Luke – Study 4
Pray: Ask God to help you understand His word and speak to you.
Bible Passage: Luke 10:25–37
The Good Samaritan — Loving Your Neighbour
1. Setting the Scene
A teacher of the law asks Jesus,
“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
But Luke tells us he wasn’t really asking because he wanted to learn — he was testing Jesus.
Discuss:
Jesus asks the man what the law says.
The man answers:
Discuss:
Jesus tells a story about a man who gets robbed and badly hurt.
Two religious leaders see him:
Then a Samaritan comes along and helps him.
This would have shocked the people listening, because Jews and Samaritans didn’t like each other at all.
Discuss:
The Samaritan doesn’t just feel sorry for the man. He actually helps.
He:
Discuss:
The man originally asked Jesus:
“Who is my neighbour?”
He wanted to know who he had to help.
But Jesus turns the question around and asks:
“Which of these people acted like a neighbour?”
Discuss:
Jesus finishes by saying:
“Go and do the same.”
He doesn’t say:
Discuss:
The Samaritan helped someone who most people thought he should ignore.
Sometimes we also decide who deserves our kindness.
Think about this:
Love people — even the ones others ignore.
Pray: Ask God to help you understand His word and speak to you.
Bible Passage: Luke 10:25–37
The Good Samaritan — Loving Your Neighbour
1. Setting the Scene
A teacher of the law asks Jesus,
“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
But Luke tells us he wasn’t really asking because he wanted to learn — he was testing Jesus.
Discuss:
- What’s the difference between asking a question to learn and asking one to prove someone wrong?
- Have you ever asked a question but didn’t really want the answer?
- Why do you think people sometimes talk about God but don’t want to actually change their lives?
Jesus asks the man what the law says.
The man answers:
- Love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.
- Love your neighbour as yourself.
Discuss:
- Why do you think Jesus said “Do this” instead of just “You’re right”?
- Is it possible to know the right things about God but not live them out?
- What’s the difference between knowing something and actually doing it?
Jesus tells a story about a man who gets robbed and badly hurt.
Two religious leaders see him:
- a priest
- a Levite
Then a Samaritan comes along and helps him.
This would have shocked the people listening, because Jews and Samaritans didn’t like each other at all.
Discuss:
- Why do you think the religious leaders didn’t stop?
- Why would people be surprised that the Samaritan helped?
- What do you think Jesus was trying to show by making the Samaritan the hero?
The Samaritan doesn’t just feel sorry for the man. He actually helps.
He:
- bandages his wounds
- puts him on his donkey
- takes him to an inn
- pays for him to stay there
Discuss:
- What is the difference between feeling sorry for someone and helping them?
- What things might stop us from helping someone?
(Being busy? Feeling awkward? Not wanting to get involved?)
The man originally asked Jesus:
“Who is my neighbour?”
He wanted to know who he had to help.
But Jesus turns the question around and asks:
“Which of these people acted like a neighbour?”
Discuss:
- What’s the difference between asking “Who do I have to help?” and asking “How can I help someone?”
- How could this change the way we treat people?
Jesus finishes by saying:
“Go and do the same.”
He doesn’t say:
- “Go and think about it.”
- “Go and talk about it.”
Discuss:
- Where in your life do you see people who might need help?
- school
- sports teams
- online
- neighbourhood
- What could you do this week to be a good neighbour to someone?
The Samaritan helped someone who most people thought he should ignore.
Sometimes we also decide who deserves our kindness.
Think about this:
- Is there someone you find hard to be kind to?
- What would it look like to show them kindness this week?
Love people — even the ones others ignore.