The Good Samaritan (Touchstone Texts): Luke 10 for the Life of the Church

by Emerson B. Powery

The story of the good Samaritan in Luke 10 is one of Jesus's most well-known parables. It continues to fascinate readers with its powerful imagery and ethical significance.In this exposition, New Testament scholar Emerson Powery shows how this classic and beloved text can speak afresh to the life of the church today. Powery explains that in every generation, followers of Jesus need to be reminded that mercy is a natural consequence of faith. Jesus's parable of the good Samaritan emphasizes this point in a dramatic way by placing an "enemy" as the central hero of the story. Powery explores diverse interpretations of the good Samaritan, carefully investigates this parable within the theology of the Gospel of Luke, and connects the parable to contemporary events. The book encourages readers to think through the ethical implications of this story for their own contexts.The Touchstone Texts series addresses key Bible passages, making high-quality biblical scholarship accessible for the church. The series editor is Stephen B. Chapman, Duke Divinity School.

186 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 12, 2022

About the author

Professor of Biblical Studies

Powery joined the Messiah faculty as Professor of Biblical Studies in 2008. His research, writing, and editing relates to the New Testament, including Jesus Reads Scripture (Brill, 2003) and True to Our Native Land: An African American NT Commentary (Fortress/Augsburg, 2007). His most recent (co-authored) publication, The Genesis of Liberation: Biblical Interpretation in the Antebellum Narratives of the Enslaved (WJKP, 2016), engages the function of the Bible in the 19th-century ‘slave narrative’ tradition, including the narratives of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs.

Powery served on the editorial board of the Journal of Biblical Literature (2005-2013) and the editorial board for the Common English Bible; also, he was a recent past (regional) President of the Society of Biblical Literature (SE Region; 2006-2007).

Presently, he co-chairs the “Slavery, Resistance, and Freedom” section of SBL.

When not dissecting some peculiar Greek phrase, wrestling with a cultural hermeneutical perspective, or listening to Bob Marley’s tunes, Emerson enjoys attending Mets games, with Kimberly and their four sons, in D.C. or Philadelphia.

Reviews

[Mrs C]

This offers an extensive analysis (with plenty of references) of the parable of the Good Samaritan that would appeal to a detached and secular reader (nay, social justice activist). The book goes out of its way to inject Black Lives Matter into the reading, so if you are another POC, you may not feel welcome or relevant in this reading.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

[Eric]

Dr. Powery tackles The Good Samaritan parable from a justice perspective. I liked the varied cultural explorations in this text. He did not just focus on American race relations, but also dove into a variety of other contexts and views of this parable.

It's a good, solid read.

[Janessa Paun]

I really liked the racial justice angle taken on this parable and the way that this story from so long ago was connected to the BLM movement.