Encountering Jesus: The Good Neighbor

Bible Passage

Luke 10:25-37 (NIV)

Terms

• To trap – to set up a surprise to catch something; to make someone say or do something wrong
• Eternal life – to live forever with God after you die
• Soul – spirit; the part that lives on after the body and decides how you live your life
• To reply – to answer
• To justify – to show someone is just, right, reasonable, good
• Jerusalem – the capital city of Israel
• Jericho – a big famous city in Israel, built before 3400 BC
• Robber – thief, someone who steals
• To attack – to go at something with strength and power, usually to hurt
• To strip – to take someone’s clothes off
• To beat up – to hit someone or something very badly
• Priest – religious leader
• Holy – perfect and pure like God
• Samaritan – someone from Samaria; Samaritans and Jews were enemies
• Pity – feeling of sympathy and sadness for someone else’s suffering or problems
• Wound – a hurt part of your body
• Bandage – cloth you put on a wound
• Inn – place for travelers to stay and sleep
• Innkeeper – owner and manager of an inn
• To conclude – finish what you are saying or writing
• Opinion – what you believe or think about something

Comprehension Questions

1. Why did the teacher of the law ask Jesus a question?
2. Did he like Jesus’ answer? How do you know?
3. What was the second question he asked Jesus?
4. What did the robbers do to the man in the story?
5. What did the robbers take?
6. How many people came by the man after the robbers left him?
7. Who was the first man? What did he do?
8. Who was the second man? What did he do?
9. Who was the third man? What did he do?
10. Which of these men acted like a neighbor?

Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think the teacher of the law wanted to trap Jesus?
2. Why did the priest and the holy man walk by? What kind of men were they?
3. How do you think the wounded man felt when they walked by?
4. Why did the Samaritan stop? What kind of man was he?
5. The Samaritans and the Jews were not friends. How do you think the wounded man felt when the man who stopped to help him was a Samaritan?
6. Why did Jesus tell this story to the teacher? What does this story mean?
7. How should we treat our neighbor?
8. Who is our neighbor?
9. What kind of neighbors should we be?
10. What did Jesus say was most important? What was second most important?
11. Why do you think the two commands are in this order?
12. What must we do to have eternal life?

Thoughts for Later

1. Have I ever been hurt or needing help and hoped someone would help me?
2. How did I feel about the responses I got from other people?
3. Is it even possible to love my neighbor as much as I love myself?
4. Is there someone in my life who I have a hard time loving as my neighbor?
5. Is God an idea? A power? A person? Is it possible to love God like this story says?
6. Would loving God really help me to love my neighbor?
7. Is there really “eternal life”? Would I like to have it?