The Good Samaritan

Read the story of The Good Samaritan, as told in Luke Chapter 10 verses 25-37, re-written in simple language for children - and then enjoy this collection of printable activities to accompany the story.

With thanks to Commonforall.com for these wonderful images.

The Good Samaritan - Luke 10:25-37

25 Then a lawyer stood up and tested Jesus by asking, "Teacher, what must I do to win eternal life?"

26 Jesus replied, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?"

27 The lawyer answered, "You should love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind. You should love your neighbour as you love yourself."

28 Jesus said, "You have read that correctly. Behave like that, and you will have eternal life."

29 But the man, wanting to be sure that he understood, asked "Who is my neighbour, exactly?"

30 To answer the question, Jesus told a story. “A man was travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers who stripped him and beat him and left him half-dead. 31 A Jewish priest was travelling the same way, but when he saw him, he crossed the road and walked on past. 32 A Levite* also travelled past, saw him, crossed, and kept on going. 33 But a Samaritan was also travelling on that road. 34 When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him. So he went to him, dressed his wounds with olive oil and wine, put him on his donkey and walking beside him, took him to an inn, where he looked after him. 35 The next day, the Samaritan gave two silver coins to the innkeeper and said to him, "Take care of him. If you spend more, I will repay you when I return this way."

36 Then Jesus asked, "Now which of these three travellers was a good neighbour to the man who was attacked by the robbers?"

37 The lawyer answered, "The one who stopped and helped him."

Jesus replied, "Then go and behave the same way."

* The significance of this story is that the men who the listeners would have expected to be good were the Jewish priest, a man of God, and the Levite. The Levites were members of the Hebrew tribe of Levi, and traditionally helped the priests in the temples. The man who the listeners would have looked down on was the Samaritan. He would have come from Samaria and, although part Jewish, the Jews did not accept them. Jews and Samaritans did not get on well!

The Good Samaritan - The Short Version

• A lawyer asked Jesus, "What must I do to win eternal life?" Jesus replied that he should love God with all his heart, and love his neighbour too.
• The man asked what Jesus meant by loving his neighbour. To answer him, Jesus told a story of a man who was attacked by robbers, beaten, and left half-dead on the road.
• A priest and a Levite, both men of God, saw him and walked on by. But a Samaritan, a man from a race disliked by Jews, stopped and helped him and dressed his wounds.
• The Samaritan put him on his donkey and took him to an inn, where he paid the innkeeper to look after him well. "Now, which of these men was a good neighbour?" asked Jesus. "That's how you should behave!"

Our Good Samaritan Printables