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The following is a list of Bible Truths in
Luke 10:25-37, the story of the Good Samaritan.
- Jesus taught that you should love God with all your heart, soul, strength,
and mind; and that you should love your neighbor as yourself.
- The Samaritan used his own bandages, wine, oil, donkey, and money to care
for a hurt man he did not know. Luke 10:30-35.
- Jesus taught that every person was a neighbor who should be cared for. Luke
10:29-37.
- Jesus commanded the expert in the law to show love for his neighbors by meeting
their needs. Luke 10:27, 29, 36-37.
The following Background information is
helpful in understanding the story.
 | Setting - The lawyer, who was Jewish, asked
Jesus several questions. Jesus responded in a typical fashion for a
teacher by asking a question and letting the student discover the answer to
his own question. When he answered his questions, the lawyer was
forced to admit that it was not the Jewish religious leaders but the
Samaritan, who was very much disliked by Jews, who proved to be a good
neighbor to the hurt man. |
| Levite - a member of the tribe of Levi.
It was the Levite's responsibility to take care of the temple. Only
Levites could become priests. However, not all Levites were priests. |
| Priest - a Levite who served in the temple
and offered prayers and sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. |
| Jew - A descendant of Israel's southern
kingdom of Judah who lives by the laws of the covenant made by God with the
nation of Israel at Mount Sinai. |
| Samaritan - A resident of Samaria very much
disliked by the Jews. |
| Relations between Jews and Samaritans - As
can be seen in John 4:9, Jews and Samaritans were not the best of friends
during New Testament times. Both claimed to be true descendants of the
nation of Israel. Samaritans descended from the northern kingdom of
Israel while the Jews descended from the southern kingdom of Judah.
The Jews believed Jerusalem was the only true place of worship while the
Samaritans located the true place of worship at Mt. Gerizim. In 128
BC, the Jews destroyed the Samaritan temple at Mt. Gerizim. While the
actual reasons for the hatred between the two groups is not known, it is
known that the Jews believed the Samaritans were not pure from a religious
viewpoint. |
| Going Down - The Bible
says the man who was robbed and the priest were 'going down' from Jerusalem
to Jericho because the men were traveling about seventeen miles from
Jerusalem, which was about 2600 feet above sea level, 'down to' Jericho,
which was about 825 feet below sea level. |
The following activities can be used to
teach the Bible story and truths.
Bible Story Activities.
| Wall Mural. The
children can tell the story through art.
 | Put butcher paper on the wall and let the children use markers, paint,
colors, etc. to draw the following scenes.
 | Scene 1 - The robbers beat the man and leave him for dead. |
| Scene 2 - The priest walks by the man. |
| Scene 3 - The Levite walks by the man. |
| Scene 4 - The Samaritan stops and helps the man. |
| Scene 5 - The Samaritan takes the man to the inn and pays for his
care. |
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| After they complete the drawing, ask the students to describe the
story in their own words. |
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| Role Play. This
is a fun story for the children to role play.
| Actors needed: Narrator, robbers, priest, Levite, Samaritan,
innkeeper. |
| Consider letting the Narrator tell about the priest, Levite, and
Samaritan as the actor takes the stage.
| A priest served in the temple and offered prayers and sacrifices
to God for the people. Surely he would help. |
| A Levite was a priest's assistant and took care of the
temple. Surely he would help. |
| A Samaritan was a person the Jews did not like because they
thought a Samaritan was not pure. |
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| Who Is My Neighbor?
Use this activity to help the children understand that they should love
others regardless of where they live, what they do, the language they speak,
etc.
| Prejudice is treating a person unfairly because of who they are, what
they are, how much money they make, etc. |
| Examples of reasons for prejudice include money, position in society,
gender, language, race, nationality, athletic skills, mental abilities,
popularity, etc. |
| Ask the children for examples of kids who treat others unfairly.
Examples could include
| The popular kids are unkind to the kids who are not popular. |
| The good athletes make fun of those who are not good athletes. |
| The smart kids laugh at those who make bad grades. |
| The kids who have nice clothes criticize the clothes others wear. |
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| Be nice to everyone. |
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| What Do I Do?
Use the following situations to help the children understand what it means
to love one another.
| Write the following situations on separate slips of paper. Or
click here to go to a page you can print. Situations 1 through
5 are for younger students. |
| For younger students, put the separate slips of paper into a hat.
Ask a child to draw a slip from the hat. The teacher can read the
situation and ask the children what they can do to show the special love
Jesus says we should have. |
| For older students, consider dividing the class into groups and
letting them role play the situation. |
| Situations.
| Situation 1.
This morning you were playing at Susie's house. She got mad
and told you to go home. This afternoon, Susie comes to your
house and wants to play. |
| Situation 2.
Yesterday, Tommy brought his favorite toy to the playground but you
forgot your toy. He would not play with you or let you play
with his toy. Today, Tommy forgot his toy and wants to play
with you and your toy. |
| Situation 3.
When you are at Bobby's house, he will not share his Easter candy
with you. Later in the day, Bobby comes to your house.
Your mom has just made cookies and Bobby wants some. |
| Situation 4.
Jane and Molly would not play with you yesterday. They said
they did not want to be your friend any more. Today, you and
Jill are playing soccer and Jane wants to play. |
| Situation 5.
You are on a field trip to the butterfly museum with your class.
Billy has been mean to you all morning. It is now time for
lunch and Billy forgot his dessert. You have extra dessert and
Billy wants some of your dessert. |
| Situation 6.
You and Bill have been drafted by the same basketball team.
Bill thinks he is a much better player than you. He laughs
every time you shoot. The coach just named the starting
players. You will start but Bill will not. Bill is sad
and thinking about quitting the team. |
| Situation 7.
Susie is a classmate who lives down the street from you and always
makes fun of the clothes you wear. She will not play with you
and tells the other girls in your class not to play with you either.
She calls you a nerd. Your class has a math project due
tomorrow. Susie forgot her book at school and wants to borrow
yours. |
| Situation 8.
You live next door to a grumpy man and his grumpy wife. They
yell at you whenever your ball goes in their yard. They
complain to your parents whenever you and your friends make too much
noise. They are always getting you into trouble. The
grumpy man and his grumpy wife have planned a vacation and are
trying to find someone to pick up their newspaper and take care of
their cat while they are out of town. |
| Situation 9.
Last week Jill invited everyone in your class except you to her
birthday party. She handed out the invitations during class
and told everyone in the class that you were not invited. Your
birthday is next month. Your mom said you could have a party
and invite the whole class if you wanted. Your mom wants to
know who you want to invite to your party. |
| Situation 10.
You are on an all day field trip to the zoo with your class.
Tommy, the class bully, picks on you all morning long. It is
now lunch and everyone goes to the snack bar to buy a snack.
Tommy discovers he forgot his lunch money at home. You are the
only one in the class with extra money. |
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Brain Teasers
| Word Search: 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.
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