For a hill men would kill.
Why? They do not know.
For Whom the Bell Tolls — Metallica
I touched on this subject briefly in my eBook, but I did not explore it in depth. My intent is not to preach, nor to antagonize anyone’s religious sensibilities. The following notes are provided only as historical and textual context.
Jesus was never afraid to confront the religious elites of his time. His words and actions challenged systems that placed power above truth. He spoke openly, even when it offended those who controlled the temple and its hierarchy.
In that same spirit, this work does not avoid difficult subjects. It seeks clarity, not comfort. The goal is to restore understanding of the original Torah pattern — a covenant built on justice, compassion, and direct accountability to God, not to institutions.
In the first century, Samaritans were treated as second-class citizens within Judea. This was because of religious differences, not ethnicity.
Because they followed older Israelite traditions, they were often called the “lost sheep of Israel.”
When Jesus said he was sent to the “lost sheep of Israel,” he was using a phrase already known in his time. It referred to northern Israelites who lived outside the Jerusalem temple system and kept the older covenant practices.
The term did not mean “lost” in a modern sense. It meant “those left outside by their leaders.”
This fits the historical situation of Samaritans and many Galileans. They followed Torah directly, without temple hierarchy, and were treated as outsiders by the southern elite. When Jesus uses this phrase, he is identifying his mission with these northern Torah-first communities.
Samaritans kept a form of Judaism built on:
This was a Torah-first tradition, older and simpler than the temple system in Jerusalem.
If one reads the gospels with the understanding that Jesus lived inside this northern Torah world, his teachings and ministry become straightforward. The patterns line up cleanly.
It is an exact pattern match.
Jesus grew up in Nazareth, a small village in Galilee, close to the border of Samaria. Galilee and Samaria shared older Israelite traditions and were not tightly controlled by Jerusalem. People moved freely between the two regions.
Because of this, Jesus lived in a Samaritan-friendly environment, shaped by simple Torah teaching rather than temple hierarchy.
This northern world preserved the older covenant pattern: Torah first, prophets second, no temple monopoly, no top-down rulership.
In the original Torah pattern, teaching was done by speaking among the covenant figures themselves. It was not built around temples, shrines, or royal structures.
Moses taught this way. Elijah taught this way. Jesus taught this way.
This is why Jesus often taught outdoors, in villages, on hillsides, and in open spaces. His teaching style followed the older covenant method, not the later temple-builder system.
The Transfiguration shows this pattern clearly. On Mt. Tabor, Jesus appears with Moses and Elijah — three figures who all stand inside the original Torah tradition.
They are shown talking among themselves, while the disciples watch but do not know what to say. The Greek text says Peter “did not know what to say,” not that he “could not understand.” This shows covenant incomprehension, not a language problem.
Peter responds with temple-logic: “Should we build shelters?” Jesus rejects the idea immediately.
This moment shows that the covenant pattern is speech, not building.
And when the voice says, “This is my son, and with him I am well pleased,” it is spoken into a scene containing three covenant carriers. In Jesus’s time, all Jews saw themselves as “sons of God,” so the statement is not about exclusivity. It is about affirming the covenant pattern Jesus is actively carrying — the same pattern Moses and Elijah represent.
Jesus visited the Jerusalem temple only a few times. Each visit was confrontational.
Jesus never taught inside the sanctuary. He taught near the temple, in the public courts, where anyone could listen. This shows he was outside the builder-logic system while still confronting it.
His actions match the northern prophetic pattern: challenge corruption, reject hierarchy, return to Torah.
Because Jesus lived inside the original Torah pattern, his statements make perfect sense:
These are covenant statements, not temple statements. They come from the same identity Moses and Elijah carried. Jesus was not creating a new religion. He was restoring the older covenant pattern that existed before kings, before temples, and before builder-logic.
The Book of Revelation continues this same structure.
This is the final form of the same pattern Moses, Elijah, and Jesus were speaking on Mt. Tabor.
Revelation closes the builder-logic era and restores the original Torah architecture.
It is an exact pattern match.