Gospel in Art: The Parable of the Good Samaritan

The Good Samaritan Putting the Traveller on His Donkey, Print by Heinrich Aldegrever, 1554 © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 6 October 2025
Luke 10:25-37

At that time: Behold, a lawyer stood up to put Jesus to the test, saying, 'Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' He said to him, 'What is written in the Law? How do you read it?' And he answered, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.' And he said to him, 'You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.'

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbour?' Jesus replied, 'A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, "Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back." Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbour to the man who fell among the robbers?' He said, 'The one who showed him mercy.' And Jesus said to him, 'You go, and do likewise.'

Reflection on the Engraving

Every parable can reach us in different ways. If we see ourselves in one of the characters, the story will speak to us in one way; if we step into the shoes of another character, it will say something different. We often hear today's parable as an invitation to be like the Good Samaritan, showing kindness and generosity to the one in need. But the story can also be heard from the point of view of the wounded traveller, lying by the roadside, half dead.

We all know what it is to be broken at times. We can be broken in body through illness, broken in spirit after a painful loss, or simply worn down and exhausted. In Jesus' parable, the Jewish traveller is helped not by those he might have expected (the priest or the Levite) but by someone he would have thought of as an enemy, the Samaritan. The compassion of God came to him through the most unlikely of people. The story reminds us that in our own moments of weakness, the Lord may come to us in ways that surprise us. God's mercy can reach us through people we least expect, even those with whom we may feel we share little. This parable thus invites us to keep our hearts open to everyone around us and to the unexpected. God draws near in the most surprising ways and at the most unexpected times.

Our very small engraving (only 7.9 by 10.9cm. ; 3 1/8 by 4 5/16 in.) depicts the Good Samaritan carefully lifting the wounded traveller onto his donkey. The traveller lies limp, completely vulnerable. We can feel the weight of having to lift him up. Behind them, in the background, is the inn where the Good Samaritan is arriving to deliver the wounded man. Printing was invented by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz around 1450, and within a generation the printing press had spread across Europe. By the early 1500s, books, pamphlets, and woodcut images were being produced on a large scale, fuelling the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the wider spread of knowledge. Alongside letterpress printing, printmaking as an art form (woodcuts, engravings, and etchings) flourished. By the time when our print was made in 1554, printmaking was well established across Europe, with engravers such as our artist Heinrich Aldegrever producing detailed, finely worked prints.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/luke-10-25-37-2025-2/