The Good Samaritan Bible Story for Kids.

The Good Samaritan is Jesus' famous answer to the question “Who is my neighbor?” A hurt traveler, two people who walk past, and one kind stranger who stops — it teaches children that kindness is for everyone, and that anyone can be the one who helps.

Retold by Hannah Whitford · Luke 10:25–37 · Updated July 2026

The Story of The Good Samaritan Bible Story for Kids

01

A question and a story

One day a man who knew the Scriptures very well stood up to ask Jesus a question: “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus asked him what God's law said, and the man answered beautifully — love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. “You have answered correctly,” Jesus said. But the man had one more question, and it was really a way of asking how small his list could be: “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus didn't answer with a list. He answered with a story. A man was walking down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho — a steep, rocky, lonely road that twisted between big boulders and dry desert hills, the kind of road travelers hurried along before dark. But on this day, robbers were hiding among the rocks. They jumped out, hurt the man, and took everything he had — even his cloak — and ran off, leaving him lying beside the road. He was too hurt to get up. All he could do was lie there in the dust and hope that someone kind would come along.

02

Two travelers pass by

Before long, the hurt man heard footsteps. A priest was coming down the road — a man whose whole life was spent serving God at the temple. Surely he would stop! But when the priest saw the man lying there, he moved over to the far side of the road and kept walking, and the sound of his sandals faded away down the hill. A little later there were footsteps again. This time it was a Levite, a temple helper — another person you would expect to help. He came to the place, looked at the hurt man, and then he too crossed to the other side and walked on by. Jesus doesn't tell us why. Maybe they were afraid the robbers were still nearby. Maybe they were in a hurry, or told themselves someone else would come. When you read this part aloud, there's no need to make them villains — the quiet, uncomfortable truth of the story is that walking past is easy, and most of us have done it. The hurt man watched them go, and the road grew very quiet again.

03

The Samaritan stops

Then a third traveler came down the road, leading a donkey — and he was a Samaritan. Here is the surprise Jesus' listeners would have felt in their stomachs: in those days, Jews and Samaritans did not get along at all. They came from neighboring lands but disagreed about important things, avoided each other's towns, and mostly didn't speak to one another. If anyone was going to keep walking, surely it was this man. But when the Samaritan saw the hurt traveler, the Bible says he was moved with compassion — his heart hurt for the stranger in the road. He went straight to him and knelt down in the dust. He poured soothing oil and wine on the sore places, which is how people cleaned and cared for hurts in those days, and wrapped them gently in bandages. Then he lifted the man carefully onto his own donkey — which meant the Samaritan himself would walk the rest of the hot, rocky way. Slowly, steadily, holding the hurt man so he wouldn't slip, he led the donkey down the road toward the nearest inn.

04

“Go and do likewise”

At the inn, the Samaritan didn't just drop the man at the door. He stayed and took care of him all through the night. The next morning, he took out two denarii — two silver coins, each worth about a whole day's pay — and gave them to the innkeeper. “Take care of him,” he said, “and whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.” His kindness cost him real time and real money, and he gave both gladly. Then Jesus turned back to the man who had asked the question. “Which of these three,” He asked, “was a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” The man answered, “The one who showed mercy on him.” And Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.” That is the whole story, and the whole answer. A neighbor isn't just someone who lives on our street or looks like us or goes to our church. A neighbor is anyone who needs our kindness — and every one of us, even the littlest listener on your lap, can be the one who stops to help.

The Good Samaritan teaches children that a neighbor isn't just someone who lives nearby or is like us — a neighbor is anyone who needs kindness. Jesus wants us to notice people who are hurting and to be the one who stops to help, even when it costs us something.

Keep the story going.

The story doesn’t have to end at the last page — print, memorize, or read the next one together.

Free printable

The Good Samaritan coloring page

Print it tomorrow and let the story sink in with crayons on the table.

Print the coloring page →

Memory verse

“You shall love the Lord your God … and your neighbor as yourself.”

Luke 10:27 · WEB

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Martha and Mary

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Books that pair with this story.

Hand-picked after careful research — the ones we recommend most alongside this story.

Ages 4-8 years

The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name

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A beautifully illustrated Bible storybook that presents every story as part of God's great rescue plan. Perfect for bedtime with its gentle, lyrical storytelling.

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The Beginner's Bible: Timeless Children's Stories

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Classic Bible stories retold in simple language with bright, engaging illustrations. Short stories perfect for winding down before sleep.

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The Biggest Story Bible Storybook

by Kevin DeYoung

★★★★★4.8 · 3,742 ratings on Amazon · checked May 2026

A beautifully illustrated storybook that presents the Bible as one continuous story. Rich illustrations and thoughtful storytelling.

$24.99 on AmazonOur review →

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases — it keeps every story and printable free.

The kind of things parents wonder.

• What is a Samaritan, and why does it matter in this story?–

  A Samaritan was a person from Samaria, a region right next door to where Jesus' listeners lived. In those days, Jews and Samaritans didn't get along — they disagreed about important things and mostly avoided each other. That's the whole point of the story: Jesus deliberately made the hero the one person His listeners least expected. For a child, you can put it simply: “The helper was someone from a group people usually stayed away from — and he turned out to be the kindest one on the road.”

• Where is the Good Samaritan story in the Bible?+
• What is the main lesson of the Good Samaritan for kids?+
• How do I tell the robber part without scaring my child?+
• What are the two coins the Samaritan gave the innkeeper?+
• What age is the Good Samaritan story good for?+

Conversation starters.

Questions to ask after you read together. No right answers — just good conversation.

Teaching this story.

• 01Before you start, explain the one thing the story can't work without: “A Samaritan was someone from a group of people that the listeners' group didn't get along with — they usually avoided each other.” Ten seconds of setup is all it takes, and without it the twist is invisible to a child.
• 02Resist turning the priest and the Levite into bad guys. The story's real sting is that walking past is easy and ordinary. With older children you can even ask, gently, “Have you ever walked past someone who needed help? Me too.”
• 03Keep the robbers to one sentence — “robbers hurt him and took everything he had” — and move on. The story spends one verse on the hurting and five on the helping, and your telling should too.
• 04Make “go and do likewise” concrete the same day: pick one act of kindness together — a card for someone lonely, helping a sibling find a lost toy — and do it before bedtime while the story is still warm.

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