The Touchstone Texts series addresses key Bible passages, making high-quality biblical scholarship accessible for the church. The series editor is Stephen B. Chapman.

The story of the good Samaritan in Luke 10, one of Jesus's most well-known parables, fascinates readers with its powerful imagery. This volume encourages readers to think through the ethical implications of this story for their own contexts.

"How do we read? How do we embody faith? Powery provides a provocative analysis of the parable of the good Samaritan that challenges believers to engage these questions. By exploring past interpretations of this parable that connect to present concerns in the world, Powery demonstrates how parables continue to surprise us, turn our expectations upside down, and call us to alter our imaginations. Powery urges us to grasp how reading the Bible is both a spiritual and a political practice, beckoning us to get involved in 'good trouble.'"
--Lisa Bowens, Princeton Theological Seminary

"Those who are seeking a simple explanation of the parable of the good Samaritan should instead be prepared to be stretched by Powery's analysis. He invites the reader and the contemporary church to experience the transformative power of the parable through the eyes of historical and contemporary interpreters, honoring their many lenses--including those of context, social location, race, ethnicity, religious identity, and politics. Powery is present in his work in a winsome and authentic way and models the best of biblical scholarship and pedagogy in theological education."
--Carol E. Lytch, president emerita, Lancaster Theological Seminary

"Weaving together an illuminating collection of interpretations of the well-known parable of the good Samaritan, this book poses important challenges to both our theological commitments and our interpretive lenses. Powery offers a sincere invitation for engaged conversations regarding forgiveness, reconciliation, and neighborliness."
--Nyasha Junior, author of Reimagining Hagar: Blackness and Bible

"As Powery tells the story, Jesus's parable of the good Samaritan is brimming with possibilities and challenges for reflection and action, especially regarding the way our theology shapes how we relate to people who are not like us. This is a timely, engaging, and provocative book--well suited to the classroom and the church--that demonstrates again and again how interpretation and ethics are tightly intertwined."
--Joel B. Green, Fuller Theological Seminary