The Good Samaritan Bible Quiz
Five questions on the parable Jesus told when a lawyer asked who counted as his neighbour.
5 questions · Luke 10:25-37 · King James Version · about 3 minutes
Luke 10 · Bible quiz
Who stopped to help the injured man?
Choose one answer.
Answer · Luke 10:33
A Samaritan — The priest and the Levite both saw the man and “passed by on the other side.” It was the Samaritan — an outsider to the people Jesus was speaking to — who “had compassion on him.”
Read the chapter“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,”
Luke 10:33 · King James VersionLuke 10 · Bible quiz
What question was Jesus answering when he told this parable?
Choose one answer.
Answer · Luke 10:29
Who is my neighbour? — The lawyer opens with the question about eternal life, but Jesus sends him back to the law and he answers it himself. The parable comes after the second question: “willing to justify himself,” he asks who his neighbour is.
Read the chapter“But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?”
Luke 10:29 · King James VersionLuke 10 · Bible quiz
Where was the man travelling when the thieves attacked him?
Choose one answer.
Answer · Luke 10:30
From Jerusalem down to Jericho — “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.” The road drops steeply over about seventeen miles, and the direction is in the text: he went *down*.
Read the chapter“And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.”
Luke 10:30 · King James VersionLuke 10 · Bible quiz
What did the Samaritan pour into the man's wounds?
Choose one answer.
Answer · Luke 10:34
Oil and wine — “Pouring in oil and wine” — the ordinary first aid of the time, carried by an ordinary traveller. The parable makes a point of how unremarkable his supplies were.
Read the chapter“And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”
Luke 10:34 · King James VersionLuke 10 · Bible quiz
How did the lawyer answer when Jesus asked which of the three had been a neighbour?
Choose one answer.
Answer · Luke 10:37
He that shewed mercy on him — He answers correctly without saying the word Samaritan: “He that shewed mercy on him.” Jesus replies, “Go, and do thou likewise” — the same instruction he had already given before the story began.
Read the chapter“And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”
Luke 10:37 · King James Version
Questions and answers
All 5 questions with their answers, the reason behind each one, and the verse it rests on.
Who stopped to help the injured man?
A Samaritan — The priest and the Levite both saw the man and “passed by on the other side.” It was the Samaritan — an outsider to the people Jesus was speaking to — who “had compassion on him.”
“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,”
Luke 10:33 · KJVWhat question was Jesus answering when he told this parable?
Who is my neighbour? — The lawyer opens with the question about eternal life, but Jesus sends him back to the law and he answers it himself. The parable comes after the second question: “willing to justify himself,” he asks who his neighbour is.
“But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?”
Luke 10:29 · KJVWhere was the man travelling when the thieves attacked him?
From Jerusalem down to Jericho — “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.” The road drops steeply over about seventeen miles, and the direction is in the text: he went *down*.
“And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.”
Luke 10:30 · KJVWhat did the Samaritan pour into the man's wounds?
Oil and wine — “Pouring in oil and wine” — the ordinary first aid of the time, carried by an ordinary traveller. The parable makes a point of how unremarkable his supplies were.
“And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”
Luke 10:34 · KJVHow did the lawyer answer when Jesus asked which of the three had been a neighbour?
He that shewed mercy on him — He answers correctly without saying the word Samaritan: “He that shewed mercy on him.” Jesus replies, “Go, and do thou likewise” — the same instruction he had already given before the story began.
“And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”
Luke 10:37 · KJV
About the parable of the Good Samaritan
The parable is an answer to a question that was trying not to be answered. A lawyer asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, recites the law correctly when it is handed back to him — love God, love your neighbour as yourself — and is told to go and do it. That should have ended the conversation. Instead, “willing to justify himself,” he asks a second question: and who is my neighbour? It is a request for a boundary. The parable refuses to draw one.
Three men come down the same road. The priest and the Levite are not villains in the story; Luke says only that each one saw the man and “passed by on the other side.” They are the two figures the lawyer would have expected to be the heroes. The third is a Samaritan — for the audience, the wrong sort of person entirely — and he is the one who stops, and the only one whose actions get any detail: he binds the wounds, pours in oil and wine, gives up his own beast, pays the innkeeper, and promises to cover whatever more it costs.
Then Jesus turns the lawyer's question inside out. He does not ask which of the three the wounded man was a neighbour to; he asks which of the three “was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves.” Neighbour stops being a category you check someone against and becomes something you either are or are not. The lawyer answers without using the word Samaritan — “He that shewed mercy on him” — and is sent away with the same instruction he was given before the story started: go, and do thou likewise.
Written and checked against the King James text by Random Bible. Last reviewed September 17, 2026.
The Good Samaritan: common questions
What is the main point of the parable of the Good Samaritan?
That “neighbour” is not a category you check people against but something you do. Jesus is asked who counts as a neighbour and answers by asking which of three passers-by acted as one — “He that shewed mercy on him” (Luke 10:37).
Where is the Good Samaritan in the Bible?
Luke 10:25–37. It appears only in Luke's Gospel, told in reply to a lawyer's question about who his neighbour is.
Why was it significant that the helper was a Samaritan?
Samaritans and Jews were long estranged, so the audience would have expected the hero to be the priest or the Levite. Making the outsider the one who shows mercy removes any group the listener could place themselves safely inside.
What did the Samaritan actually do for the man?
He bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, set him on his own beast, brought him to an inn and took care of him, then left two pence with the host and promised to repay whatever more was spent (Luke 10:34–35).