The Good Samaritan: Bible Story for Kids

The Donkey on the Jericho Road

Compassion
Kindness
Neighbors

Bible reference:: Luke 10:25-37
Ages:: 3-10
Reading time:: 5 minutes
Pages:: 32

The Good Samaritan, told by the donkey who carried him. He knows his master by his hands - gentle every morning, kind every evening - and he knows that the towns they pass through despise the man. Then they find someone bleeding in the road, and the important, holy people have already walked by.

Good for: Helping Others

Read the full illustrated story in the app

The story arc

Four moments that carry the story. Tap any Bible reference to read the passage.

1
The Broken Man
A traveler is attacked by robbers on the dangerous road to Jericho and left badly hurt in the dirt.
Luke 10:30Read the Bible passage
³⁰Jesus answered, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell amongst robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
Luke 10:30 (World English Bible, British Edition)
2
The Empty Road
A Priest and a Levite—men who look important and holy—see the hurt man, but they cross the road and hurry away.
Luke 10:31-32Read the Bible passage
³¹By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³²In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
Luke 10:31-32 (World English Bible, British Edition)
3
The Helper
A Samaritan stops! He cleans the man's wounds, bandages him, and lifts the heavy man onto his own donkey.
Luke 10:33-34Read the Bible passage
³³But a certain Samaritan, as he travelled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, ³⁴came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
Luke 10:33-34 (World English Bible, British Edition)
4
The Cost
He walks all the way to an inn, stays the night to care for him, and pays his own money to make sure the man is safe.
Luke 10:35Read the Bible passage
³⁵On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the host, and said to him, ‘Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.’
Luke 10:35 (World English Bible, British Edition)

Core truths

COMPASSION

Love isn't just a feeling; it is a verb. True compassion means getting our hands dirty to help someone who is hurting.

THE COMPASSION BADGE

Awarded for understanding that true love is an action, and we are called to show mercy to everyone.

SACRIFICE

Being a good neighbor often interrupts our plans and costs us our own time, comfort, or resources.

Why it matters

Uses the donkey's POV to bypass complex 1st-century cultural politics, focusing children purely on the raw action of love.
Dismantles the idea that "looking holy" equals being good, teaching kids that godliness is defined by active mercy.
Shows that following Jesus requires us to look out for the vulnerable, even when it is inconvenient or difficult.

Let's talk and pray

Talk

The fancy men walked right past the hurt man. Why do you think the donkey's master stopped, even though it meant he had to walk in the hot sun? Who can you be a good neighbor to today?