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LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR Published by Sowing the Word of God • July 1, 2015 – Revised March 16, 2019

"Love your neighbor as yourself." This phrase is used quite a bit, but it is important that we understand what our Messiah might have meant when He said this, and what love means from God's perspective, rather than from a worldly perspective. You see, mankind cannot determine what love is. Scripture tells us that the heart of man is deceitful and wicked.

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Jeremiah 17:9-10 The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. Too often we rely on our own feelings and follow what is in our own heart as a means of making decisions, all the while claiming that it must have been God who led us to that place. We deceive ourselves into believing our choices are of God because it feels good to us. However, the Spirit of God will never lead us in a way that is contrary to the Word of God. Ezekiel 36:26-27 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. We know that God is love. 1 John 4:7-8 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. The Hebrew word for “Love” is H157 “Ahav,” and is made up of the letters Aleph, Hey, and Beyt. The word for “Father” is “Av,” and made up of the Aleph and the Beyt. The only difference between these two words is the letter Hey that is placed in the middle of the word “Love.” In Hebrew, the letter Hey means “to reveal.” So, the Hebrew meaning for Love literally is this: Love is the Father revealed. True love reveals our Father in Heaven. Therefore, we must let the Father reveal to us what love truly is through His Word. We who strive to follow

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God's Word cannot and should not ever rely on our feelings to determine what is right or wrong. Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. As with all things, we must let the Word of God define what it means to “love our neighbor as our self.” This is what we hope to accomplish with this study. In the book of Luke, we are given an account of a certain lawyer who stood up to test Messiah. (A lawyer in Scripture is one who was considered an expert of the Mosaic Law, which is the Law or Torah of God.) After Messiah said “love your neighbor as yourself,” this lawyer asked Him “and who is my neighbor?” It would seem as though this lawyer was trying to trap Messiah into saying something that would go against the Law. But let's look at how Messiah responded. Luke 10:25-37 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Yehoshua, “And who is my neighbor?” Then Yehoshua answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal,

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brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Yehoshua said to him, “Go and do likewise.” First, I'd like to point out that when presented with the initial question of how to inherit eternal life, Messiah's first response pointed directly to the Mosaic Law/Torah. This is very important, because Messiah is telling us that the Law/Torah holds the answer to his question. Now, this lawyer was indeed an expert in the Law/Torah, and he did, in fact, answer Messiah's query correctly. But the lawyer doesn't leave well enough alone, as we’re told that he sought to “justify himself.” As we read in Jeremiah above, God searches the hearts and minds of all men. Perhaps this lawyer struggled with loving his neighbors, and therefore wished to justify himself, or make himself righteous, by asking Messiah, "And who is my neighbor?" Messiah doesn't answer this question directly, but rather with a parable, as was His custom. Why? Matthew 13:13-15 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ Hearing can only come from diligently seeking the Father through the Son (who is the Word of God) with a humble heart. If you struggle to understand

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Scripture, especially the parables of Messiah, you may want to pay careful attention to this. Remember, YHVH searches the hearts of men, and He chooses whom He will reveal His secrets to. Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a word, But the glory of kings is to search out a word. Daniel 2:28a But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets Jeremiah 29:13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Luke 11:9-13 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. *For more on this, please study Matthew 12, Mark 4 and Luke 8, the Parable of the Sower. For even more insight on this parable, please read: SOWING THE WORD OF GOD So, Messiah answered the man with a parable: Then Yehoshua answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his

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clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. Let’s read this parable with understanding, with spiritual eyes and ears. The man who fell among the thieves was leaving Jerusalem, the city where God had placed His name. 2 Chronicles 6:6 Yet I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name may be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel. This was also the city that the kingdom of Judah dwelt before they were carried off to Babylonian captivity for disobeying God. Interestingly, prior to this, after the kingdom of Israel split away from the kingdom of Judah, they resided in the land of Samaria. They were eventually carried off into Assyrian captivity for disobeying God. I encourage you to read 1 Kings 13, as there seems to be a connection to the parable of the Good Samaritan here. A man of God from the tribe of Judah left Jerusalem to warn the men of Israel to turn back from their idolatry. He eventually is killed for disobeying God’s instructions. A man of the tribe of Israel, who resided in Samaria, came to collect the man of Judah’s dead body. There is much being eluded to regarding this parable and the two houses of Israel. I will not be dissecting this connection with this study, but please read the following study for more on the two houses and God’s ultimate plan to reunite them, as this parable seems to be very much connected to this. I WILL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF EPHRAIM With this parable, perhaps Messiah was illustrating how the man who fell among thieves went away from God's commands and away from His instruction, and by doing so fell among thieves. How else does Messiah describe thieves to us? John 10: 7-10 Then Yehoshua said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the

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door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. So, to go out from the House of God is to go out from Messiah and His Word. When we do that, we will fall among thieves who mean to steal from us, kill us and destroy us. That is exactly what happened to the man in the parable, who was left for dead. We are also told that the thieves stripped him of his clothing. Paul uses the same Greek word that is used for the stripping of clothing in one of his letters. 2 Corinthians 5:1-4 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. By going out from God the man in the parable was stripped of his righteous garments and was found naked. Now Messiah said the man was only half dead. Again, this is important to understand, as there are two deaths spoken of in Scripture. It is appointed to all flesh to die once, but there is a second death, a death of body and soul. Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

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Revelation 2:11 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”’ Revelation 20:11-14 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. When Messiah raised the dead in Scripture, He would say that the dead were not dead, but sleeping. Luke 8:52-53 Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, “Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead. John 11:11-15 These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.” Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” However, Yehoshua spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Yehoshua said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.” This symbolizes the spiritual slumber that has come over God's people. Daniel 12:2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some

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to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. A careful study of Ezekiel 37 and the dead, dry bones will further illustrate this point. In this parable, the first two men to pass by the half dead man on the road were a priest and a Levite, men who “kept” the Law. Now, when they saw the man lying there they most likely assumed he was already dead, and do you know what the Law says about touching a dead body? Numbers 19:11-13 ‘He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days. He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; his uncleanness is still on him. If they went over to the man whom they assumed was dead, that would really be an inconvenience for them, wouldn't it? So, they passed by. Would you say that these Law abiders would be considered lawful and righteous in the eyes of God? No. Then the Good Samaritan came... But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ The word Samaritan comes from the Hebrew word Shamar, which means to guard, hedge about, protect, keep and attend to. This is the same word used all throughout the Law/Torah when God commanded the people to

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keep or guard His Law/Torah, His commands, His judgments and His statutes. It was the Good Samaritan who truly kept the the Law, and not the priest or the Levite who passed by on the other side of the road. When the Samaritan saw the half dead man he bandaged his wounds and poured oil and wine on them. These two items that the Samaritan used are very significant in Scripture. Oil was used to light lamps, namely the Menorah used in the Temple of God. Perhaps the oil in this parable represents the Word of God that heals us, and the wine the blood of the Messiah, which was shed to cover our sin. THE OIL: Oil is used to soften wounds. Notice the comparison in the passage below to the sinful rebellion of God’s people to raw wounds that have not been softened with oil. Isaiah 1:4-6 Alas, sinful nation, People weighed down with iniquity, Offspring of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the Lord, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away from Him. Where will you be stricken again, As you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick And the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing sound in it, Only bruises, welts and raw wounds, Not pressed out or bandaged, Nor softened with oil. Oil is like God’s Word which heals us.

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Psalm 107:20 He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions. Song of Solomon is all about the Bridegroom and His Bride. This passage speaks about the name of the Bridegroom being compared to oil. Song of Solomon 1:2-4 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine; Your anointing oils are fragrant; your name is oil poured out; therefore virgins love you. Draw me after you; let us run. The king has brought me into his chambers. The Bridegroom represents Messiah, and the Bride His chosen ones. In this Scripture, the Bridegroom’s name is likened to oil poured out, and this is why the virgins love Him. (See Matthew 25 and the Parable of the Ten Virgins.) His name is the oil that fills our lamps... Proverbs 20:27 The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, Searching all the inner depths of his heart. And His name is the oil that fills our spiritual lamps. Revelation19:13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. John1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

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The Bridegroom’s name is called the Word of God; the oil is this Word that must be poured out into the lamps of our bodies in order to heal us, and in order for the fire of the Spirit of God to have something to light. A fire must have fuel in order to burn, so must our lamps have oil in them in order to be lit. This is why we must diligently and continuously study God’s Word and store it up within us in order to be found with enough oil of God’s Word in our lamps when the Messiah returns. Luke 3:16 John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” THE WINE: Matthew 26:27-28 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” The wine represents the Blood of Messiah that was shed for our sins so that we may enter back into the covenant that we transgressed, and be freed from the curse of God's Law/Torah. Deuteronomy 27:26 “‘Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law (Torah) by observing them.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’” The Samaritan had compassion on the half dead, naked man and poured the oil and the wine on his wounds, which represents the healing of the Word of God by the Blood of Messiah. Isaiah 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities;

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The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. The combination of the oil and wine, along with the compassion of the Samaritan, saved the man’s life. This is the Law and Prophets demonstrated. Matthew 7:12 “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:35-40 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Yehoshua said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” The Bible says to love God with all of our hearts. According to God’s Word, that means we will hear, keep, and obey His Words. 1 John 5:2-3 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. You see, we cannot truly know what it is to love God's children, who are our neighbors, if we do not know what it means to love Him. The Good Samaritan was the one who truly kept the Law and the Prophets (the Word of God) because he not only kept it in deed, but he kept from his heart and shared this love by revealing the love of God to his neighbor. Jeremiah 31:33-34 “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law (Torah) in their minds, and write it

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on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” This is how we should be looking at our lost brothers and sisters. They are our neighbors whom we must love, and if we cannot show mercy and compassion to our neighbors then we do not truly know what it means to love the Father. 1 John 4:20-21 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. I Praise the Father that someone loved me enough to point me to Messiah and to the truth of the Word of God. You know, I believed in Jesus my whole life, but I never knew Him. I never knew God because I didn't study His Word in order to learn of Him. I was lost. I thank the Father that someone had compassion on me and pointed me to His Word of Truth. We must never look upon those who do not know truth as being dead already, or as a burden, or stupid, because they aren’t! They are only sleeping, and we must remember that, because we were once asleep too. Leviticus 19:33-34 “‘And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” When Messiah said to love your neighbor as yourself, He was teaching the Law/Torah, the very heart of God. We must be moved with compassion for those who are still lost and blind, as Messiah was, and work His harvest. If we truly love Him, we will keep His commandments. If we truly love Him we will feed and tend to His sheep.

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Matthew 9:36-38 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” John 21:15-17 So when they had eaten breakfast, Yehoshua said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Yehoshua said to him, “Feed My sheep.” To be like the Good Samaritan doesn't necessarily mean we should go looking for half dead people on the side of the road. To be like the Good Samaritan we must be keepers and guardians of the true Word of God, servants who go to His lost sheep where they are and give them what they need in order to live. The Good Samaritan came to the place where this desperate man was, and gave him what he needed in order to live. Likewise, we must point some who don't know about Messiah, to His blood which saved us from our sins, while others who already believe need to be shown how to seek and find the Father by studying His Word and doing what it says. James 2:15-17 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

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We are not called to just “be loving” toward sinners, or to ignore or support them in their sin. We are called to be an example to them, to go to them where they are and give them what they need in order to live. Many throw the verse “love your neighbor as yourself” out there without spiritual understanding. This understanding can only come by studying and hearing God’s Word through asking for and receiving the Holy Spirit through Yehoshua Messiah. The Bible says love doesn’t partake nor rejoice in sin… Ephesians 5:1-14 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Messiah also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Messiah and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Messiah will give you light.” 1 Corinthians 13:6 [Love] does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

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Love does not rejoice in iniquity or sin. Sin is transgression of God’s Law… 1 John 3:4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. True love does not rejoice in the transgression of God’s holy, righteous, and good law (Torah), but true love rejoices in the truth. John 17:17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. Psalm 119:142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And Your law is truth. God's Law/Torah says to rebuke your neighbor's sin and do not take part in it, but to love them as yourself. This is love according to the Father. Leviticus 19:17-18 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” To love your neighbor as yourself means to be moved with compassion toward them and lead them to the Word and the Way that leads to Life! Yes! Love your neighbor as yourself, but do it according to God's Word and not the world’s. Worldly love preaches tolerance, acceptance, rebellion, and uniformity. God’s love preaches mercy, correction, obedience, and unity. 1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

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Our Father is a loving God, who has shown us all great mercy and compassion. Let us go and do likewise that His love may be revealed to the world through us. "So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Yehoshua said to him, “Go and do likewise.”