The View from the Ditch: Reading the Good Samaritan Parable as Wisdom not Virtue

The parable of the Good Samaritan is often understood as promoting altruistic behaviour towards our neighbour. As such, the message of the parable is: we should always be ready to act with selfless concern for the welfare of others, no matter who they are.

The paper argues that the parable of the Good Samaritan can be read as a parable of pragmatic wisdom rather than one that primarily encourages virtue.

…the parable of the Good Samaritan can be read as a parable of pragmatic wisdom rather than one that primarily encourages virtue.

Responding to a neighbour with compassion and mercy is a wise course of action that is ultimately in our best interests. This reading is internally coherent, aligns with the broader context of Luke’s reversal themes and has much in common with other Lukan Sondergut parables that can also be seen as wisdom parables. Dr Denise Powell uses the real world example of ‘vaccine diplomacy’ to illustrate this alternative reading.