Joyful Moments in Christ

A Sunday School Lesson: Luke 10:25-37

A Sunday School Lesson: Luke 10:25-37 - The Good Samaritan: Loving Our Neighbor

The Good Samaritan: Loving Our Neighbor

This Sunday School lesson is intended for upper elementary students. All lessons on this website are protected by copyright, but you can use them for free in small groups or Sunday School classes. You may share a link to this page, but please do not copy these pages and put them on other websites.

The Big Idea

Jesus calls us to love God with our whole being and to show mercy to others as true neighbors.

Lesson Objectives

  1. Students will learn that Jesus taught the parable of the Good Samaritan in response to a question about eternal life.
  2. Students will see that a neighbor is anyone in need, not just those who are like us.
  3. Students will understand that true love shows itself through mercy and action.
  4. Students will be encouraged to reflect God’s mercy by caring for others.

Class Setting Notes

  1. Recommended for upper elementary Sunday School.
  2. Lesson length: 40-50 minutes. Can be shortened or extended based on activities selected.

Opening Activity

  1. Ask: Can you share a time when someone helped you when you were having a hard time? What did they do?
  2. Allow several students to share.
  3. Explain that Jesus told a story about a man who showed kindness to a stranger, and through it he taught what it really means to love your neighbor.

This activity helps introduce the idea of receiving and giving care in times of need.

Bible Reading

Ask the class to read Luke 10:25-37 aloud together or have one person read it.

Additional Reading: Choosing the Right Bible Translation

Suggested prompts:

As the class reads aloud, consider asking some of these prompts:

  1. Listen for the question the teacher of the law asks Jesus.
  2. Notice how Jesus turns the question back to the Scriptures.
  3. Pay attention to what happens to the traveler on the road.
  4. Watch what the priest, Levite, and Samaritan each do when they see the man.
  5. Think about how Jesus asks the teacher to respond at the end of the story.

Teacher Background Notes

  1. Teachers of the law were experts in the Old Testament, often concerned with fine details of the law. This man wanted to test Jesus.
  2. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was steep and dangerous, known for robbers. Jesus’ audience would have recognized the danger in the story.
  3. Priests and Levites were religious leaders, expected to be models of righteousness, yet in the parable they passed by the injured man.
  4. Samaritans were deeply despised by Jews, yet in the parable the Samaritan is the true neighbor, showing mercy.
  5. Jesus redefines “neighbor,” shifting the focus from “Who qualifies as my neighbor?” to “How can I be a neighbor to others?”

Theological Insights

  1. Eternal life is not earned by works but given by God’s grace through faith in Christ.
  2. The law of God points us to love him fully and love our neighbor as ourselves, but we fall short and need Christ’s righteousness.
  3. Mercy and compassion are central to the life of those who belong to Christ.
  4. God calls us to reflect his mercy to others, even those who are different from us or whom we might be tempted to ignore.

Discussion Questions

Understanding the Text

  1. What was the first question the teacher of the law asked Jesus?
  2. How did Jesus point him back to the Scriptures?
  3. What happened to the traveler on the road?
  4. How did the priest, Levite, and Samaritan each respond to him?
  5. What lesson did Jesus teach at the end of the parable?

Personal Reflection and Application

  1. Why do you think the priest and Levite did not help the man?
  2. How is it sometimes hard for us to help people we do not know?
  3. Who might be “neighbors” that God is calling you to show kindness to this week?
  4. What is one way you can reflect God’s mercy in your family, school, or community?

Suggested Activities

Who Is My Neighbor?

  1. Write several situations on slips of paper (for example: a classmate drops books, someone new sits alone at lunch, a neighbor is sick).
  2. Have students act them out, then discuss what showing mercy would look like.

This activity helps students connect the parable to real-life opportunities to be a neighbor.

Bandage Relay

  1. Provide rolls of bandages or cloth strips.
  2. Divide the class into teams and have them quickly wrap a bandage on one teammate’s arm or leg.
  3. Talk about how the Samaritan cared for the man’s wounds and how showing care takes time and effort. 

This activity helps children picture the Samaritan’s actions in a hands-on way.

Mercy Map

  1. Give students a sheet of paper with “Neighbors in My Life” written in the center.
  2. Have them draw circles outward, writing names of people in their family, school, and community who they could show kindness to. 

This activity helps children identify concrete ways to live out the lesson.

Memory Verse

Bible verse from Luke 10:27 about loving God and neighbor.

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 neighbor as yourself.”

Luke 10:27 (ESV)

Closing Prayer

Father,
Thank you for showing us mercy in Jesus Christ. Teach us to love you with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. Help us to be neighbors who show kindness and compassion to others.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

A Sunday School Lesson: Luke 10:25-37 - The Good Samaritan: Loving Our Neighbor
Bible verse from Luke 10:27 about loving God and neighbor.

The ESL Version

I also create materials for adult English Language Learners (ELLs) and ESL students. You can find my ELL Bible Study based on Luke 10:25-37 here:

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English Standard Version (ESV): Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.

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