I’ve heard scores of sermons about the Good Samaritan, but here’s something I’ve never heard–a clear parallel between the Good Samaritan parable and an Old Testament event. This is no coincidence. Jesus did it intentionally.

In 2 Chronicles 28, the nation of Israel defeats the nation of Judah, and they were taking 200,000 captives back to Samaria as slaves. But a prophet rebuked them, and the army of Israel did a complete turnaround with the captives.

They “took the prisoners, and from the plunder they clothed all who were naked. They provided them with clothes and sandals, food and drink, and healing balm. All those who were weak they put on donkeys. So they took them back to their fellow Israelites at Jericho, the City of Palms, and returned to Samaria” (2 Chronicles 28:15).

Now look at the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The man had been attacked, badly injured, and left naked. The Samaritan bandaged his wounds, poured on oil, put him on a donkey, took him to Jericho, and made sure his needs were met. Jesus didn’t normally cite real-life cities in his parables, but he cited Jericho here. He was obviously referring back to the OT story.

Thank you, Lois Tverberg, for this insight. It gives a whole lot of new territory to explore to understand fully what Jesus was saying.