"A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho ..." (Luke 10:30-36)

"A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" (Luke 10:30-36)

How would a 'neighbor' act?

This is Jesus' response when asked by the "expert in the law" (Luke 10:25) the following question:

"And who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29)

This came after Jesus' confirmation of the two most important commandments:

" 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Luke 10:27)

Jesus followed with: "Do this and you will live." (Luke 10:28)

So with this parable, Jesus is illustrating to the "expert in the law" how one who practices "Love your neighbor as yourself" would act.

Actually, the word "neighbor" here is a bit of a misnomer, because we will often consider our neighbor to specifically mean someone who lives next to us or nearby. This communicates the idea that if someone lives in another neighborhood - or even another country - then they should not be treated as our neighbor.

The word "neighbor" is being translated from the Greek word πλησίον (plēsion) which means "any other person" or "thy fellow man" according to Strong's lexicon. In other words, Jesus is referring to everyone, not just someone who might live next door or otherwise close to us.

This is also illustrated by Jesus' parable. Notice that Jesus compares three individuals here: The "priest", the "Levite" and the "Samaritan." Why is Jesus utilizing these three in the parable?

Because most people - at least during those times - would consider a priest and a Levite to be kind to others, since they are considered men of God. A Levite is a member of a Jewish sect that was originally derived from the tribe of Levi - one of the twelve tribes of Israel. And during the time and place Jesus spoke this, a priest was a Jewish priest - ἱερεύς (hiereus).

Are Jews and Samaritans 'neighbors'?

Jesus then utilizes in his parable, Σαμαρίτης (Samaritēs) - a Samaritan - seemingly referring to a person who comes from the city of Samaria. Why? Firstly, because Samaritans at the time were considered by the Jewish priests and people of Jerusalem and surrounding areas as being outcasts.

Actually, both the Jewish and the Samaritan groups thought of each other in this way. Each felt the other was not a credible follower of the Jewish faith. The Samaritans to the south considered themselves followers of Joseph - the follower/son of Jacob - while the Jewish tribes to the north were considered part of the other tribes of Israel. (There were twelve "tribes" - based upon the twelve followers/sons of Jabob (renamed Israel)).

In other words, while the Judeans considered the Samaritans to be second-class citizens, the Samaritans felt they were true followers of the teachings of Jacob (Israel).

So it is appropriate that Jesus utilized in his parable someone who was looked down upon by Jewish society at the time. And because Jesus was speaking to a Jewish "expert in the law" we can see that Jesus' contrasting the actions of the hypothetical priest and the Levite with those of the Samaritan was to illustrate that being part of the Jewish institution doesn't necessarily mean the person will follow the teachings as handed down through the ages from the time of Moses.

After all, the commandment to 'Love your neighbor as yourself' was originally derived from the teachings of Moses - as communicated by the Supreme Being to Moses in Leviticus 19:18.

Thus what we find in Jesus' parable is a story of a person who went out of his way to help his fellow man. Why is this important? Because Jesus wants people to know what loving "your neighbor as yourself" really means when put into practice.

Notice that the Samaritan in Jesus' parable also makes sure that the Innkeeper is reimbursed for his efforts to help the stricken man. Not only is the Samaritan concerned about the stricken man, but he doesn't want to see the Innkeeper put out in any way.

He could have assumed that since the Samaritan went out of his way, the Innkeeper should as well. But he doesn't. The Samaritan doesn't assume anything.

Today we have a law called the "Good Samaritan" law, whereby if a person comes to the aid of someone he cannot later be sued for anything that might have slowed down the process of healing or otherwise resulted in the unanticipated death of the person.

Why does self-centeredness pervade?

This illustrates the self-centeredness pervading within the physical world. That someone would try to become compensated by suing a person who simply came to the aid of a fellow person at a time of need.

Yes, this physical world is a place of self-centeredness. And this is precisely why Jesus is explaining the opposite of self-centeredness: Becoming centered around others' welfare rather than our own.

Just look around. Practically every one of us has our own interests or the interests of our family or country or other organization we belong to at the center of our lives. And if anyone threatens any of these, we work to defend 'our own.'

By the design of the Supreme Being, this effort to defend our self-centered interests produces consequences. These consequences are the basis for all the suffering that occurs within the world.

Many imagine that suffering is caused by others. Some blame suffering on "the devil" while others blame God. Others will see it all as chance.

What we don't understand is that the Supreme Being designed the physical world as a place of rehabilitation. With such a design, every action we take based on self-concerns has consequences.

Let's use an example:

Let's say that a person commits a crime and they are put into prison. The prison system is designed with the hope that during their time in prison they will be rehabilitated. What do the prison system and its officials do to aid that rehabilitation?

They set up rules within the prison, and if those rules are broken, there are consequences to breaking the rules. And of course, if the rules are followed, then the person is rewarded by being able to get out of prison early.

Setting up rules and consequences to breaking those rules is practical for learning. God wants us to learn, and grow. In fact, this sort of "consequence training" has been accepted by child psychologists as the best way to train children as well - rather than using punishment-oriented discipline.

Why is this method so successful? Because it works. It is the best method to help direct a person towards the intended rehabilitation or training.

Would we expect anything but the best method within the design of the Supreme Being? Certainly not.

Is this world chaotic?

God set up the physical world with perfect design.

While we might think of the physical world as a bit messy - with all the violence and suffering that take place - the reality is, the world has been perfectly designed by the Perfect Designer - the Supreme Being - to enable consequences to be carried out that perfectly reflect our actions on an individual and group basis.

So why is there all the suffering in the physical world then? Is God just being mean to us?

No. The suffering in the physical world is simply the consequences for each previous activity taken by each individual. When a person acts selfishly, that action has a consequence. If a person hurts another's body, their body will become hurt later. If a person damages someone's house, that person's house will be hurt later.

But what is later? And how can this explain a child who is born into starvation, only to die during childhood from malnutrition or a disease they were born with?

This specific question was also asked of Jesus:

His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2)

This very question indicates that Jesus' disciples had been taught that a person has a previous life prior to their birth into the present body. This is obvious from the question because the man was born blind and the disciples were asking if the man's previous sins caused him to be born blind. If they didn't accept rebirth into another body (transmigration of the living being) then they would not have asked if the man's sins caused his being born blind.

The bottom line is that Jesus did teach transmigration of the living being. While being misinterpreted, this was also the meaning of the phrase, "resurrection of the dead" (Matt. 22:31 - not the same term as "resurrection from the dead" which we will describe below). "Resurrection of the dead" is when the living being is reborn into another physical body after the death of the previous body. The phrase "of the dead" - ἀναστάσεως τῶν νεκρῶν - using the word νεκρός (nekros) which means, metaphorically, "spiritually dead" according to the lexicon.

This is as opposed to the "resurrection of the living" or "resurrection from the dead" which is when the living being ascends to the spiritual realm after the death of the physical body. This Jesus also termed as the "resurrection of the righteous" (Luke 14:14).

The word "resurrection" - ἀνάστασις (anastasis) - means to "raise up" or "rise." But what is "rising"? Is the physical body "rising"? Certainly not.

This has been illustrated by the hundreds of thousands of documented clinical death cases where after a person's body is declared clinically dead, they are resuscitated, and later describe floating up above the physical body and looking down upon the physical body from above. They are truly "rising" up from the physical body since they describe themselves 'looking down' upon their former body.

Yes, clinical studies have proven that these cases are real because what the person describes they saw while hovering above their dead body has been proven to be accurate. Their dead body lies on the table with the eyes closed with no heartbeat and no brain waves. Yet the person can describe everything that took place in the room, including the activities of the doctors and nurses. Why?

Because we are not these physical bodies. We are the living being that occupies the physical body. We are spirit-person who is temporarily operating a physical body much as a car driver will operate an automobile.

And yes, the living being - the spirit-person - occupying the physical body leaves the body - rises up from it - at the time of death. Where do we go after that?

This depends upon the state of our consciousness and our past activities. As described by Jesus, if a person uses their lives to rekindle their loving relationship with the Supreme Being, they will return to the spiritual realm.

But if a person does not, they will take on another physical body - and not necessarily a human physical body.

Once reborn into another physical body, we then experience the consequences of the actions taken within this lifetime. Our next body thus perfectly reflects not only our past activities, but also our consciousness.

There are thousands of species of living organisms on this planet alone. The central characteristic of each of these organisms is that they are conscious. They each seek survival and comfort, and loving relationships in the form of families and mates. We know this intimately as humans, as many adopt animals as pets, and exchange a relationship with that animal. So we cannot deny that animals are not like us. That they do not seek love and loving relationships.

What is Hell?

Consider the concept of "hell" as described in the scriptures. What is this? We know the physical body will decompose following the body's death. So who can go to hell? The living being - the spirit-person - within the body leaves the body and goes to "hell."

In other words, "hell" is being born into a body of suffering. This may be a human body born into starvation or violence or disease otherwise. A person born into a warzone, for example, will experience a hellish existence.

Or it may be an animal form. A form that is characterized by a reduction of intellectual abilities - and a lack of ability to be aware of the Supreme Being.

Yes, some physical incarnations are truly hellish. They produce a lifetime of ignorance and suffering. Just consider the life of a wild animal. Wild animals live in perpetual fear. Practically every animal is prey for another animal. Thus they are constantly in fear of being eaten by a predator. Is this not the same as the metaphorical descriptions of hell? Of being chained up and being beaten - attacked?

Certainly being in a body of an animal is being chained up. The living being is trapped within that body. It is a jail sentence. And animals are constantly being attacked by other animals - most specifically by predators.

Does this not satisfy the various metaphorical descriptions of hell?

How else could we experience hell? Ignorant teachers have described hell as being below the ground as if there were caves down there where dead physical bodies get taken. But we know this is ridiculous because everyone knows our bodies decompose after death, and many drilling expeditions have been done under the ground and no one has drilled into hell.

We also know from the various metaphorical descriptions of hell that we "go to hell" based upon our activities. What is this? It is none other than consequences. This depiction of hell is that it is a place of consequences, just as we are describing here.

And how else could we receive the consequences of our lifetime of activities in this body unless we were able to take on another body?

The bottom line is that we have choices. The Supreme Being has given each of us the choice to return to Him or stay within our self-centered consciousness. He has even created a system that encourages us to gradually improve our consciousness and eventually return to Him. Note this does not force us. But it encourages us to make good decisions. And when we make good decisions, we are rewarded.

The best decision we can make is the one that rewards us with eternal life - the return to our loving relationship with the Supreme Being. This is our ultimate good decision because we need our relationship with God. We need to love and serve the Perfect Person and this is why we each search for a soul mate. We are looking for God wherever we go and whatever body we may be occupying. This is because our spiritual identity - our self - is intimately connected with the Supreme Being. This is why Jesus' most important instruction was:

" 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Luke 10:27)

This also means that the ultimate form of loving our neighbor is to also remind them that they too can be happy by loving and serving the Supreme Being.

"But when you give a banquet, invite the poor ..." (Luke 14:12-14)

Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." (Luke 14:12-14)

Is this about how to put together a banquet?

Jesus is sitting at the dinner table at a prominent Pharisee's house:

One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee ... (Luke 14:1)

After speaking about how we see our importance with respect to others Jesus now teaches lessons about behavior and kindness to others.

Jesus again speaks figuratively regarding hosting luncheons and dinners, as there is a broader application. Yes, certainly this includes how one would host meals for guests. But it isn't limited to this.

We must remember the audience and context of his statement: Jesus is speaking to those sitting around him at a Pharisee's house. He is speaking of how the Pharisees conduct themselves within their immediate followings.

Why invite the poor, the blind, and the disabled?

Why is Jesus suggesting they invite the poor, the blind, and those who are disabled? Because these types of people are more in need of a banquet. These types of people during Jesus' time were typically abandoned and neglected by society.

As such, inviting them to a banquet would honor them as well as give them a meal. This is an important part of Jesus' ministry. Jesus honored and respected those who were poor and disabled. He took care of people. He helped feed people who were hungry. He healed some who were blind or otherwise disabled.

Jesus was not necessarily saying that we have to heal people. But he was suggesting that we care about others. That we reach out to others in need and help them.

For example, it is an absolute shame in our society that we allow some people to remain homeless. Especially in wealthy countries, we have the resources to house everyone. Every person should be given the honor of being able to sleep in a safe and warm place and have a hot meal. It is a shame that our society claims to admire and follow Jesus' teachings, but we fail to take care of our brothers and sisters who are homeless.

Our "banquet" today is our society and resources. If we have the resources to help others in need, we should do whatever is within our resources to help them. This doesn't have to mean we give up what we have. We can just share some of what we have been given.

Was Jesus a rabbi?

Jesus certainly did teach at temples and was accepted as a rabbi by many. Nicodemus - another Pharisee - called Jesus "rabbi" in John 3:2.

But Jesus did not officially accept the position or trappings of this professional position. Jesus did not accept a professional position in a temple and be paid a salary or any other type of compensation. Jesus was not, in other words, a professional preacher.

The Pharisees were typically well-off, as they received stipends from the temple and their lodgings were taken care of. They were, in other words, well-paid. Certainly, these folks had the potential to help those around them.

Jesus also railed against the aspect of professional preachers:

"Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” (Luke 20:47)

The last part of this statement reflects on the fact that when the man of a household would die, the temple would seize the property in order to support the Pharisees' compensation.

Jesus also discussed this as he spoke of being the real shepherd:

"The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep." (John 10:12-13)

What is a 'hired hand'?

The "hired hand" is distinguished from the shepherd because the "hired hand" is being paid for his efforts. Thus their focus is being paid, not in serving the Supreme Being or saving their followers.

This is not only the setup of the ecclesiastical Jewish temples of Jesus' day. It is also how many of today's institutions are set up. The preacher is paid for their service. The service is not voluntary. They are in effect, "hired hands."

When a person is paid to be a preacher, they are receiving their reward already. This is not the same as serving the Supreme Being. When a person serves the Supreme Being, they do not expect or request any payment in return for their service. They are focused on pleasing God.

And service to the Supreme Being is the central means to returning to the spiritual realm at the time of death:

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)

This question of whether a person is fit to enter heaven - the spiritual realm - is confirmed in Jesus' statement in Luke 14 above, as Jesus speaks of the "resurrection of the righteous." What is this?

What did Jesus mean by 'resurrection'?

The word "resurrection" is translated from the Greek word ἀνάστασις (anastasis) - which means, "a raising up" or "rising" as well as "rising from the dead" according to the lexicon.

This means that someone will be "rising" at the time of the death of the gross physical body. Who will be rising? If you have ever seen a dead body, you can know that the body certainly doesn't rise. It just lays there and begins to decompose. Such a dead body becomes lifeless - and the personality that was exhibited when the body was alive is now gone.

Who is that personality? Each of us portrays a distinct personality. We are each persons - exhibited by our distinct personalities.

In a dead body just after it dies, every part of the body - every organ including the brain - and every cell in the body - and every molecule that makes up each cell - will still be there. No material particle is missing. What has changed then? The only thing that has changed is the fact that the person - the personality - has left the body.

How has the person or personality left the body? It has "risen" up from the body, leaving the body behind.

Such a notion is confirmed by science. To date, millions of people have experienced death followed by their body being revived - called clinical death. In many of these - when the person remembers the event - they describe rising up from the body and looking down at the body from the ceiling. Some have accurately described doctors and hospital staff performing emergency efforts to revive the body - even though their body's eyes were closed, face covered, and brain and vital signs all showing no life within the body.

We can only conclude - confirmed here by Jesus with the word ἀνάστασις (anastasis) or "resurrection" - that each of us will leave our physical body at the time of death. We will each "rise" - "resurrect" - from our bodies at the time of death.

What is the 'resurrection of the righteous'?

Yet Jesus also adds another element to this rising from the physical body at the time of death - described by the word δίκαιος (dikaios) - translated to "righteous."

Here is Thayer's Lexicon's definition of this Greek word:

"righteous, observing divine laws - in a wide sense, upright, righteous, virtuous, keeping the commands of God - of those who seem to themselves to be righteous, who pride themselves to be righteous, who pride themselves in their virtues, whether real or imagined - innocent, faultless, guiltless."

Elsewhere, Jesus describes this type of resurrection:

"At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven." (Matt. 22:30)

Jesus is thus describing the person who "resurrects" or "rises" - leaves the physical body - cannot be applied to physical laws such as marriage. The person (the self, the soul) - has a spiritual composition. This is compared to "the angels of heaven."

Thus we can understand that Jesus is speaking of the moment of death when the person - the spiritual self - rises from the gross physical body.

Jesus then discussions the element of judgment. Each of us will be judged at the time of death for our activities within this lifetime:

"Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

This means the time of death - when we rise - or resurrect - from the gross physical body, we will be repaid for our activities that have remained unpaid during our lifetime.

Jesus mentioned this elsewhere:

"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." (Matt. 6:1)

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full." (Matt. 6:2)

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full." (Matt. 6:5)

We can thus see from Jesus' statements that one may be rewarded - receive consequences - in this lifetime, or receive those consequences after the death of the body.

The difference lies with where our activities are geared towards. What our motivations are. They may be geared towards self-centeredness or towards service to God. For someone who is focused upon gaining self-centered rewards from the material world - they will be rewarded here, in this life or the next life, from the material world in one physical body or another.

But for those whose focus is upon pleasing the Supreme Being, their reward will be within the spiritual realm. This is also confirmed by Jesus:

"Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward." (Matt. 10:41)

"Truly I tell you, no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life." (Luke 18:29-30)

Thus we can see that Jesus clearly states that what we do will have consequences in this lifetime or following our leaving our physical body ("resurrection") at the time of death.

We thus each have choices to make.

“The subjects of this world marry and are given in marriage ...." (Luke 20:34-38)

“The subjects of this world marry and are given in marriage. But those considered worthy to attain the other world – indeed, be resurrected from death – will neither marry nor are given in marriage. For they cannot die anymore because they are spiritual and are the servants of God – being the subjects of the resurrection. This is because those who die will rise up. Even Moses illustrated this in the verses about the burning bush, where he calls the LORD, ‘The God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ So He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Because all these live for Him.” (Luke 20:34-38)

This is Jesus' answer to the following question posed to Jesus by some Sadducees. (The translation comes from the Lost Gospels of Jesus.) Here is the question:

Then some sadducees – who say there is no resurrection1 – approached him. They asked him, “Teacher, Moses wrote that if a man’s brother – who has a wife and no children – dies, his brother should marry the wife and raise children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife and died childless. The second and the third married her and similarly, all seven died leaving no children. Then finally the woman died. Therefore, in the resurrection, which one’s wife will she be? For all seven had married her.” (Luke 20:27-33)

Is Jesus clarifying the meaning of resurrection?

Thus we see that Jesus is clarifying the meaning of resurrection - translated from the Greek word ἀνάστασις (anastasis) - which means "a raising up" or "rising from the dead" according to the lexicon.

So what is rising up in resurrection? To rise from the dead means the person is rising up from the dead body. The dead body obviously does not rise, because after the time of death the dead body begins to decompose. Without formaldehyde, a dead body will completely decompose within a year or so. It will be eaten and digested by worms. Even the bones will begin to break down and turn into soil after a while - leaving little trace of the dead body.

For many, the body is cremated. Here we know the body won't rise because it is burnt to ashes. The ashes are spread over some water or soil to become part of the environment.

Obviously, what rises at the time of death is not the physical body. It is the personality within - the spirit-person - the one who drives and operates the physical body.

This is clearly being defined by Jesus as he describes the fact that the spirit-person has nothing to do with the physical body. This is why Jesus is saying that the woman would not be married to any of the brothers in the resurrection. Because the marriage took place within the physical universe, between physical bodies.

This is why Jesus said, "The subjects of this world..." He is speaking of those who are wearing temporary physical bodies. The physical body is temporary because every physical body dies within a few decades. Yes, every physical body dies. Yours will, and mine will. Every body dies.

What is 'the other world' Jesus mentions?

"The other world" Jesus is discussing is the spiritual realm. This is the world that exists beyond the physical dimension. It is the dimension where the Supreme Being dwells personally, surrounded by His loving friends and children - all living as spiritual beings.

There is no death in the spiritual realm. This is because everyone is in their original spiritual form, and everyone is eternal. Here in this physical world, we are not these physical bodies. We are driving these bodies temporarily. After a few decades, they die, and leave them. But our original spiritual forms do not die. One may occupy numerous physical bodies, and each one will die at some point. But the person - the spirit-person - lives on.

So why will no one marry or be given in marriage in the spiritual realm? Because marriage is an activity of the physical world - based upon self-centered desires mixed with a little love. People in the spiritual realm do not marry each other. Why? Because everyone there has a unique loving relationship with the Supreme Being.

Is the soul eternal?

The soul is spiritual and the spiritual realm has no death. According to Jesus, it thus has no marriage because every spirit-person has a loving service relationship with God.

Here in the physical world, we get married for the mutual benefit of the couple. Each person is seeking a combination of their own pleasure and the pleasure of their new partner. So they both see the marriage as a way to mutually get what they want out of life.

The spirit-person citizens of the spiritual realm don't see things in that way. They are simply in love with God and seek to please Him in any way they can. Each has a unique loving service relationship with God. There is thus no need for marriage.

Being "subjects of the resurrection" simply means those in the spiritual realm are above the realm of the physical world. It might be like calling people who graduated from a particular college, "graduates of that college."

What does he mean by 'because those who die will rise up'?

Jesus is stating clearly that the spirit-person leaves the physical body at the time of death. How clearer can Jesus be that we are not these physical bodies? Furthermore, one who is ready to return to the spiritual realm after the death of this physical body will rise up and return to the spiritual realm. This is the full meaning of "resurrection" according to Jesus.

The nature of the spiritual realm is that everything revolves around the Supreme Being. Here in the physical world, our consciousness revolves around ourselves. We are focused upon ourselves and the extensions of ourselves - the family of our physical body, the country of our physical body and so on.

In the spiritual realm, everyone is in love with the Supreme Being. They want to please Him. They live for God. Jesus indicates this as he discusses those Prophets who are devoted to God, such as Moses, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

What does Jesus mean by 'all these live for Him'?

"All these" refers to those who resurrect to return to the spiritual realm. This includes the Prophets such as Moses, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - from the sentence before this. Jesus is telling his audience that these Prophets are still alive. They have each returned to the spiritual realm, where they continue to live for the Supreme Being, as they had done in the physical world.

They "live for Him." What does "live for Him" mean?

It means that the Supreme Being is their heart and soul. He is their everything. The Supreme Being is the Perfect Person. He is the person we are each seeking as we search for "the one" - our "soul mate."

A true soul mate is someone who truly loves us. We may search the world over for such true love, but it is the Supreme Being who truly loves us. He loves each of us unconditionally. This is true, pure love - and each of us needs this love.

Yes, God is our real soul mate. He created us each with an innate loving relationship with Him. This is part of who we are. We cannot separate ourselves from this relationship. But we can, unfortunately, forget our relationship with Him.

Indeed, along with this innate relationship, He also gives each of us the freedom to choose if we want to embrace that relationship with Him.

Those who choose not to embrace our relationship with Him - those of us who have rejected Him - are sent to the physical world and forced to take on temporary physical bodies. These physical bodies and minds are designed by God to allow us to forget about Him. They cover up our relationship with God with the illusion that we are these physical bodies and the what the eyes see is all that exists.

These physical bodies essentially give us the freedom to not only forget God: We can also deny He even exists. God has completely hidden Himself from those of us in the physical world so that we can completely forget about Him - should we continue to choose to.

But those who choose to have faith in God's existence are tested for sincerity. They are given the opportunity to return to the spiritual realm as sincerity to love and serve Him increases. This is what Jesus describes as the choice to "live for Him."

“LORD, into Your Hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46)

Is Jesus dying on the cross when he says this?

Jesus states this as he leaves his physical body as it died on the cross. How do we know this?

Luke 23:46 continues with:

Having said this, he breathed his last.

The Book of Mark states:

Then Jesus cried out loudly, and his spirit passed. (Mark 15:37)

The Book of Matthew states:

After Jesus called out again with a loud voice, his spirit departed. (Matt. 27:50)

The book of John states:

And he bowed his head and released his spirit. (John 19:30)

So we find clear evidence from all four Gospels that the spirit of Jesus left his physical body at the time of death.

So what is the "spirit" of Jesus? It is the person Jesus - the soul - the person - the personality. As did Jesus, each of us is wearing a temporary physical body. When that body dies, the person - the spirit - the soul - leaves the physical body. This is why at the time of death, the physical body becomes lifeless. Because the spirit-person leaves the body at the time of death.

In the verses above, "spirit" is being translated from the Greek word πνεῦμα (pneuma). This word means, according to the lexicon:

"the spirit, i.e. the vital principal by which the body is animated; the rational spirit, the power by which the human being feels, thinks, decides; the soul; a spirit, i.e. a simple essence, devoid of all or at least all grosser matter, and possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, and acting"

These are all describing the self - the spirit-person. For example, "The vital principle by which the body is animated" means that the physical body is only alive due to the presence of the spirit-person, who "animates" the physical body. This is also the soul, according to the above definition.

Thus it is not as if we each have a soul: Each of us is a soul.

How do we know that Jesus' body died?

We know from the Gospels that indeed, Jesus' spirit-person did leave. His physical body became lifeless. This fact that Jesus' physical body was lifeless is confirmed when the soldiers went to break his legs and saw that his body was without life:

But when they came to Jesus’ body and saw it was dead already, they did not break his legs. (John 19:33)

This and other verses confirm that Jesus' physical body was lifeless. Jesus - the spirit-person - had left this physical body.

Jesus repeatedly confirmed that we are not these physical bodies:

And don’t fear those who can kill the body but are unable to kill the soul. (Matt. 10:28)

"The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt. 26:41 and Mark 14:38)

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. (Matt. 6:25 and Luke 12:22)

"The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life." (John 6:63)

"Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." (John 3:6)

In the above verses, we find clear evidence that Jesus taught that we are not these physical bodies. Rather, we are each a soul, spirit or spirit-person. Whatever you want to call us, each of us is temporarily occupying a gross physical body.

This can be compared to getting into an automobile and driving it away. When a driver sits in the driver's seat and drives the car away, the driver occupies the car. The driver does not become the car. At any time, the driver can stop the car, get out, and walk away.

In the same way, the spirit-person is released from the physical body at the time of death.

This understanding awakens a new paradigm regarding the concept of resurrection.

What is resurrection?

The resurrection that Jesus referred to in his teachings was the moment of death, when the spirit-person would rise up and leave the body. In fact, the very word "resurrection" means "to rise."

As Jesus taught, there were two types of resurrection: The resurrection "of the living" and the resurrection "of the dead." (Matt. 22:31-32)

There are two types of resurrection because, at the time of death, the spirit-person can be carried up to the spiritual realm to return to be with the Supreme Being. This is the resurrection of the living.

Or, should we reject our relationship with the Supreme Being, the spirit-person may leave his body and remain in the physical dimension - by occupying another physical body. This is the resurrection of the dead. It is a metaphorical use of the word "dead" - meaning spiritually dead. Meaning when a person's relationship with God is "dead."

This is precisely why Jesus offered himself ("my spirit") to the Supreme Being at the time of his body's death. He was giving himself to God. He was committing himself to God. He was dedicating his life to the Supreme Being.

This kind of dedication or commitment is the only kind that can last. Many will dedicate their lives to becoming wealthy, or to having a family, or to their occupation or their nation. These types of commitments may impress us, but they are all temporary. Once the spirit-person leaves the physical body they are all left behind. The commitment cannot be sealed because these are all based upon the temporary physical body.

But making one's commitment to loving and pleasing God is a permanent endeavor. The commitment continues after the body is dead and decomposed, because the spirit-person lives on to continue that dedication.

This commitment to God is also the goal of life. To surrender oneself to the Supreme Being is our ultimate purpose in life because we are God's children, and we were created to love Him and serve Him.

Committing ourselves to God with love is by definition, life. This is the mainstay of the teachings of Jesus, and the teachings of all the Prophets.

Why did Jesus choose these particular words?

Jesus was actually quoting a verse from one of David's Psalms. Jesus was giving tribute to David's commitment to God. Here is the verse with those leading up to it:

In You, LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in Your righteousness. Turn Your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since You are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of Your name lead and guide me. Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for You are my refuge. Into Your Hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, LORD, my faithful God. (Psalms 31:1-5, NIV)

As we can see, Jesus' statement, "Into Your Hands I commit my spirit" is a direct quote from David's Psalms.

This means that Jesus is feeling the rest of what David is saying. He is taking refuge in the Supreme Being. He is taking shelter in God.

This is not out of the blue. Throughout Jesus' ministry, he indicated his loving commitment to the Supreme Being:

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do what pleases Him who sent me and to complete His work." (John 4:34)

"By myself I can do nothing; As I hear, I make choices, and my choices are just because I do not seek to please myself but to please Him who sent me." (John 5:30)

"For I have descended from the spiritual realm not to please myself but to please Him who sent me." (John 6:38)

And he went a little farther and fell facedown and prayed, “O my LORD, if possible, please let this cup be taken from me – yet not what pleases me but what pleases You.” (Matt. 26:39)

So we see from these and other verses that Jesus had committed his life to loving and pleasing his beloved, the Supreme Being.

We find throughout the Gospels that Jesus was exchanging a loving relationship with the Supreme Being. This was what his life was about. And he illustrated this with his focused commitment to teaching us about our lost relationship with the Supreme Being.

Even in the face of being persecuted, Jesus continued to teach those around him how to come to know and love the Supreme Being. Even his most important teaching was this very principle:

“ ‘Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)