Bible — Grade 4

The story

The Good Samaritan

One day a man asked Jesus a question: who counts as my neighbor? So Jesus told him a story. A man was walking the steep, rocky road from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him, took everything, and left him hurt on the ground.

A priest came down the same road. He saw the hurt man — and passed by on the other side. Then a Levite, who also worked at the temple, came by. He saw the man too, and he also passed by. Then a Samaritan came down the road — and in that day, Jews and Samaritans did not like each other at all. But when the Samaritan saw the hurt man, he felt sorry for him. He cleaned the man’s wounds, put him on his own donkey, took him to an inn, and paid for his care.

When the story was done, Jesus asked which of the three was a true neighbor. The answer was easy: the one who showed mercy. “Go,” Jesus said, “and do the same.”

The story Jesus told — Luke 10:25–37

Reference shown; the passage is printed in the course. Public samples cite Scripture rather than reproduce it.

The Christ Connection

Jesus is the truest neighbor of all

Jesus told us to show mercy like the Samaritan — but He did it first and best. He went out of His way for the hurting and the forgotten, and in the end He crossed the greatest distance of all to rescue people who could never repay Him. When we show mercy to someone in need, we are living out the love He showed us.

One question — with the rationale

Who was the true neighbor?

Question. Of the three travelers, who acted as a true neighbor to the hurt man — and what in the story shows it?

What a strong answer includes: the Samaritan; and evidence from the story — he stopped, cared for the wounds, carried the man, and paid for his care, while the priest and Levite passed by.

We grade whether the student understood the story and gave evidence — never whether their heart is in the right place. Understanding and evidence are the standard; the conscience is the child’s and God’s.