Start Date: April 27, 2026

In the Christian Bible there are four books in the New Testament known as the Gospels. While written after most of the other books, they are the ones that tell the story of Jesus’ life on Earth.

Three of them, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, include many instances of Jesus telling his disciples parables. These are metaphorical stories with elements of daily life in that period. They are meant to reveal an underlying truth.

One of his most famous parables is found in the book of Luke. It is known as “The Parable of the Good Samaritan” (Luke 10:25-37).

A scholar of the law, perhaps trying to test Jesus, asks him what is needed to achieve eternal life.

One element of the answer is “To love your neighbor as yourself”.

This provoked the questioner to ask “Who is my neighbor?”

From here Jesus shares the tale of a man on the roadside who had been very badly beaten by robbers. A Jewish priest and a Jewish Levite pass by the man and do nothing. This may not have been done from disdain, but to maintain strict laws of ritual purity so that they could perform their Temple functions.

The next passerby is a Samaritan. The term Samaritan meant someone from Samaria, a person who would have been generally seen by Jews as other, and lesser, than the Jews. Yet he bandages the man’s wounds, puts him on his donkey, takes him to an inn, and even leaves money with the innkeeper to provide further care.

Jesus was making a point about who followed God’s law to love their neighbor.

The essence of this story is now so well known that people who are not Christian or have never read a bible have a notion of a “Good Samaritan” as a person who gives assistance to someone in trouble. There are even “Good Samaritan” laws that allow people to render aid, such as CPR, without fear of being sued.

It is a heartwarming story that should have universal appeal. But at the risk of heresy I think it needed to go a bit further.

MY PARABLE

The Samaritan, while caring for the victim, gets a description of the highway robbers. He asks the priest and the Levite to find the nearest Roman centurion. The information will be shared with the community through the neighborhood watch. The attackers are then arrested and locked up so that the trio (Samaritan, priest, and Levite) don’t find themselves in the same situation again, in a day, or a week, perhaps too late, with a victim who had already died. Over time they could make their community a safe place where people could live and walk the roadway without fear of assault.

The truly “Good Samaritan” doesn’t let their neighbor be beaten nearly to death so they may rescue them. The good neighbor looks out for threats to his community and mitigates them before harm is done.

That is the parable as I wish it to be.

THE “PROGRESSIVE” PARABLE

Sadly it is more likely that current “progressive” churches would wish to alter the story to be more inclusive of highway robbers and remind us all that we are not to judge. I imagine it like this.

The “progressive” parable would have the Samaritan asking the dying man. 

“What micro aggression did you commit to cause this?”

We would learn that the victim was showing his privilege.

The attackers were oppressed persons who cannot be held accountable and require “restorative justice”

If the Samaritan intervened to prevent the attack he would be arrested.

Supporters of the highwaymen would engage in “mostly peaceful” protest, except for the arson and looting.

This is the parable as I fear it will become.