Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Luke 10:34

"and came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on [them] oil and wine; and he set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him." — Luke 10:34 (ASV)

“Took pity” (GK 5072) implies a deep feeling of sympathy, a striking response that stands in contrast not only to the attitude of the priest and the Levite, but also to the usual feelings of hostility between Jew and Samaritan. This pity is translated into sacrificial action. The Samaritan probably used pieces of his own clothing to make the bandages (v.34); he used his own wine as a disinfectant and his own oil as a soothing lotion. He put the man on “his own donkey” and paid the innkeeper out of his own pocket, with a promise to pay more if needed.

The NT parables aim to lead one to a decision; Jesus’ question in v.36 forces the “expert in the law” to voice his decision. In his question, Jesus focuses on the person who loved, the Samaritan who made himself a neighbor. This reversal of the “expert’s” question (v.29) provides in itself the key to the meaning of the parable and to Jesus’ teaching on love. Love should not be limited by its object; its extent and quality are in the control of its subject. Furthermore, love is demonstrated in action, in this case in an act of mercy, and it may be costly. There is a striking reversal of roles here. The Jewish “expert” would have thought of the Jewish victim as a good person and the Samaritan as an evil one. To a Jew there was no such person as a “good” Samaritan.