Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan in response to the questions of a smart lawyer who asked what he needed to do to attain eternal life. Seeing he was an educated man, Jesus asked him what the scriptures say. He replied quoting the core Jewish prayer recited daily from Deuteronomy 6:5 “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul and with all thy might,” and added to it a saying of the great teacher, Rabbi Hillel, “Love thy neighbor as thyself”. Jesus confirmed that this was in truth the way. But the lawyer was not satisfied, demanding to know of Jesus, Who is my neighbor? To which he surely received an answer he did not expect.
The road from Jerusalem to Jericho traditionally wound the length of Wadi Qelt, a perilous and winding desert path. In places one can still see the remains of the Roman road that followed the same course. Off the road near the spring of Ain el Qelt one comes suddenly upon the Monastery of St. George of Koziba.
This page is part of the book The Holy Land of Jesus
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