Luke 10:30 — And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

The story of the “Good Samaritan” has many aspects. As I thought on it today, I wondered “why?” Why did the four men — the victim, the priest, the Levite and the Samaritan, take the road they did?
J. W. McGarvey, in his 1914 book “The Fourfold Gospel” wrote that “The road from Jerusalem to Jericho is eighteen miles long, and descends about 3,500 feet. About two miles from Jerusalem it passes through the village of Bethany, and for the rest of the eighteen miles it passes through desolate mountain ravines without any habitation save the inn, the ruins of which are still seen about half way to Jericho. This district from that time till the present has been noted for robberies”. The fourth-century church father Jerome reported that the road was called the “bloody way.”
So why take such a notorious route?
The priest and the Levite, it might be assumed, would go that way because they had been engaged in their duties in the Temple and were returning to their homes in the large priestly and Levitical community in Jericho, where it is said that as many as twelve thousand of their community lived.
It is hard to say anything about the motive of that “certain man” was so brutally assaulted as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho for, being a Jew, he might reasonably have had habitation or occupation in either place.
The interesting question is “what was the Samaritan doing on that road”? As a Samaritan he could not safely be in Jerusalem. To me it is clear that he was there by “divine appointment” — like Phillip on the “road less traveled” (Acts 8:26)
There’s another question, too. Why did the priest, the Levite, and the Samaritan behave the way they did?
Let’s take the Priest first. Was he perhaps rushing to his place of service? No, for he was heading from Jerusalem. It seems more likely that he didn’t want to approach the poor victim, in case he was dead. Leviticus 21:1 says “And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:”.
What about the Levite? His motives seem at first sight to be the same as the priest’s. There is a little detail, though, that perhaps makes the case even worse. “And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.” He “came and looked on him, and passed by”. He saw he wasn’t dead, but could not be bothered to help!
The Samaritan, perhaps, presents no such difficulty. He traveled well prepared and, seeing opportunity, said go himself “Here’s someone who needs help. I’m ready.”
So what is all this to us? Two things I think, simply stated.
First, the convenient road might be a dangerous road.
Second, religion should never be allowed to get in the way of compassionate service. Better a religious outsider serving than an insider passing by.