The
Gospel of Luke, Chapter 10 – Christogenea on Talkshoe, August 10th,
2012
This
is the continuance of our presentation of the Gospel of Luke, which
has been interrupted since we discussed chapter 9 on July 20th.
In the closing of Luke chapter 9 we saw the account of the
Transfiguration on the Mount, where Christ was said to have appeared
and conferred with two men. Those two men were fully esteemed by the
apostles who witnessed it to have been Moses and Elijah. Christians
must know, that if Yahweh our God and our Creator does not transcend
the physical world, and that if He has has no efficacy to act within
His creation, and if there is not more to that creation than what we
commonly perceive, including our own beings, then indeed we have no
hope in the world and it is inevitable that evil shall prevail –
for we as a race and as a society are currently headed straight for
the pits of hell. In truth, there is more to the Creation than what
we perceive, and there is more to our being than this short life of
flesh. In the end, the Creator God shall not be mocked by the
bastardization of His creation. Those of our Adamic race who love Him
shall indeed overcome the world.
Following
the Transfiguration, there is something that was not commented upon
sufficiently when Luke chapter 9 was presented here several weeks
ago. In verse 51 we see that Christ was resolved to go into
Jerusalem, where it says “And
it came to pass, with the fulfillment of the days of His being taken
up, that He had set firm His countenance for which to go into
Jerusalem.” We see immediately thereafter, that Christ
having sent the apostles out into the various towns and villages
along His route in order to announce His coming, that the people of
the various villages of Samaria “did
not receive Him, because His countenance was for going to Jerusalem.”
This is not a testimony against the people of those villages. Rather,
it is a testimony of the power of God in daily life. His purpose is
fulfilled in the world regardless of the actions, intentions, or
emotions of man.
Yet
the apostles understood this rejection to be an affront on the part
of the people of the villages, and as an offense against God. We read
in verse 54: “But
the students seeing it, Iakobos and Iohannes said 'Prince, do You
wish that we should speak, to cast down fire from heaven and destroy
them?'” Of course, it was not the fault of the people that they did
not receive Him, for God had put it in their hearts that they would
not receive Him, so that His purpose could be fulfilled. Often in
Scripture, the facts concerning the true nature of events are
withheld from man for the glory of God. Therefore Luke records the
response of Christ to the statement of the apostles, in verses 55 and
56: “55 But turning He censured them, 56 and traveled to another
village.”
But
there is one more aspect of the words of James and John that may be
mentioned here, and that is that they fully believed that God was
with them, they believed it with a childish exuberance, and therefore
they had faith that they would indeed be able to do those wonderful
things which the prophets of old had done in the name of Yahweh. John
1:12: “But as many who received Him, He gave to them the authority
which the children of Yahweh are to attain, to those believing in His
Name”.
At
the end of Luke chapter 9, we see that Christ had encouraged certain
men to abandon even their houses and their families in order to
follow Him. Churches today abuse this passage in order to persuade
men into abandoning their own families in order to follow them.
Doing so, they seek to make themselves popes, imagining themselves
to be replacements for God on earth! Christians must seek their
Father in Heaven, and follow God rather than men. While we must put
our love for God before our family, He has commanded us in turn to
love our brethren. Therefore even Paul advised, at 1 Timothy 5:8:
“Now if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially of kin,
he has denied the faith and is inferior to one of the faithless.”
Luke 10:1
Then after these things the Prince had appointed seventy-two others,
and He sent them two each
before His face into every city and place where He was about to go.
Here
we see that in addition to the original twelve apostles, Christ
appointed seventy-two others, and each of these were indeed
technically apostles since the description of what they were
appointed to do certainly fits the definition of apostle. Luke
chapter 9 records the sending by Christ of the twelve apostles into
the various towns and villages along His route in order to announce
His coming. That event is also recorded in Matthew chapter 10 and in
Mark chapter 6. However this event with the “seventy-two others”
is only recorded by Luke. Note that many of the instructions which
Yahshua gave to the twelve, are also given to the seventy-two, and
therefore there is no real difference at all in their commissions
The
Codices Sinaiticus (א),
Alexandrinus (A), Ephraemi Syri (C) and Washingtonensis (W), along
with the Majority Text and the King James Version, all have
seventy rather than seventy-two. The text follows the third-century
papyrus P75, and the Codices Vaticanus
(B), Bezae (D), and the
fourth century Codex 0181. The same discrepancy runs along the same
manuscripts at verse 17 of this chapter, except that there another
third-century papyrus, P45, also supports the reading of seventy-two;
this here verse is wanting in P45, for non of the ancient papyri are
complete.
Numbers
11: “ 16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men
of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the
people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of
the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. 17 And I will
come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit
which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear
the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself
alone.”
2 And He said
to them “Great is the harvest, but those who work are few.
Therefore ask the Prince of the harvest that He would send out
workmen for His harvest!
Man
does not choose who should do the work of God on earth, but rather it
is God who chooses men to do His work on the earth. Man should ask
God that His will be done. Yahweh raises up men to do His will.
3 You go.
Behold, I send you as lambs in the midst of wolves.
In
Acts chapter 20 and his warning to the assemblies of Asia as to the
things which would occur after his departure, Paul makes an
interesting correlation, where he says “29 For I know this, that
after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not
sparing the flock. 30 Also of your own selves shall men arise,
speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” So we
see that a distinction exists between wolves, and those of our own
number who would lead men astray.
Yet
our own people also, can certainly act like wolves when they forsake
Yahweh their God. Of Jerusalem, Yahweh says at Ezekiel 22:27: “Her
princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to
shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.”
4 Do not
carry a bag, nor a wallet, nor sandals, and greet no one by the road.
When
Christ walked the earth, He instructed His apostles that they would
have no need of anything. When He was taken from the earth, He
foresaw their persecution, and instructed them that they had better
make provisions for themselves where at Luke 22:35-37 we see this:
“35 And He said to them: 'When I sent you without purse and
wallet and sandals, did you have want of anything?' And they said
'Nothing.' 36 Then He said to them: 'But now he having a purse must
take it, and likewise a wallet, and he not having a sword must sell
his garment and buy one.'”
5 And into
whatever house you should enter, first you say ‘Peace to this
house.’ 6 And if in it there should be a son of peace, your peace
shall rest upon it, but if not then upon you it shall rebound. 7 Then
in that house you stay eating and drinking the things from them. For
the workman is worthy of his wage.
The
things which we have, we have because God granted them to us. Some
men work much and have little. Others work and have great plenty. Do
not think that you have success by your own hand. Your wealth is
either a blessing or a trial from Yahweh. Therefore we should be good
stewards of those things which God has given us, and grant freely to
our brethren whatever their needs require. When godly people appear
on our doorstep we should have no qualms about using the things which
He has given us for the benefit of our brethren.
Hebrews
13: “1 Brotherly love must abide. 2 Do not be forgetful of
hospitality. For in this some being unaware have been hospitable to
messengers.”
Worthy
is the workman: from 1 Corinthians 9:11, “If we have sown
things of the spirit in you, is it too great if we should reap your
fleshly things? ” Yet there is no
forced communion in Christianity, for all communion must be voluntary
for Christians, as Paul explains of the collection for the Jerusalem
Christians which he undertook, at 2 Corinthians chapter 8: “Now we
make known to you, brethren, the favor of Yahweh which has been given
in the assemblies of Makedonia; 2 because with quite a test of
tribulation, the abundance of their joy, and contrary to their
copious poverty, they have advantage in the riches of their
sincerity. 3 Because by ability, I attest, even beyond ability, they
are volunteers 4 asking of us with much exhortation the favor and the
fellowship of the service of that which is for the saints. ” Do not
let any so-called pastor compel you to give him a tithe. The favor of
God is never by compulsion. And as Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10,
“if anyone wishes not to work, neither must he eat”.
Therefore there is no forced socialism as well.
Do
not pass from house to house. 8 And into
whatever city you go into and they receive you, you eat the things
they offer to you,
Concerning
the admonition to eat and drink the things which one's host provides,
the “son of peace” which one may expect to find in Judaea at the
time of Christ was also a law-keeper, or he would not have been a
“son of peace” in the first place. Sons of peace, in the eyes of
Christ, must have been those who keep the Word of God, because we can
only truly have peace in Him. Therefore this passage is not an excuse
to flaunt the law simply because those by whom we may desire to be
entertained may themselves flaunt the law. If one flaunts the laws of
Yahweh our God, he is no “son of peace” and we should not remain
in his house.
Psalm
34:11-17: “11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you
the fear of the LORD. 12 What man is he that desireth life, and
loveth many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep thy tongue from evil,
and thy lips from speaking guile. 14 Depart from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the
righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. 16 The face of the
LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them
from the earth. 17 The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and
delivereth them out of all their troubles.”
Proverbs
3:1-4: “1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my
commandments: 2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall
they add to thee. 3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them
about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 4 So shalt
thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.”
Isaiah
9: “6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the
government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there
shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to
order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from
henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform
this.” He keeps peace by His law, His judgement, and His justice.
9 and you
cure those in it who are sick and you say to them ‘The Kingdom of
Yahweh comes nigh upon you!’
Again, from John
1:12: “But as many who received Him, He gave to them the authority
which the children of Yahweh are to attain”.
“The
Kingdom of Heaven comes nigh upon you”: this statement and others
in the Gospel refute the universalist interpretation of Luke 17:21,
that the Kingdom of Heaven is somehow spiritual, unseen, and within
anyone who chooses God. At Luke 17:21 the words of Christ are better
interpreted “the Kingdom of Heaven is among you”. If the apostles
to whom He spoke believed that the Kingdom of God were within them,
they would not have had to ask Him, as it is recorded at Acts 1:6,
“Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to
Israel?”, because they would have understood that it was within
them, and they would not have needed it to be restored to them. Yet
they did not understand it in that manner, and so it is not to be
interpreted in that manner at Luke 17:21! The universalist
perversions of Scripture
always contain conflicts when they are actually compared to the
entire Scripture.
10 And into
whatever city you should enter and they do not receive you, going out
into its streets you say 11 ‘Even the dust from your city which
cleaves to the feet we wipe off of us, but this you must know, that
the Kingdom of Yahweh approaches!’ 12 I say to you that for those
of Sodom it shall be more bearable in that day than for that city!
The Canaanites
of Sodom cannot possibly arise for the judgement. According to Jude,
the people of Sodom are already “undergoing the punishment of
eternal fire”. The statement should therefore be interpreted
allegorically, that it is better off not to live at all, than to face
the wrath of Yahweh at the day of His vengeance.
13 “Woe to
you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaïda! Because if there had taken
place in Turos and Sidon the feats which took place among you, long
ago they would have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes! 14 But
for Turos and Sidon it shall be better in the judgement than for you!
15 And you, Kapharnaoum, shall you be exalted unto heaven? Unto Hades
you shall descend!
The third
century papyrus P45 and the Codex Bezae (D) want the words “in the
judgment”.
The word πάλαι
(3819), which is “long ago” here, may have been written “in
antiquity”. The word refers to the remote past, when the ancient
children of Israel had inhabited Tyre and Sidon.
Here it is
evident, that even the worst the sinners of the ancient world shall
not be punished as harshly as those who would reject Yahshua Christ
their Messiah. Yet here the judgement pronounced by Yahshua is
directly upon the cities which rejected Him, and not merely upon the
people. Therefore, if one wants to see what hell looks like, one only
has to look as far as the decadent mixed-race cities of the Levant
today. Now in this day, by bringing the arab world into the streets
of Christendom, we are all descending into hell.
16 “He
hearing you hears Me, and he rejecting you rejects Me. And he
rejecting Me rejects He who has sent Me!”
As
the apostle John said of the people of his time, in 1 John chapter 4:
“1 Beloved, do not have trust in every spirit, but
scrutinize whether the spirits are from of Yahweh, because many false
prophets have gone out into Society. 2 By this you know the Spirit of
Yahweh: each spirit which professes that Yahshua Christ has come in
the flesh is from of Yahweh, 3 and each spirit which does not profess
Yahshua is not from of Yahweh, and this is the Antichrist, whom you
have heard that it comes, and is already now in Society.”
Furthermore, since the entire idea of a Messiah embodies only the
promises of salvation for Israel, John can only be addressing
Israelites.
17 Then the
seventy-two returned with great joy saying: “Prince, even the
demons are subjected to us by Your Name!” 18 And He said to them “I
beheld the Adversary falling as lightning from heaven! 19 Behold! I
have given to you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and
upon all the power of the enemy, and no one shall by any means do you
injustice. 20 But in this you must not rejoice: that spirits are
subject to you. Rather, rejoice that your names are inscribed in the
heavens.”
Here the subject
does not change throughout the dialog, and the concepts of demons,
Satan, the fall of Satan, or the Adversary, and
serpents and scorpions - which are actually allegorically people -
and “all the power of the enemy” are all related and tied
together here by Yahshua Christ Himself in a few short sentences.
There is only
one other place in Scripture which describes the fall of satan, and
that is Revelation chapter 12. There we find that the “great red
dragon”, the “old serpent”, the “Devil” (ὁ διάβολος)
and “Satan” ὁ Σατανᾶς) are all the same entity: that
collection of angels, as they are called, which rebelled against
Yahweh, and being cast out here on the Earth, are certainly found
here from the earliest times. And so we have that “old Serpent”
which is found here already at the creation of Adam, who seduced Eve
and fathered Cain. Many may protest that Adam fathered Cain, yet such
a notion is only found at Genesis 4:1 (and not at 4:16 nor 5:1 ff.),
which is a demonstrably corrupt verse as attested to in sources such
as The
Interpreter’s Bible,
vol. 1, p. 517, which says of part of Genesis 4:1: “I have gotten a
man from the Lord”, that the actual Hebrew is rather
unintelligible, and “the words are a gloss”. The fact that there
are descendants of Cain in Judaea in the first century can be
demonstrated from Luke chapter 11 verses 45-52, where it is seen that
those men contending with Christ were of the race
which was responsible for the blood of all the prophets beginning
with Abel, and only Cain could be held accountable for the blood of
Abel, and so they must have been of the race of Cain, and not of the
race of Seth.
Before the
Christian era, the Israelites of Judaea either knew that Genesis 4:1
was corrupt and attempted to repair it, or were actually aware of a
version of Genesis 4:1 which was lost before either the Septuagint or
the Masoretic Text came along. For in the earliest translations of
Genesis 4:1 from the Hebrew, which are the Aramaic Targums, we find
translations or interpretations of the verse as follows: “And Adam
knew his wife Eve, who was pregnant by the Angel Sammael, and she
conceived and bare Cain; and he was like the heavenly beings, and not
like earthly beings, and she said, I have acquired a man, the Angel
of the Lord” (Targum
of Jonathan),
or in another version: “And Adam knew his wife Eve, who had desired
the Angel, and she conceived, and bare Cain; and she said, I have
acquired a man, the angel of the Lord...” (Palestinian
Targum).
The idea that Cain was fathered by the serpent of Genesis chapter 3
is supported not only by the New Testament (i.e. Matthew 13:37-42 and
John 8:41-44), but also by various citations in Apocryphal
literature, such as 4 Maccabees 18:7-8 (in the LXX), along with
several other passages in diverse writings.
4 Maccabees 18:
“7 And the righteous mother of the seven children spake also as
follows to her offspring: I was a pure virgin, and went not beyond my
father's house; but I took care of the built-up rib. 8 No destroyer
of the desert, or ravisher of the plain, injured me; nor did the
destructive, deceitful snake, make spoil of my chaste virginity; and
I remained with my husband during the period of my prime.” The
fourth book of Maccabees is certainly not a work of Talmudic jews.
With this and other evidence from demonstrably Christian writings,
such as the Protevangelion of James, it is seen that the teaching
concerning the seduction of Eve is certainly not a product of the
Talmud.
In John chapter
8, Yahshua Christ told certain Judaeans that they were of their
father the devil, who was a murderer
from the beginning, and only Cain was a murderer from the beginning.
Therefore Cain, also labeled a devil, is directly connected to the
fall of Satan described in Revelation chapter 12, just as Judas
Iscariot, who was demonstrably an Edomite, was also called a devil by
Christ. And Herod, who must have been the representative of
the dragon which attempted to slay the Christ child described in
Revelation chapter 12, was also of the Edomite stock. Once Genesis
chapters 3 and 4 are understood, a clear line can be drawn from the
rebellious and corrupted “fallen angels”, down through the
descendants of Cain, the Rephaim, Canaan and Esau, and down to the
Edomite jews of the time of Christ and on to this very day. These are
collectively Satan, the serpent race, and the anti-Christ which has
always denounced and rejected Yahshua Christ, who is indeed the
Hebrew Israelite Messiah. This statement from Christ here at Luke
10:18-19 cements all of these Scriptural connections beyond doubt.
21 At that
hour He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said “I give praise to You,
Father, Sovereign [or Lord,
κύριος] of the heaven and of the earth, that You have
hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed
them to babes. Yeah, Father, because such have had approval before
You!
The subject has
not changed from that of the fall of Satan, the serpents and the
scorpions, and it is therefore made evident why these things are not
taught in seminaries. Yahshua states clearly that these things have
been hidden from the so-called wise and intelligent, but revealed to
babes. The two-seedline understanding of Scripture is, of all
Christian Biblical interpretations, that which is most despised and
ridiculed by the enemies of Christ, because it reveals those enemies
for exactly who they are. One is either a part of the Creation, or a
part of the corruption. This is Scriptural, because as the apostle
John taught in his first epistle, one is either born of God, or born
of the world. The jews, and all of the non-Adamic races of people,
are part of the corruption. Among men, only the Adamic race is
explicitly claimed as having been created by Yahweh in Scripture.
Little
differences in the manuscripts make a large difference in our
understanding. The third century
papyrus P45, and the Codices Alexandrinus (A), Washingtonensis
(W), and the Majority Text and therefore the King James Version, all
want the word holy in verse 21. The
word appears in the third century papyrus P75, and the Codices
Sinaiticus (א),
Vaticanus (B), Ephraemi Syri (C) and Bezae (D).
The word
ἐξομολογέω (1843) is “to give praise” here, for which
see Thayer's definition. The word may also have been rendered to
confess or profess. To
profess God is to praise Him, because by simply professing God one
gives Him the credit and respect He deserves. The profession also
signifies agreement, since the word ἐξομολογέω literally
means from or by
agreeing.
22 All things
have been given over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son
is if not the Father, and who the Father is if not the Son, and the
Son shall reveal it to whom He should determine.”
Psalm 2: “7 I
will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son;
this day have I begotten thee. 8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the
nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth
for thy possession.”
Psalm 28: “8
The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his
anointed. 9 Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them
also, and lift them up for ever.”
Yahweh
consistently calls Israel His inheritance throughout Old Testament
Scripture, while it may be argued that the word can mean possession,
Paul clearly understood it to mean inheritance by his use of the
Greek word κληρονομία referring to the inheritance of
Christ in places such as at Hebrews 1:4. Yahweh, coming as His Own
Son, is the chief inheritor of His estate. However all of the
children of Yahweh are heirs of the kingdom through Christ, and Paul
consistently uses the plural form of the word heir to describe the
heritage of Israel as a whole.
Quoting the
second Psalm, Paul wrote at Hebrews 1:4-6: “4 Becoming so much
better than the messengers, He has inherited a name so much more
distinguished beyond them. 5 To which of the messengers did He ever
say: 'You are My Son, today I have engendered You'? And again: 'I
will be a Father to Him, and He will be a Son to Me'? 6 Then again,
when He introduces the First Born into the inhabited world He says:
'and all messengers of Yahweh must worship Him.'”
Yet
Paul also explains that to all Israel belongs the inheritance: “15
And for this reason He is a mediator of a new covenant, so that from
death resulting in redemption of the transgressions against the first
covenant, those having been invited would receive the promise of the
eternal inheritance. 16 (For where there is a testament, it is
necessary to endure the death of the testator. 17 A testament is
certain in death, since never would it avail when the testator
lives.)”
Yahweh had to be
His Own Heir, Yahshua Christ, in order to assure for Israel the
kingdom, to keep the promises made to the fathers, because Israel in
failing to destroy the Canaanites proved that they could not keep
their inheritance for themselves.
Peter talks
about the inheritance which is in Christ, using that same Greek word,
κληρονομία, at
the opening of his first epistle: “3 Blessed is Yahweh, even the
Father of our Prince Yahshua Christ, who according to His great mercy
has engendered us from above into a living hope through the
resurrection of Yahshua Christ from among the dead, 4 for an
inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, being kept in
the heavens for us 5 who are being preserved by the power of Yahweh
through faith for a salvation prepared to be revealed in the last
time.” Yahshua Christ is the Heir of all things, indeed in order to
secure the inheritance for the children of Israel.
23 And
turning towards the students, privately He said “Blessed are those
eyes seeing the things which you see. 24 For I say to you that many
prophets and kings have desired to see the things which you see, and
they saw not, and to hear the things which you hear, and they heard
not.”
Isaiah 52: “13
Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and
extolled, and be very high. 14 As many were astonished at thee; his
visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the
sons of men: 15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall
shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall
they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.”
25 And
behold, a certain lawyer arose, making trial of Him saying: “Teacher,
what should I do that I shall inherit eternal life?” 26 So He said
to him: “What is written in the law? How do you read?” 27 And
replying he said “Love Yahweh your God with your whole heart and
with your whole soul and with your entire strength and with your
whole mind, and he near to you as yourself.” 28 And He said to him
“You reply correctly. Do this and you shall live.” 29 But he
wishing to deem himself righteous said to Yahshua “Yet who is he
near to me?”
Before
proceeding to the parable of the Good Samaritan, we should discuss
the word neighbor.
The Greek word translated neighbor is usually from the adjective,
with the article, τὸν πλησίον, which literally means one
who is near, and nothing
else. By itself it really does not distinguish between nearness in
relationship or in geographical proximity. However the Hebrew does,
and so does the context of scripture where it is often found.
The
Nominative form πλησίος which is both an adverb and a
preposition, means “near, close to...” (Liddell &
Scott) and itself is a derivative of the adverb πέλας which is
“near, hard by, close...” (ibid) Either word, πέλας
or πλησίος, used as a Substantive, was used to denote one’s
neighbor, and Liddell & Scott give examples of this from
secular writers who used either ὁ πλησίος or ὁ πέλας.
Yet in secular Greek there are other words used by contemporary
authors and also in the New
Testament which are translated “neighbor”: γείτων
(1069), which is explicitly “one of the same land, a neighbour...”
(ibid) and is found at Luke 14:12; 15:6, 9; and John 9:8, and
περίοικος (4040) which is “dwelling round...οἱ
περίοικοι neighbours...” (ibid) and which is found at
Luke 1:58.
While
it can surely be demonstrated, that in Palestine and throughout the
οἰκουμένη (the Greco-Roman world), one’s neighbor was
most often, and was expected to be, of one’s own tribe, that this
is the true meaning of τὸν πλησίον in the New Testament is
evident in other ways, besides the use of γείτων or περίοικος
where it was appropriate.
First,
at Acts 7:27, an account of Exodus 2:11-14, one Israelite is referred
to as τὸν πλησίον (A.V. “Neighbor”) in relation to
another Israelite, but certainly not in reference to the dead
Egyptian - yet Moses, as evidenced in the Exodus account, could not
have known that these men lived in proximity to one another, as we
understand the term “neighbor” today. He only could have known
that the men had a tribal relationship. Now some may think this
conjectural, but it surely is the circumstance.
Again,
at Matt. 5:43, Yahshua is credited with the words “Thou shalt love
thy neighbor (τὸν πλησίον), and hate thine enemy”, what
meaning would the saying have, if one’s enemy, as is often the
case, lived in the house next door? So here it should be evident that
τὸν πλησίον is “one near” to you, but not necessarily
geographically. Rather, one near in relationship is more likely the
case. The Hebrew word in the original text, which is found at
Leviticus 19:18, is Strong’s Hebrew #7453, reya', a word said to be
derived from #7462, ra'ah, which is “an associate (more or less
close)” and Strong lists the King James Version translations of the
word as “brother, companion, fellow, friend, husband, lover,
neighbor ... (an-) other” and so it should certainly be evident now
that τὸν πλησίον is not simply “one who lives nearby”
etc. The root of 7453, 7462, is defined by Strong as “a primitive
root; to tend a flock, i.e. pasture it; intransitive to graze
(literally or figuratively); generally to rule; by extension to
associate with (as a friend)...” and so it seems to me that one’s
πλησίον can only be a fellow sheep! So we see that if one is
of your flock, he is a neighbor. But if one is not of your flock, he
cannot ever be a neighbor. A wolf who moves into the sheepfold can
never be a sheep, and therefore can never be a neighbor! Men do not
gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles. We cannot imagine
Yahshua to be insisting that a wolf can be neighbor to a sheep.
30 Retorting
Yahshua said: “A certain man went down to Iericho from Jerusalem
and he encountered robbers, and stripping him and inflicting him with
a beating they departed, leaving him half dead. 31 And there happened
upon him some priest who was going down by that road and seeing him
he passed by on the opposite side. 32 And likewise also a Levite
arriving at that place, coming and seeing him he passed by on the
opposite side. 33 Then a certain Samaritan traveling came by him, and
seeing him he was deeply moved, 34 and coming forth he bound his
wounds pouring on olive oil and wine, and putting him upon his own
beast brought him into an inn and took care of him. 35 Then on the
next day paying he had given two denarii to the inn-keeper and said
‘You must care for him, and whatever you may spend in addition, I
upon my coming back shall repay to you.’ 36 Which of these three
is it supposed by you had been near to him who had fallen in with the
robbers?” 37 And he said: “He doing mercifully with him.”
Then Yahshua said to him “You must go and you do likewise.”
First, priest is
not at all an indicator of race in first century Judaea, but only an
indicator of status. Indeed, Christ consistently censured the priests
who were not true children of Abraham. While Levi was a tribe, and a
Levite a member of a tribe, that term was also an indication of a
certain status which members of the tribe were accustomed to. So the
comparison here is not among races, but among people of various
classes. The parable of the Good Samaritan can have nothing to do
with race.
Understanding
the parable of the Good Samaritan requires some background on just
who the Samaritans were, how they were viewed by the Judaeans at the
time, and why Yahshua chose them for His illustration here. The Roman
district of Samaria was roughly equivalent to the ancient lands of
Ephraim and that portion of Manasseh west of the river Jordan. It is
evident that while most of the Israelites were taken into Assyrian
captivity (to later become known as Kimmerians, Scythians, Sakae,
Saxons, etc.), many were left behind either purposely (i.e. 2 Kings
25:12) or because they managed to elude capture (i.e. 2 Chronicles
30:6). Later the Assyrians moved foreign peoples into Samaria to
resettle the land, and these were people who were made subject from
other lands which they had also conquered. While many of the tribal
names of these people are obscure (cf. 2 Kings chapter 17; 2
Chronicles chapter 33; and Ezra chapter 4), knowing the regions which
the Assyrians had conquered there is little reason to doubt that
these were Adamic peoples, and certainly many of them were, such as
the Elamites, who were Persians, mentioned at Ezra 4:9. The history
of Samaria is very sketchy during this period, and there is not even
assurance that these other tribes remained in Samaria, especially
since the Persian period was more forgiving to displaced peoples, as
Cyrus was to the Judaeans by allowing them to return to their
original homeland if they so desired.
There is no
doubt, however, that the people of Judaea from the earliest times
despised the Samaritans, as it is evident in the books of Ezra and
Nehemiah and in the New Testament (cf. John 4:9), and the feeling was
evidently mutual (Josephus’ Antiquities, 11.4.9, 20.6.1).
Yet it is also evident, at the time of Christ, that many of the
people in Judaea were not actually Israelites but were Edomites or
other Canaanites (John chapter 8, Romans chapter 9, Antiquities
13.9.1), and that some of the “Samaritans” were truly Israelites.
When certain Pharisees claimed to be the children of Abraham, Yahshua
Christ denied their claim (John 8:33-44), where the record shows that
these were indeed children of Esau, and since Esau took Canaanite
wives his offspring are illegitimate (Genesis
26:35, 27:46, and 36:1-2; Malachi 1:1-3; John 8:33 – the Israelites
were in bondage in Egypt, and in Assyria and Babylon; and Romans
9:1-13, 21-23 et al.). Yet when a certain “Samaritan”
woman, who voiced an expectation of Israel’s coming Messiah,
claimed to be a daughter of Jacob, her claim was not denied, but was
rather substantiated by the subsequent events described in John
chapter 4 (John 4:12 and 25, and 39-42)! It is obvious that first
century Judaeans, those who were Israelites, were making distinctions
based upon religious and political boundaries much as we do today,
and ignoring the more important, permanent bonds of kinship and race,
much as many also do today. The “good Samaritan” Christ had in
mind was certainly a descendant of Adam, and was very likely a “lost”
Israelite (Matt. 15:24).
From
John chapter 4:
“4 And it was necessary for Him to pass through Samareia. 5 So He
comes to a city of Samareia called Suchar, near the land which Jakob
had given to his son Ioseph. 6 And there was a well of Jakob’s
there. Then Yahshua being tired from the journey sat thusly by the
well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 A woman of Samareia comes to
draw water. Yahshua says to her: 'Give Me to drink.' 8 (For His
students had gone off to the city that they may buy food.) 9 Then the
Samaritan woman says to Him: 'You being a Judaean, how do You request
from me, being a Samaritan woman, to drink? For the Judaeans have no
dealings with the Samaritans!' 10 Yahshua replied and said to her:
'If you knew the gift of Yahweh and who it is saying to you ‘Give
Me to drink’, you would have asked Him and He would have given to
you living water.' 11 The woman says to Him: 'Master, You do not even
have a bucket and the well is deep, so from where do You have living
water? 12 Are You greater than our father Jakob, who gave us the well
and had drank from it himself, with his sons and his cattle?' 13
Yahshua responded and said to her: 'Each who is drinking from this
water shall thirst again. 14 But he who should drink from the water
which I shall give to him shall not thirst for eternity, but the
water which I shall give to him will become in him a well of water
springing up into eternal life.' 15 The woman says to Him 'Master,
give this water to me, that I shall not thirst nor pass by here to
draw!' 16 He says to her 'Go, call your husband, and come here!' 17
The woman replied and said to Him: 'I do not have a husband.' Yahshua
says to her 'You have spoken well that ‘I do not have a husband’,
18 for you have had five husbands and now he whom you have is not
your husband! By this you spoke the truth!' 19 The woman says to Him:
'Master, I see that You are a prophet! 20 Our fathers have worshipped
on this mountain, yet do You say that in Jerusalem is the place where
it is necessary to worship?' 21 Yahshua says to her: 'Believe Me,
woman, that the hour comes when neither on this mountain nor in
Jerusalem shall you worship the Father! 22 You worship that which you
do not know. We worship that which we know, because salvation is from
among the Judaeans. 23 But the hour comes and is now, when the true
worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the
Father also seeks such as those worshipping Him. 24 Yahweh is a
Spirit, and for those worshipping Him it is necessary to worship in
spirit and in truth.' 25 The woman says to Him: 'I know that Messiah
comes, who is called Christ. When He should come, He shall announce
to us all things.' 26 Yahshua says to her: 'I am He, who is speaking
to you.'” 27 And with this His students had come, and they wondered
that He had spoken with a woman, yet no one said 'What do You seek?'
or 'Why do You speak with her?' 28 Then the woman left her water and
went off to the city and says to the men: 'Come, see a man who has
told me all things whatever I had done! Could it be that He is the
Christ?' 30 So they came out of the city and came to Him. 31 In the
meantime His students asked Him saying: 'Rabbi, eat!' 32 But He said
to them: 'I have food to eat which you do not know.' 33 Then the
students said to one another 'Has anyone brought for Him to eat?' 34
Yahshua says to them: 'My food is that I shall do the will of He who
has sent Me and that I shall finish His work. 35 Do you not say that
‘There are still four months and the harvest comes’? Behold, I
say to you: lift up your eyes and see the fields, that they are
already white for harvest! 36 He reaping receives a wage, and gathers
fruit for eternal life, that he sowing and he reaping would rejoice
together. 37 For in this the word is true: that it is one who sows
and another who reaps. 38 I have sent you to reap for that which you
did not labor. Others labored and you entered in for their labor.'39
And from that city many of the Samaritans had believed in Him through
the word of testimony of the woman that 'He told me all the things
which I had done!' 40 Therefore as the Samaritans came to Him, having
asked Him to stay with them, then He stayed there for two days. 41
And with many more they believed through His word, 42 and they had
said to the woman that 'No longer do we believe because of your
speech, for we ourselves have heard and we know that He is truly the
Savior of the Society!'”
It is clear in
history, especially in Josephus, that the Judaeans despised the
Samaritans, but that in spite of that, there
were Samaritans who attempted to cling to the religion of Israel over
many generations. They even built their own temple on Mount
Gerrizzim, which the woman refers to when she says “our
fathers have worshipped on this mountain”. Here these Samaritans
are not despised by Christ, and Christ does not deny the woman's
claim to Israelite heritage. The Judaeans of the return from Babylon
were acting out of the need for a national survival mechanism, but
that does not mean that many of those Samaritans were not Israel. The
Judaeans, out of practical necessity, were reckoning Israel by
recorded genealogy only, something that any Israelites left in
Samaria had long ago lost. By the time that Judaea was corrupted and
began absorbing other peoples, the Samaritans were already their
enemies, and remained so, therefore the Judaeans looked down upon
them and refused any communion with them. This Samaritan woman
anticipated the coming of the Messiah, and by all measures, and in
all her sin, she was nevertheless certainly an Israelite.
The parable of
the Good Samaritan is not about race, and it cannot be about race,
because in it Christ compares a priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan.
Yet priest was not a racial distinction, and neither was Samaritan
because over the 600 years before Christ Samaria was inhabited by
people from all different sorts of tribes, in addition to a remnant
of Israel. Most of these tribes, however, were White Adamic peoples
from various places in Mesopotamia. Therefore, this parable cannot be
used to support universalism, because it is about the status of
people, and not about their race. It is about the acceptance of the
apparently impious and the wickedness of the supposedly pious. It is
about judging our fellow White men by their fruits, and not by their
station in life.
38 Then in
their traveling He entered into a certain village, and some woman
with the name Martha took Him in 39 and there was a sister called
Mariam and she was sitting by the feet of Yahshua hearing His Word.
40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and stopping she said
“Prince, is it not a care to You that my sister has left me alone
to serve? Therefore speak to her in order that she may help me.” 41
And replying the Prince said to her “Martha, Martha, you have care
for and are troubled concerning many things, 42 but one thing is
necessary. For Mariam has chosen the good part, which shall not be
taken away from her.”
The certain
village is Bethany, which we learn from John chapter 11. Martha and
Mary are the sisters of Lazarus. Martha sought to serve those who
were gathered, and that is a task which someone had to undertake. But
Mary instead chose to sit and listen and learn from Christ. In this
case, Mary's seeking to be served was the better part than Martha's
serving others, but Mary was seeking to be served by Christ, who came
to serve us all. As Martha did, we all have a need to serve our
kinsman, for he who would be great among us would seek to serve the
rest of us, and she certainly has her reward. However we also should
learn from Mary's example, and in turn seek to learn from Christ, who
is greater than us all.
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A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles is currently being presented by William Finck on Christogenea Internet Radio every Friday night at 8PM Eastern.
