A biblical starting point. Other ways of seeing. A little room to think.
Compassion
The starting passage
But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
Luke 10:33–34 · World English Bible Classic
A scholar asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus answers with a story in which a Samaritan helps an injured traveller after others pass by. The surprise lies partly in who acts as the neighbour.
The passage in context ↗
Direct quotation · World English Bible Classic · public domain. Luke 10:33–37. This edition’s wording and verse numbering may differ from your Bible.
The question that introduces Jesus’ story cites commandments from the Torah: love of God and love of neighbour. These are Jewish scriptures in their own right, not merely the preface to a Christian teaching.
Read the distinction & sources +
In Luke 10:27 the questioner combines Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. Jesus commends the answer before addressing what being a neighbour requires. Jewish interpretations of these commandments have their own histories and should not be collapsed into the parable.
Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 6:5 Original paraphrase · THE JPS TANAKH: Gender-Sensitive Edition (2023); linked only, CC-BY-NC
Source-linked editorial paraphrase; not independently reviewed by a religious scholar.
This verse joins devotion to God with kindness toward parents, the vulnerable, travellers, and both nearby and distant neighbours. It speaks in a command, not through Jesus’ story.
Read the distinction & sources +
The wider verse also refers to social and household obligations in its historical setting. Its language about neighbours is a strong ethical parallel, but it arises within Qur’anic teaching about worship and duty.
Qur’an 4:36 Original paraphrase · Qur’an; Dr Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran (linked, not reproduced)
Source-linked editorial paraphrase; not independently reviewed by a religious scholar.
These perspectives widen the circle of concern. Luke explicitly draws on Torah commandments, while the Qur’an places kindness to neighbours within duties before God. The shared ethical concern does not erase their different scriptural settings.
A question to carry with you
Who is outside my usual circle of concern—and what would practical kindness look like?
No answer to submit. Just a moment of your own.
About this reading
“Shared source” refers to the Torah commandments explicitly cited in Luke, not to an assertion that Judaism and Christianity interpret the parable identically. Source checks by the build agent; no independent scholarly review.
Curated collection · original comparative paraphrases. “No responsible equivalent established” means our evidence is insufficient; it never means a teaching is absent from an entire tradition.