Good Samaritan
(Luke 10:30–37)

Enjoined to love his neighbor as himself, a lawyer among Christ's hearers asked how one should define such a person, and was answered with the famous parable. A traveler on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was attacked by robbers and left half dead. A priest and a Levite both passed by with averted eyes, but a Samaritan—the traditional enemy of the Jews—stopped and after bathing and dressing the man's wounds carried him to an inn, leaving money with the innkeeper so that he might be properly cared for. Medieval writers, following Augustine, drew another moral: the traveler personified Man who departed from Paradise (Jerusalem) and was assailed by sin. Judaism (the priest and the Levite) failed to redeem him, but Christ (the Samaritan) brought him salvation through the Church (the inn). In early examples the Samaritan is represented by the figure of Christ. The theme is popular in Christian art of all periods. The traveler lies by the roadside tended by the Samaritan who pours oil on his wounds or bandages them. The priest and the Levite are making off in the distance. Or we may see the arrival at the inn: the traveler is carried in by two helpers while the Samaritan with his purse in his hand approaches the innkeeper who stands in the doorway.