The Good Samaritan - Greatest Story Ever Told - Radio Dramas of the Life of Christ

The Greatest Story Ever Told is an American old-time radio religious drama. It was broadcast on ABC from January 26, 1947, until December 30, 1956. Beginning July 25, 1948, the program was also broadcast via shortwave radio to 58 other countries by the World Wide Broadcasting Foundation.Show more

The Greatest Story Ever Told, the title of which was used for Fulton Oursler's 1949 book, used dramatized sketches to depict events in the life of Jesus Christ. As in the book, the words spoken by Jesus in the radio program came directly from the Bible. The premiere episode was "Parable of the Good Samaritan".

The program was sponsored by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company,[6] but it lacked commercials, having the sponsorship announced only at the end of each episode.[4] When the broadcast run ended, the affiliation between the program and Goodyear was described as "one of [the] longest institutional broadcast advertising campaigns".

An interdenominational advisory board provided guidance for the show

The parable of the Good Samaritan is a parable told by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. It is about a traveller who is stripped of clothing, beaten, and left half dead alongside the road. First a priest and then a Levite comes by, but both avoid the man. Finally, a Samaritan happens upon the traveller. Samaritans and Jews despised each other, but the Samaritan helps the injured man. Jesus is described as telling the parable in response to the question from a lawyer, "And who is my neighbour?". In response, Jesus tells the parable, the conclusion of which is that the neighbour figure in the parable is the man who shows mercy to the injured man—that is, the Samaritan.

Some Christians, such as Augustine, have interpreted the parable allegorically, with the Samaritan representing Jesus Christ, who saves the sinful soul.[3] Others, however, discount this allegory as unrelated to the parable's original meaning[3] and see the parable as exemplifying the ethics of Jesus.[4]

The parable has inspired painting, sculpture, satire, poetry, photography, and film. The phrase "good Samaritan", meaning someone who helps a stranger, derives from this parable, and many hospitals and charitable organizations are named after the Good Samaritan. (Wikipedia)