25/ One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”  26/ Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”  27/ The man answered, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”  28/“Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”  29/The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Parable of the Good Samaritan

30/ Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits.  They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

.

31/ “By chance a priest came along.  But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by.  32/ A Temple assistant [ a Levite KJV] walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

33/ “Then a despised Samaritan [the Samaritans were despised by the Jews during Jesus' time on Earth; see "NOTE" below] came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.  34/ Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them.  Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.

35/ The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man.  If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

36/ “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.  37/ The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”  Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

 NOTE

To understand why the Jews had such animosity towards the Samaritans, let's get an understanding of who the Samaritans were.

When the Israelites left Egypt, there were 12 tribes - Asher, Benjamin, Dan, Gad, Issachar, Joseph, Judah, Levi, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, and Zebulon.  These 12 tribes were descendants of the 12 sons of Jacob, named Israel by God. However, you will usually see the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh listed among the 12 tribes in place of the tribes of Joseph and Levi.  That's because Ephraim and Manasseh were sons of Joseph, a son of Israel [in the Bible see Genesis chapter 48] regardless to having been married to the daughter of an Egyptian priest that gave birth to them.  Levi is generally not listed as one of the 12 tribes because the tribe of Levi did not receive a separate tribal area when God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and brought them into the Promised Land.  The Levites were the priests, so they were scattered throughout the various tribal areas.

When Saul was crowned the first king of Israel, he ruled over all 12 tribes, as did King David and King Solomon after him; but, after Solomon died, there was a split in the kingdom.  The 10 northern tribes - Asher, Dan, Ephraim, Gad, Issachar, Manasseh, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, and Zebulon formed the Kingdom of Israel, and their capital was the city of Samaria.  The 2 other tribes - Judah and Benjamin - formed the Kingdom of Judah with its capital at Jerusalem.

It wasn't long before the 10 northern tribes started worshipping false gods, and eventually, because they had turned away from God, the Kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians around 722 B.C..  After the Assyrians conquered the Kingdom of Israel, one of the things they did was to have the Israelite tribes marry men and women from pagan tribes, which meant that from then on, the children of these 10 tribes were no longer full-blooded Israelites.  Because of this, much of the tribal allegiance and identity was lost and the descendants of the marriages between the Israelite tribes and the pagan tribes came to be known as "Samaritans," simply because the city of Samaria had been their capital.

The full-blooded Israelites, Jews from the tribe of Judah of Jesus' time, considered the Samaritans to be no better than dogs.  They felt the Samaritans had turned away from the religion of their fathers.  To the Jews, the Samaritans were like traitors.  They viewed them as having betrayed God and their brother Israelites.

Even before the Assyrians conquered the Kingdom of Israel, there had been wars between the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah.  After the Assyrian conquest, this hostility continued between the Jews and the Samaritans who went to war with each other on and off for hundreds of years.

Jesus Teaches us to Love Everyone, Including our Enemies.  He instructs us to do this in Matthew 5:43-48 NLT

43/ “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.  44/ But I say, love your enemies!  Pray for those who persecute you!  45/ In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.  For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.  46/ If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that?  Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.  47/ If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else?  Even pagans do that.  48/ But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

John 13:34-35 NLT

It's not by chance or accident that you're reading this Bible Study.  God has called you and chosen you to do so.  Whether you are saved or unsaved, God is calling you to a deep, or deeper, relationship with Him.  He wants all of us to be prepared to go up to meet Him in the clouds at the second coming of Jesus.  To those not saved, or who have not asked Jesus       to be their Savior, God is calling you to repent of your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ; to receive Father God's free gift of the Holy Spirit; which Jesus will impart to you from Himself {see the "Salvation Prayer Page"}.  {John 14:20 NKJV "At that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in Me, and I in you.} 

It is an honor and a priviledge for me to share the Word of God with all people; and to share with all readers, especially with God's precious people of the House of Israel, the following scripture   Acts 2:22-40 NLT

22/ People of Israel, listen!  God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. 

23/ But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed.  With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him.  24/ But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip.  25/ King David said this about him:

 29/ “Dear brothers, think about this! You can be sure that the patriarch David wasn’t referring to himself, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us.  30/ But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David’s own descendants would sit on his throne.  31/ David was looking into the future and speaking of the Messiah’s resurrection.  He was saying that God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave.  32/  “God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this.  33/  Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand.  And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today.  34/ For David himself never ascended into heaven, yet he said,

‘The LORD said to my Lord,
“Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
35/ until I humble your enemies,
making them a footstool under your feet.”’

36/ “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”

37/ Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”  38/ Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  39/ This promise is to you, and to your children, and even to the Gentiles—all who have been called by the Lord our God.”  40/ Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”

 Romans 8:11 NIV 

11/And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

PASSOVER: a festival celebrated by Jews lasting for 7 or 8 days
in memory of the exodus of the
Hebrew slaves [Israelites]
from captivity in Egypt.
Translation of Hebrew Pesah , “to pass without affecting,” alluding to the Bible (Exodus 12:5–27 KJV) where God, seeing the blood of a sacrificial lamb on the two side posts & upper door post of their houses, passes over the Israelites, while the firstborn of other families are killed.]

 HAPPY PASSOVER WEEK TO ALL; WHICH BEGAN MONDAY, MARCH 25TH @ SUNDOWN, AND ENDS TUESDAY APRIL 2ND, 2013 

1st CORINTHIANS 5:7-8 NLT

7/.................... Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.  8/ So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth.



JESUS CHRIST

 THE SACRAFICIAL, "LAMB OF GOD WHO TAKES AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD" JOHN:1:29;

 

 THE BLOOD OF JESUS CLEANSES US FROM ALL SIN & UNRIGHTEOUSNESS COLOSSIANS 1:14 thru 22.  

 HAPPY

 EVERYONE

GOOD FRIDAY ON MARCH 29TH, 2013,

is a religious holiday observed  by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary.  The holiday is observed during Holy Week on the Friday preceding Resurrection Sunday/Easter celebration, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of Passover.  Many Christians partake of Holy Communion during this time of reflecting on Jesus' life, death, and resurrection because Jesus told us to do so in remembrance of Him.  

YOU CAN REVIEW WEEKLY BIBLE STUDY #15

THE LORD'S SUPPER

 HOLY COMMUNION

by clicking on the link above or by going to "4 Year Bible Study Series "Coming To Know Jesus As God" page; scroll down and click on #15 THE LORD'S SUPPER * HOLY COMMUNION {first published in 2009, yet still so refreshing & available for your viewing currently.



ON MARCH 31ST, 2013 

HAPPY, JOYFUL

RESURRECTION

SUNDAY!!!

YOU CAN ALSO REVIEW WEEKLY BIBLE STUDY #57 "RESURRECTION SUNDAY",

again, by just clicking on the link above or by goinging to "4 Year Bible Study Series "Coming To Know Jesus As God" page; scroll down and click on #57 "RESURRECTION SUNDAY", first published in 2011, reviewed in 2012-2015, & still so informative & uplifting for you to review currently.  

 WALK IN LOVE