Fruits of Loving-Kindness: Luke 10: 25-37

At times, uncomfortable topics are raised by people Jesus encountered during his ministry. Yet the lessons provided back then are still applicable to us today. One such discussion transpired between Jesus and a lawyer in Luke 10:25-37. The lawyer approached Jesus and asked: "Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” In response, Jesus asked him, "what is written in the law? how do you read it? . The lawyer said, “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and soul and strength, and your neighbour as yourself". Then Jesus said, "you have answered right, do this and you shall live (Luke 10:28).

The lawyer, wanting to justify himself, then said to Jesus: “And who is my neighbour?”
In response, Jesus told him a story about a man who was attacked, robbed and left for dead while on his way to Jerusalem from Jericho. The story identified three individuals and their actions concerning the victim. This is the story of the Good Samaritan. The first person that passed the wounded man was a priest. When the priest saw the man on the ground, he passed by on the other side of the road. The second man was a Levite (a man who is viewed as a godly individual). The Levite looked on the wounded, crossed over to the other side of the road and kept going. 



The third man, the Scripture identified as "a certain Samaritan." The moment this Samaritan saw the man, he had compassion on him, poured oil and wine on his wounds, bandaged them and then set the wounded man on his donkey, (which signified that he himself may have walked after that), and brought the man to an inn. The Samaritan paid the inn keeper to care for the man and told the inn keeper that whatever it cost him to care for the man, it will be paid when he returned. After Jesus shared this story, he asked the lawyer: “Which one of these three was a neighbour to the wounded?” The lawyer said, "The one who had pity." Then Jesus said, "Go and do the same yourself” (Luke 10:36-37).

This story is a challenge for us today. If you and I believe we are good Samaritans, can others identify fruits of loving-kindness from our actions? The next question we should ask is: Do we act from a pure and sincere heart, doing for others as if to the Lord, and not looking for praise from other people? How often we do good deeds in order for others to see what we did? The good Samaritan gave sacrificially. He used his oil and wine for the benefit of a stranger. He did not count the cost of accommodation at the inn or the additional expenses. He did not ask the inn keeper how much it would have cost first, to decide if he wanted to go forward with his generous giving. The cost was never an issue for this Samaritan because he acted from a willing and sincere heart to please God. It is easy to say we are good Samaritans, but when we give, or do good to others, let's make sure our motives are pure and all we do is done for God's glory.

 

R.G.  12/07/25

Image:

JESUS MAFA. The Good Samaritan, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48381 [retrieved July 13, 2025]

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