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 .
This is the opening line of the parable of the Good Samaritan, one of Jesus' most famous stories, told in response to a religious scholar who asked, 'Who is my neighbor?' The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was notorious in the ancient world — a steep, winding, seventeen-mile descent through rocky desert that was well-known for robbers. Jesus' original audience would have recognized the setting immediately as dangerous. In the story, a man traveling that road is ambushed, stripped of his clothes, beaten, and left half dead. Jesus lingers over these details before introducing the parable's central twist: who stops to help, and who keeps walking. This opening verse establishes the full weight of human vulnerability before the story's mercy can arrive.
Lord, open my eyes to the people left half dead on the roads I walk every single day. Give me the courage to stop, the humility to accept help when I am the one in need, and a heart that does not look away when stopping would cost me something. Amen.
Before there is a hero in this story, there is a body on the road. Half dead. Stripped. Left by people who took what they wanted and kept moving. Jesus does not rush past this detail — he plants you right in the middle of it. The man is not just inconvenienced. He is genuinely in danger of dying, and he got there by doing something completely ordinary: traveling between two cities on a perfectly reasonable afternoon. What Jesus does with this parable is refuse to let us stay abstract about love. It is easy to talk about caring for your neighbor in theory, until your neighbor is bleeding and inconvenient and going to make you late. Before you get to the question 'who is my neighbor,' this first verse invites a harder one: which character are you today? Because sometimes you are the one on the road — exposed, vulnerable, needing someone to stop — and the most faithful thing you can do is let them. Receiving help is its own kind of courage.
Why do you think Jesus chose such a specific, dangerous, well-known road as the setting for this story? What does that concrete detail add to the meaning of the parable?
Think of a time when you were the person left vulnerable and in genuine need of help. How did it feel to accept assistance — or to be passed by without it?
What kinds of 'roads' do people travel today that leave them exposed to harm — physically, financially, emotionally? Who tends to get left there, and why?
This opening verse focuses only on the victim and the attackers — before any helper appears. What does it say about the randomness and unfairness of suffering that a person can be destroyed simply for making an ordinary trip?
Is there someone in your life right now who is 'on the road' — hurting and exposed — that you have been noticing but not stopping for? What would stopping actually look like, concretely, this week?
And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.
Acts 28:2
And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.
Luke 19:28
Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.
Proverbs 27:10
Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, who stripped him of his clothes [and belongings], beat him, and went their way [unconcerned], leaving him half dead.
AMP
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.
ESV
Jesus replied and said, 'A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.
NASB
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.
NIV
Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
NKJV
Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
NLT
Jesus answered by telling a story. "There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead.
MSG