Who Is My Neighbor?
Bible Study Notes | July 29th, 2026
Parable: The Good Samaritan
Scripture: Luke 10:25–37
Theme: Compassion That Crosses Boundaries
Key Verse: Luke 10:36–37
Objective: To understand that genuine love for God is demonstrated by how we respond to people in need.
Introduction: It’s Easy to Love From a Distance
Most of us would say we believe in helping people. We believe in kindness, compassion, and treating others the way we want to be treated.
But compassion becomes more difficult when helping someone interrupts our schedule, costs us something, or involves someone we would not normally choose to help.
That is where Jesus takes us in the parable of the Good Samaritan.
In Luke 10, a lawyer stood up and asked Jesus:
“Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
— Luke 10:25
Jesus directed him back to the Law and asked him what was written. The man correctly answered that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Jesus told him:
“Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.”
— Luke 10:28
But the conversation did not end there.
Luke tells us:
“But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?”
— Luke 10:29
That question reveals something deeper.
The man was not simply asking, “Who should I love?”
In a sense, he was asking:
“How far does my responsibility go?”
“Who qualifies for my compassion?”
“Where can I draw the line?”
Instead of giving him a definition, Jesus gives him a story.
And through this parable, Jesus teaches us that the real question is not simply, “Who is my neighbor?”
The greater question is:
“Am I being a neighbor?”
1. The Wounded Man — Trouble Can Happen to Anybody
Scripture: Luke 10:30
“A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves…”
Jesus describes a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho who was attacked by thieves.
They robbed him.
They stripped him.
They wounded him.
And then they left him “half dead.”
One of the interesting things about this story is that Jesus never gives us the man’s name.
We do not know his occupation.
We do not know his financial condition.
We do not know his family.
We do not know his reputation.
We do not even know what kind of decisions he had made before arriving on that road.
Jesus simply presents him as a man who needs help.
And that is important.
Because sometimes we want someone’s complete story before we decide whether they deserve our compassion.
We ask:
“How did they get themselves into this?”
“Didn’t they know better?”
“Why did they make that decision?”
“Didn’t somebody warn them?”
There may be a time to discuss responsibility and choices, but when someone is lying wounded on the side of the road, their immediate need cannot be ignored simply because we do not know their whole story.
Sometimes ministry begins when we stop trying to determine why somebody is hurting long enough to recognize that somebody is hurting.
And not every wound is visible.
Some people are wounded emotionally.
Some are wounded financially.
Some are carrying grief.
Some are dealing with loneliness.
Some have been disappointed by people they trusted.
Some are sitting beside us every week looking perfectly fine while privately struggling to keep going.
The wounded man reminds us:
Everybody you encounter has a story you may not know.
Discussion Questions
- Why do you think Jesus gave us so little information about the wounded man’s identity or background?
- Why are we sometimes quick to judge why someone is struggling before deciding whether to help them?
- What does this parable teach us about showing compassion to people whose circumstances we do not fully understand?
2. The Priest and Levite — You Can See a Need and Still Miss an Opportunity
Scripture: Luke 10:31–32
Jesus continues:
“And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.”
Then another person comes down the road.
A Levite.
Luke 10:32 says:
“And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.”
This is one of the most challenging parts of the parable.
Because both men saw him.
The priest saw him.
The Levite saw him.
Their problem was not that they didn’t know somebody was hurting.
Their problem was that they saw the need and chose not to become involved.
These were religious men.
They understood worship.
They understood Scripture.
They understood religious responsibilities.
They knew what it meant to serve around the things of God.
Yet Jesus deliberately places religious people in the story who know about God but fail to demonstrate God’s compassion.
That should challenge every believer.
Because it is possible to know Scripture and still walk past people.
It is possible to attend church and still ignore suffering.
It is possible to sing about love without showing love.
It is possible to shout on Sunday and overlook somebody on Monday.
It is possible to be religious and still be unavailable.
James gives us a similar warning.
James 2:15–16
“If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled… what doth it profit?”
There are times when people need more than our words.
They need our presence.
They need our assistance.
They need our encouragement.
They need somebody willing to stop.
The priest and Levite teach us an uncomfortable truth:
Seeing a need is not the same as responding to a need.
Discussion Questions
- Why do you think Jesus specifically chose a priest and a Levite for this story?
- What is the difference between seeing someone and truly seeing their need?
- What are some reasons good people sometimes choose not to get involved?
3. The Samaritan — Compassion Moves You to Action
Scripture: Luke 10:33–35
Then Jesus introduces the person nobody expected.
“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him.”
The Samaritan would have been the surprising hero of Jesus’ story.
There was deep hostility and division between Jews and Samaritans. Yet Jesus deliberately makes the Samaritan the person who demonstrates what love looks like.
Notice something important.
The Samaritan did exactly what the others did first:
He saw him.
The priest saw him.
The Levite saw him.
The Samaritan saw him.
The difference was what happened after he saw him.
The Bible says:
“He had compassion on him.”
Biblical compassion is more than feeling sorry for somebody.
Compassion moves.
Look carefully at what the Samaritan does.
Luke 10:34–35
He went to him.
He bound up his wounds.
He poured in his own oil and wine.
He placed the wounded man on his own beast.
He brought him to an inn.
He took care of him.
He gave the innkeeper money.
And he promised that if additional expenses were incurred, he would pay them when he returned.
His compassion required something from him.
It required time.
It required effort.
It required resources.
It required money.
It required inconvenience.
He could have said:
“That’s terrible.”
He could have said:
“Somebody needs to help that man.”
He could have said:
“I’ll be praying for you.”
But instead, he became part of the answer.
There is certainly nothing wrong with telling someone, “I’m praying for you.”
But sometimes prayer should lead us to ask:
“Lord, is there something You want me to do?”
Maybe the answer to somebody’s prayer is sitting in your hands.
Maybe it is a phone call.
Maybe it is a meal.
Maybe it is transportation.
Maybe it is financial assistance.
Maybe it is encouragement.
Maybe it is simply sitting with someone who doesn’t need a sermon—they just need somebody who cares.
The Samaritan teaches us:
Compassion is love that gets involved.
Discussion Questions
- What made the Samaritan’s response different from the priest and Levite?
- Why is it significant that Jesus made a Samaritan the hero of the story?
- What does the Samaritan teach us about helping people who are different from
4. The Real Question — Am I Being a Neighbor?
Scripture: Luke 10:36–37
Jesus finishes the story by asking the lawyer a question:
“Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?”
Notice what Jesus did.
The lawyer originally asked:
“Who is my neighbour?”
But Jesus essentially asks:
“Who acted like a neighbor?”
The lawyer wanted Jesus to identify the boundaries of his responsibility.
Jesus removed the boundaries.
The lawyer wanted to know:
“Who qualifies for my love?”
Jesus wanted him to understand:
“You should become the kind of person who shows mercy whenever the opportunity presents itself.”
The lawyer answers:
“He that shewed mercy on him.”
And then Jesus gives the command that brings the whole lesson together:
“Go, and do thou likewise.”
Jesus moves the conversation from information to application.
Don’t just study compassion.
Practice it.
Don’t just talk about love.
Demonstrate it.
Don’t just ask:
“Who is my neighbor?”
Ask:
“Whose neighbor can I be?”
Discussion Questions
- Why did Jesus change the focus from “Who is my neighbor?” to essentially “Who acted like a neighbor?”
- What was wrong with the lawyer trying to determine who qualified as his neighbor?
- Do we sometimes create categories of people we believe deserve our kindness and others who do not? Why?
- What does Jesus’ command “Go, and do thou likewise” require beyond simply understanding the parable?
Bringing It All Together
When we look at the entire parable, we see different attitudes toward the wounded man.
The thieves said:
“What’s yours is mine, and I’m going to take it.”
The priest and Levite essentially said:
“What’s mine is mine, and I’m going to keep it.”
But the Samaritan demonstrated:
“What’s mine can be used to help you.”
That is the heart of Christlike compassion.
And when we look deeper, this parable should remind us of the compassion we ourselves have received from Jesus Christ.
Sin left humanity wounded and unable to save itself.
But Jesus did not pass us by.
He came where we were.
He touched people others rejected.
He welcomed people others pushed away.
He healed the broken.
He forgave sinners.
He gave hope to the hopeless.
And ultimately, Jesus went all the way to Calvary.
He gave His life for our sins.
He died on the cross.
He was buried.
And on the third day, He rose again with all power in His hands.
We know something about mercy because we have received mercy.
We know something about grace because we have received grace.
We know something about compassion because Christ had compassion on us.
So when Jesus says:
“Go, and do thou likewise,”
He is calling us to extend to others the kind of mercy that God has already extended to us.
Closing Group Discussion
As you consider the entire lesson:
- Of the people in the story—the wounded man, the priest, the Levite, and the Samaritan—which one challenged you the most, and why?
- What is the biggest obstacle that prevents Christians today from practicing the kind of compassion demonstrated by the Samaritan?
- Is there someone we have been “passing by” because helping them would be uncomfortable or inconvenient?
Final Thought
The lawyer began the conversation asking:
“Who is my neighbor?”
Jesus ended the conversation by saying:
“Go, and do thou likewise.”
The lesson is simple:
Don’t just look at the wounded.
Don’t just talk about the wounded.
Don’t just pray for the wounded.
When God gives us the opportunity and the ability—
Stop. See. Show compassion. And serve.
Because real love does not merely notice people who are hurting.
Real love moves toward them.