The parable of the Good Samaritan is a complete story in itself and also a special material of the Gospel of Luke. In this case, since it is a complete story in itself, it is easy to decontextualize when read as a parable without connecting it to the Old Testament. Therefore, if readers read it without considering Jesus’ intention and the literary composition of Luke’s Gospel, they may miss the original meaning and interpret it arbitrarily. Luke, who accurately understood the intention of the speaker, Jesus, used literary devices to prevent this text, which is a special material of the Gospel of Luke, from being interpreted differently.
The first literary device Luke used was to connect the parable of the Good Samaritan with the story of the raising of the dead son of the widow of Nain. The second literary device Luke used was to link the parable of the Good Samaritan with the story of the coronation of the King of Bethany. The central focus of the two stories that Luke links to the parable of the Good Samaritan is Jesus Christ. In other words, the central focus of the parable of the Good Samaritan conveys the message that Jesus Christ is the central focus.
Why does Luke say that the central focus of the parable of the Good Samaritan is Jesus Christ? It is because Luke understood that the parable Jesus told the lawyer was drawing on the image of the shepherd and the sheep from Ezekiel 34. In other words, Luke realized that Jesus was connecting this image from Ezekiel 34 through the concept of “καταδέω.”