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Words of Wisdom
Statements The crowds were completely amazed at his teaching.—Mark 11:18, Contemporary English Version Jeff Mezera Jesus’ statements were often hard to understand. Many of his followers left him because his statements interrupted their lives. If they were to follow his words, their personal and social agendas would be upended and their political affinities drastically rearranged. Jesus spoke directly and with a force that resolved all ambiguities and settled all doubts. He spoke as a shepherd with tenderness to those who needed to be fed, but he spoke as a warrior and judge with boldness when addressing the wayward spiritual leaders of Israel. When we think of a title for Jesus, we think of Savior, Messiah, or Prophet. The word “teacher” is usually not the first to come to mind. However, Jesus is called a teacher several times including prophetically (see Matthew 23:8; 10:24,25; John 13:13,14; Joel 2:23, margin). Although Jesus was called rabbi (teacher), there were several differences between his teaching techniques and those used by the rabbis of his day. His egalitarian approach endeared the people to him and, consequently, the rabbis as a group made him their hated enemy. Jesus did teach in the synagogues but he often took his new faith to the people and taught them in the open fields, on the hills, near the sea, and in the countryside. He was different than the other rabbis in that he mingled with sinners, saints, and tax collectors. Even women, who were socially insignificant in that culture, were known to be his trusted friends. The children loved him. Early in Jesus’ ministry, his custom was to teach crowds (Mark 10:1). Jesus held the attention of large crowds for long periods of time. Several Scriptures describe his words’ mesmerizing power. w “The crowds were completely amazed at his teaching” (Mark 11:18, CEV). w “When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching” (Matthew 22:33, NIV). w “His teaching had captured the imagination of the people” (Mark 11:18, Phillips). w “The large crowd enjoyed listening to him” (Mark 12:37, NAS). w “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks” (John 7:46, NAS). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught principles for living a life of love, mercy, and purity of faith. Some consider these principles to be the Constitution of the Kingdom of God because they prepared the people for the law of love that will rule in God’s kingdom. While this may be true, Jesus’ statements resonated on a higher human level. They showed the way to live a richer life by following Jesus, the master teacher. Sermon on the Mount Jesus’ statements appealed to both the rational and emotional mind. They not only delivered a reasonable framework for the truth, but they also engendered in the hearers an intense desire to be involved. The hearers of Jesus’ words could now lead a life of significance because the truths resonated with the yearnings of their hearts. The timeless statements of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount confirmed things that the crowds already hoped to be true, that God’s love was for everyone and everyone could be godly by reflecting God’s love to others. The lives of the people were thus transformed by these beautiful truths because they delivered hope. The rational and emotional value of these truths was Jesus’ way of feeding the multitudes with spiritual food. For those who were simply hungry for truth, their spiritual hunger was addressed. But for those who wanted more, the Sermon on the Mount became their invitation to fulfill their spiritual needs. Mission Jesus carefully articulated truths from God. His primary desire was to do God’s will and to encourage others to follow. For example, on the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus said: “I always do the things that are pleasing to Him” (John 8:29, NAS). We should be like Jesus and make this our primary objective. Jesus’ life was an example to us. We should yield our own hearts entirely to the Father, and seek his ways. Our active pursuit of God’s will not only reveals the way to salvation to us, it provides a purity of life and a richness of significance in our lives through God’s promise to develop the fruit of righteousness in the garden of our hearts. The statements of Jesus were a test of spiritual maturity. They could only be received into an honest and ready heart. Many of his listeners were not ready. This is demonstrated in Jesus’ interaction with the crowds gathered near Capernaum. He said to them: “I am the bread of life … For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that of all that He has given me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day. Therefore the Jews were grumbling about him, because he said, I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” (John 6:35-41, NAS). The result of Jesus’ statement was grumbling by the hearers. Then Jesus took his teaching a step further explaining that he was greater than Moses who provided manna in the wilderness: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51, NAS). Although this statement provoked an argument among the crowd (vs. 52), Jesus was undeterred and continued with a statement directed at those who could not understand: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:53,54, NAS). Many of Jesus’ followers stumbled at these difficult statements because they either interpreted them as literal or were only interested in the food (John 6:26). Recognizing this weakness among his followers, Jesus asked them: “Does this cause you to stumble?” (John 6:61, NAS) He proceeded to prophesy about his resurrection: “What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?” (John 6:62, NAS). As a result of this difficult statement, many of his disciples withdrew and did not walk with him anymore, (vs. 66). By escalating the penetrating power of his statements, Jesus lost more and more of those who were previously interested. Jesus sought only those who would break free of their attachment to the world and seek understanding of the spiritual world. To these he would eventually teach the concept of consecration by sacrifice. To these, his emotionally challenging statements activated their spiritual senses and completed the intended effect in their hearts. This is seen when Jesus then turned to the twelve and asked: “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter perceived Jesus’ lesson and answered: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68,69, NAS). Jesus’ statements were not calculated to win the favor of the crowd and neither should ours be. Jesus was on a mission from his Father to do his Father’s will and so are we. Jesus did not hesitate to speak the whole counsel of God and we must not hesitate either. Jesus’ statements revealed God’s light to the world. They were full of meaning for those who would receive them properly. Jesus’ statements showed the pathway to be godly, but they also showed the path to God. Our statements should follow that pattern. Jesus varied his statements for his audience. To the people his statements were tender and encouraging, but to the rulers of Israel they were cutting. Regarding the collection of taxes he said: “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s” (Matthew 22:21). This emancipated the people’s hearts from the overbearing psychological oppression of the Pharisees and it also exposed the unrighteous authority assumed by that nominal religious system built by the Pharisees. As a religious group with a long history in the study of God’s law, the scribes and Pharisees should have known better. So why did they stumble at this statement of Jesus? Because, as a group, they sought fleshly significance and were not spiritually motivated. Through their spiritual ignorance and hardness of heart, they unwittingly repeated the mistakes of their fathers and once again led their nation into another “Babylonian” captivity, the diaspora. Hyperbole Occasionally, Jesus used hyperbole, deliberately overstating things for emphasis: “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26, NAS). Jesus did not mean that we were to hate our families or even our own lives. We know this because Jesus himself scolded the Pharisees for the sin of dishonoring their parents (Mark 7:9-13). Similarly, Jesus commanded us to love our enemies and those who persecute us (Luke 6:27). From Jesus’ use of hyperbole, it should be clear that we should place our love for Christ first and our love for earthly individuals and things second. Jesus used hyperbole to illustrate that we must set our priorities straight. In another use of hyperbole Jesus said: “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! You would be better off to go into life crippled than to have two hands and be thrown into the fires of hell [gehenna] that never go out. … If your eye causes you to sin, get rid of it. You would be better off to go into God’s kingdom with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell [gehenna].” (Mark 9:43-47, CEV). Jesus used hyperbole to call attention to the principle of self-control. If we look at something that might cause us to sin, we should immediately look away. We should instead look to the word of God and look for the things we can focus on to do what is pleasing to our heavenly Father, not ourselves. Likewise, if we are doing something that causes us to sin, we should stop doing it and replace it with something else. The apostle Paul said, “Think on these things” (Philippians 4:8). However, it is not enough to stop, for then the temptation is not completely eradicated. If we are idle and do not refocus on our spiritual goal, we will most likely return to the temptation. However, if we fill our minds with and spend our time focusing on the good things of God, we will have no time for those things which cause us to stumble. Here is another example of hyperbole: “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:3-5, NAS). Jesus used hyperbole to emphasize this point: take care of your own faults before trying to identify those of others. Looking at Jesus’ hyperbole without preconceptions yields fresh perspectives on his wit and the effectiveness of his statements to leave lasting images on the mind and change a heart. This curious blend of rational and emotional engagement is perhaps one of Jesus’ most enduring legacies to us and shows us how we ought to mentor others in the truth. The Rich Young Ruler, Peter, and Zaccheus A rich young man asked Jesus: “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16, NAS). When Jesus replied that he should keep the commandments, the young man asked, “Which ones?” This is an interesting question because as a follower of the law, he was supposed to keep all of them. Jesus answered: “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21, NAS). Jesus’ simple statement gave the young man a new standard of perfection. However, he could not embrace that new standard and so he went away sorrowful. The resulting follow-up question by Peter is strange, perhaps even arrogant, but Jesus’ response was tailor-made for Peter: “Then Peter answered and said to him, Behold, we have left everything and followed you; what then will there be for us?” (vs. 27, NAS). Peter essentially asked, “What’s in it for us?” Recognizing the failure of his followers to get the point, Jesus responded with this statement: “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28, NAS). Jesus’ reply not only restated the goal of following him, but also reassured Peter of the good news that would be for all mankind. Then Jesus gave the parable of the penny. One passage in the parable explains much: “Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own?” (Matthew 20:15, NAS). Like the householder of the parable, God is seeking individuals of exceptional character (regardless of how low each may start) and he dispenses gifts as it pleases him. Unlike Peter, we should not be concerned about the reward, but only with doing the will of God. As an early disciple with a willing heart, Peter was quick to do things without realizing the implications of his actions. By deconstructing Jesus’ response, we find a thoughtful reply to Peter’s outgoing personality. First, Jesus responded by reminding Peter of the apostles’ work of judgment in the resurrection. Second, Jesus responded with a parable, which pushed Peter to stretch the limits of his thought. Through this combination, Jesus opened Peter’s mind’s eye to spiritual understanding. In fact, far from discouraging a desire to get involved, Jesus sought followers who were full of faith and full of action. Peter was obviously one of them. Jesus took this opportunity to feed Peter’s desire with an answer that would expand Peter’s thinking. Jesus provided the answer Peter needed, but also gave him so much more to inspire him to do bigger things. Peter was not the only one who was quick to get involved. Zacchaeus’ response to Jesus’ similar call shows a ready heart, the good ground Jesus was seeking for the spiritual seed: “Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much” (Luke 19:8, NAS). Peter and Zacchaeus were excellent examples of hearts full of faith and eager for action. Jesus encouraged them and guided them with his statements that were calculated to stimulate their willing hearts. In Jesus’ criticism of the Pharisees, we see more examples of hyperbole: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” (Matthew 23:23,24, NAS). Justice, mercy, and faith were qualities that were missing in the Pharisees but were the very qualities the Lord, through the prophet Micah, told them to develop. “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8, NAS). Micah’s passage neatly summarized the spirit of the law. Righteousness was indeed God’s requirement and it could only be approached with a properly tended heart which the Pharisees lacked. They continued to be blind to their own egregious actions and, as a group, they sought fulfillment through meaningless traditions. But that wasn’t enough. They attacked the spirituality of others with rhetoric and political discourses that satisfied their need for relevancy in their own circles. They were seduced by a feeling of accomplishment and, consequently, their heart’s garden remained overgrown with error. Let us not be tempted by a feeling of accomplishment through reason and sophistry. Let us remember that our battle is with our flesh. Let us go forward with the sword of truth to conquer our own unholy human tendencies. Let us seek emotional engagement with our Lord and allow him to adorn our characters with justice, mercy, and faith in God. If we set ourselves apart for a holy purpose, we will be cooperating with the holy work that he has already begun in us. Puns In his strong condemnation of the Pharisees, Jesus used a pun, contrasting two similar sounding words in Aramaic to illustrate a point. “The pun in this saying is not at all evident in English, but in the Aramaic there is a clear play on words. The Aramaic reveals that Jesus is not merely contrasting the size of a camel with the size of a gnat, for why not contrast a gnat with a tree or with an elephant? Jesus’ use of the term ‘camel’ is because in Aramaic ‘camel’ and ‘gnat’ both look alike and sound alike. In Aramaic the word for gnat is galma and the word for camel is gamla. Jesus in his example made a pun. What he said was, ‘You blind guides, you strain out a galma but turn around and swallow a gamla!’ ”—Robert H. Stein, The Method and Message of Jesus’ Teachings, 1994, p. 13. Other word plays are found in Jesus’ comparison of “Peter” and “rock”: “In Aramaic, the play on words is even more pronounced since the same term kepha served as both the proper name and word for rock.”—ibid., p. 13. This is also true in John 3:8 where Jesus spoke about the spirit: “In Aramaic the word for ‘wind’ and the word for ‘spirit’ are the same—ruha. Jesus therefore is saying, ‘The ruha blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it … so it is with everyone who is born of the ruha.’ ” —ibid., p. 14. Similes Jesus used similes to forge enduring word pictures for ease of learning. A simile connects two things that are not similar with the words “like,” “as,” “seems,” or “than.” Most of Jesus’ similes, while not classified as parables, illustrate allegorical principles.
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“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the
midst of wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew
10:16, NAS). Quotations of Scripture During the temptation in the wilderness, Jesus spoke plainly and directly to the adversary. He did not ask Satan a question, use metaphor, or perform a miracle. Jesus simply quoted Scripture. His unambiguous responses showed his desire to do the will of God rather than show his own authority. The Scriptural quotations were well chosen and, by themselves, denounced the wrangling of the devil. The lesson for us is that we should also use Scripture when confronted by temptation. The Scriptures have the power and light of God. They are our shining light and if we let them speak for themselves, they will help us meet the test of temptation and show us the proper course in the narrow way. When preaching, Jesus began with the needs of the people: their hurts, their sad lives under the curse of Adamic death, and the oppression of Roman rule. This is evident in his first teaching in Nazareth when he read from the prophet Isaiah: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18,19). Anointing or appointment was God’s method to set apart kings, priests, and prophets in the Old Testament. But God set Jesus apart from all of these because he was the fulfillment of prophecy and not just the messenger. Jesus’ work was not only to heal physical ailments such as blindness, but also to open Israel’s spiritual understanding and heal their hardened hearts. We should similarly allow God to set us apart for this same holy purpose. As heirs according to the promise and as joint-sacrificers, we should follow Jesus’ example and seek to open up the eyes of the blind to spiritual understanding and help heal their hearts. Prayers Like Jesus’ early words in the Sermon on the Mount, his words during the walk with his disciples to Gethsemane were carefully crafted. He knew this was his last message to them before he would suffer and his words were to leave a lasting impression. He left them and us with messages of gladness for his finished work, anticipation for its completion, and warnings about false teachers. He entrusted the care of his followers to his Father, and prayed not only for our protection, but also for our unity in service and love. Jesus’ statements and prayers were not only for his immediate followers, they were recorded for our benefit as well. Through his statements, Jesus gave us the words of salvation, wisdom, guidance, and an example to follow as we strive to live like him, and teach as he did. |