Was the Good Samaritan Saved?

In Luke 10:25-37, in a discussion with Jesus, a Jewish lawyer correctly states that to inherit eternal life one must do two things; love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.

Then the Lawyer (true to his profession) asks, “Just who is my neighbor?” Then Jesus tells the familiar story of the Good Samaritan. There are three major characters in this story and they are not there by accident. One is a Jewish Priest and the other is from the tribe of Priests. They represent the best of Jewish faith… they possess the truth and they practice the commandments of God faithfully (John 4). The third is a Samaritan who practices a corrupt version of Judaism. The Samaritan does not possess the truth nor does he practice it correctly.

And yet in the story of the “Good Samaritan” the righteousness of the Samaritan surpassed the righteousness of the other two… He truly loved his neighbor.

So who of these three characters is saved according the two things that must be done to inherit eternal life? The Priest and the Jew from the tribe of priests have the truth and have the correct religious practice but fail miserably when it comes to “loving their neighbor”. The Samaritan practices a corrupt version of Judaism, so by definition he is not, “loving God with all his heart” and yet he excells in “Loving his neighbor as himself”.

The correct answer would be that none of the three were saved. To be saved we must love God by doing his commandments and by demonstrating love to our fellow man. We don’t get half credit… it is not enough just to be “good”. Let’s be sure in our pursuit of eternal life that we do everything God asks of us.