT)License

The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition

Copyright 2010 Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software.

Licensed CC BY 4.0.

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