Over
the past 30 plus years I have spent a great deal of time working to understand
the life, teachings and movement of the Jesus that took place between 6 BCE and
27 CE in Galilee, Judea and Samaria. Over the years I have met a lot of people
that tell me they really want to accurately understand what Jesus taught when
we first met. However, as they began to learn what he taught, it became clear
that they left something out of their statement when we first met:
I really want to know what Jesus taught -- as
long as it supports what I believe!
It’s
probably pretty safe to say that what most Christians believe about Jesus and
what he taught differ significantly. So, why is it such a big deal when people
discover that they differ? The reason is that in modern Christianity people are
told that going to heaven when they die is based on “believing in Jesus.” When I
ask people what that means, their answers are usually one of these:
● believe
that Jesus existed
● believe
that Jesus is the Son of God
● believe
that Jesus is God
But
when we look at who will enter eternal life in the teachings of Jesus, we
discover some very different requirements:
● giving
food to the hungry
● giving
drink to the thirsty
● giving a stranger a place to stay
● giving clothes to the naked
● visiting the sick
● going to see those in prison
Jesus
wasn’t giving a “do the above and go to
heaven check list.” This question
will help you understand what he was actually teaching:
If you had been
in the situations above – hungry, thirsty, homeless, naked, sick, imprisoned –
what would you want others to do for you?
Jesus
uses two terms to describe the acts above -- “acts of righteousness” & “acts
of love.” This wasn’t a program for organizations to do or a religious
ritual. Jesus was instructing his followers about how to interact with the
people they meet in the normal course of their lives. You may encounter people
with very different needs in the normal course of your life. They may be
lonely, afraid, unskilled, addicted, confused, oppressed, etc. When Jesus
taught “love your neighbor as yourself”
he understood that some neighbors will be
easier to love than others. We can choose to love -- but most of us can’t choose
who our neighbors are.
This
is the bottom line. The focus of Jesus was on life before death, while my church focused on life after death. It is easy for others to see how lives are
affected when people do what Jesus taught – people
are helped and lives are changed right here one earth. On the other hand,
it is impossible for anyone to check out what my church taught until they die –
and then it will be great or too late!
So, do you
really want to know what Jesus taught?
If the answer is
“Yes”, please let us know
If you
understand why sharing information like this makes it challenging
to raise the
funds it takes to do this work -- and
want to help –
People that
understand Jesus’ teachings
are urgently
needed in the world we live in today!
Please share
this blog with others.
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