Luke 10:25-37 (The Good Samaritan) - Universal Perspective

The Good Samaritan parable redefines "neighbor" from object ("who deserves my love?") to subject ("to whom can I BE neighbor?"). Jesus makes a hated Samaritan the hero, challenging Jewish exclusivism. Love is defined by costly action, not tribal boundaries.

INTERPRETIVE NOTES: The lawyer asks "who is my neighbor?" expecting limited definition. Jesus answers with a despised Samaritan as hero, shocking his audience. The priest and Levite may have had purity concerns (corpse contamination), which Jesus dismisses as irrelevant.

PREACHING ANGLES: Don't ask "who qualifies?" Ask "who needs me?", The hero was the one they hated, Mercy crosses every boundary humans construct

SHOW DON'T TELL:\n Before: We should love our neighbors across social boundaries

After: See the priest's sandals approach, pause, cross to the other side—the dying man's eyes following. The Levite does the same. Then foreign hands, hated hands, gentle on wounds, lifting, paying, staying. The enemy became the savior

IMAGERY ELEMENTS: wounded man on road, passing robes, hands binding wounds, oil and wine poured

CAUTIONS: Don't reduce to generic kindness, Name the scandal—the hero was "one of THEM"