Collaborators

Summary

The parable of the good Samaritan might be Jesus’ most famous parable. If you interviewed random people on the sidewalks of downtown Goshen and asked them whether they know Jesus’ parable of the alert slaves in Luke 12:35‐40, they’ll probably stammer around a bit, then admit they don’t know that parable. But if you ask those same people whether they know Jesus’ parable of the good Samaritan from Luke 10, lots of them will perk up and say, “Yes, I know that one. It’s about a kind man who helps other people, right?”

Suppose you interviewed Christians as they entered a church building on Sunday morning, and you informed them that the pastor is going to preach today on the parable of the good Samaritan. Some of them will probably groan under their breath. “Oh no,” they might be saying to themselves. “Not that parable again. We already know we’re supposed to be kind to strangers in need. Is there really anything new or interesting to
say about that parable?”