What did Jesus Say? For Discussion not Debate.

[Kenny]

John 6:63 The Spirit can make life. Sheer muscle and willpower don’t make anything happen. Every word I’ve spoken to you is a Spirit-word, and so it is life-making. But some of you are resisting, refusing to have any part in this.”

The power of His words.

 

[Deeje]

Great thread!!

Jesus gave two principles by which all of his disciples must live....
1) We are to 'love God (the Father) with all that we are and all that we have....mind, heart and soul'.
2) We are to 'love our neighbor as ourselves'.....'doing to them what we would want done to ourselves'. Volumes could be written just on those two commands.

But if we know what Jesus teaches about how to worship God i.e. "with spirit and truth" (John 4:24) then we will be aware of God's standards on morality and the importance of not bringing human ideas into our worship. This was the undoing of both Judaism and Christendom. By introducing ideas from outside influences and human thinking, both were hopelessly corrupted. The role and identity of the Messiah was distorted by both of these religious systems, but significantly, it was foretold that this would happen.

So in a nutshell, Jesus gave the more important things in Matthew 19:16-24......

16 Now look! someone came up to him and said: “Teacher, what good must I do to gain everlasting life?” 17 He said to him: “Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good. If, though, you want to enter into life, observe the commandments continually.” 18 He said to him: “Which ones?” Jesus said: “You must not murder, you must not commit adultery, you must not steal, you must not bear false witness, 19 honor your father and your mother, and you must love your neighbor as yourself.”'20 The young man said to him: “I have kept all of these; what am I still lacking?” 21 Jesus said to him: “If you want to be perfect, go sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come be my follower.” 22 When the young man heard this, he went away grieved, for he had many possessions. 23 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Truly I say to you that it will be difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of the heavens. 24 Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to get through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.”

 

[PruePhillip]

In a previous, recent thread it was claimed that Jesus' message was to "be nice" and the rest was less significant.

What do you think? What are the important lessons taught by Jesus? Please share your opinion backed up with verses from scripture.

I respectfully request:

• No preaching
• No debating
• Limit responses to Jesus' words as presented in scripture

Thank you,

Fundamentally Jesus was pointing out that most people are "nice"
but that wasn't the point.
It was love and obedience to God which was necessary for salvation.

Many who rejected God were "nice" people, ie those who rejected
the wedding feast because of a marriage or a business. Things
which are necessarily important. And the Pharisee who cared for
his children was "nice."

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

I think his best words can be summed up with: "Don't Be Evil." Everything else pretty much follows that one.

 

[Deeje]

Is this what Jesus intended when these words were spoken? Was Jesus speaking about his death? ( assuming the story is true, the quote is accurate, etc... )

note: i have no knowledge of this quote, its context, or the story of Jesus. I literally know nothing.

Matthew 16 is short but full of enlightening truths.

After asking who his disciples thought he was, they answered that they knew he was the Christ...."the son of the Living God". Jesus then gave Peter an assignment, giving him the symbolic "keys of the Kingdom", which opened the way for believing Jews as well as Gentiles to become citizens of the Kingdom of God, which the Jews of that time believed to be earthly, rather than heavenly.

Matthew 16:21-27 continues....
"From that time forward, Jesus began explaining to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed, and on the third day be raised up. 22 At this Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying: “Be kind to yourself, Lord; you will not have this happen to you at all.” 23 But turning his back, he said to Peter: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you think, not God’s thoughts, but those of men.”

Here Peter is expressing a human sentiment rather than appreciating why the Messiah had to offer up his life.
Jesus rebuked him for seeing the fulfillment of his mission in emotional human terms.

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “If anyone wants to come after me, let him disown himself and pick up his torture stake [stauros] and keep following me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 Really, what good will it do a man if he gains the whole world but loses his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life? 27 For the Son of man is to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will repay each one according to his behavior."

Jesus was telling his disciples that tough times were ahead of them and like Jesus, many of them would likely experience the same treatment that he did. Jesus carried his 'stauros" with no thought for his own well being. He was supporting his Father's sovereignty and giving his life for the humanity he loved and had helped to create. The disciples had to be prepared to do the same. (John 15:19-21) Just as Jesus had had a measure of success in his ministry, despite the intense opposition, so would they.

Those who give their lives for the sake of the Kingdom, have a promise from God that they will regain it...either as spirit creatures who will assist Jesus as kings and priests in heaven, (Revelation 20:6) or as their earthly subjects. (Revelation 21:2-4)

The Kingdom of God was the theme of Jesus' entire ministry and yet most "Christians" can't tell you what it is.

 

[shunyadragon]

In a previous, recent thread it was claimed that Jesus' message was to "be nice" and the rest was less significant.

What do you think? What are the important lessons taught by Jesus? Please share your opinion backed up with verses from scripture.

I respectfully request:

• No preaching
• No debating
• Limit responses to Jesus' words as presented in scripture

Thank you,

Partial list

Luke 2:46 Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.

Matthew 21:12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.

Matthew 21:23 When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?"

Mark 11:15 Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves;

Mark 11:27 They came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to Him,

Luke 19:45 Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling,

John 2:14 And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.

John 10:23 it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon.

John 7:14 But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and began to teach.

 

[usfan]

He said a lot.. and it revolutionized the world..
..since i quoted these in another thread, I'll include them here, to exemplify the opposition to the World and its systems..

Matt.23:But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers.9And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11The greatest among you will be your servant. 12For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted

Matt.16:13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

John 4:25The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

 

[MonkeyFire]

The bible begins and ends with good and evil, and in the middle of time Jesus teaches non-resistance which is the same thing as being passive (anti-violence and anti-good/evil).

 

[dybmh]

Partial list

Luke 2:46 Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.

Matthew 21:12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.

Matthew 21:23 When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?"

Mark 11:15 Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves;

Mark 11:27 They came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to Him,

Luke 19:45 Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling,

John 2:14 And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.

John 10:23 it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon.

John 7:14 But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and began to teach.

In your [ opinion , knowledge , experience ] what is the lesson being taught by these verses?

 

[blü 2]

In a previous, recent thread it was claimed that Jesus' message was to "be nice" and the rest was less significant.

What do you think? What are the important lessons taught by Jesus? Please share your opinion backed up with verses from scripture.

I respectfully request:

• No preaching
• No debating
• Limit responses to Jesus' words as presented in scripture

Thank you,

The problem is that there's not one Jesus in the NT but five, possibly more.

The difference between the Jesuses of Paul, of Mark, of Matthew and Luke, and of John, are substantial.

If we're looking for commonalities, it's arguable that Paul, Mark, Matthew and Luke, unlike John, share the message (in common with JtB), 'Get ready, the Kingdom of God on Earth is imminent, will happen in your lifetime.'

It's also clear from Mark, and also found in the garden scenes of the others, but not Paul, that Jesus' mission from the start was meant to end in his death, though the tone of that death is different in all four gospels, from Mark's sad and agonized Jesus who asks why God has forsaken him to John's confident, in-charge figure who instead commends his spirit to God. (I've never understood why Jesus' death was necessary.)

But I leave it to others to pick out which (if any) other parts of the messages of the various Jesuses is the essence of gospel teaching.

 

[PruePhillip]

The problem is that there's not one Jesus in the NT but five, possibly more.

The difference between the Jesuses of Paul, of Mark, of Matthew and Luke, and of John, are substantial.

If we're looking for commonalities, it's arguable that Paul, Mark, Matthew and Luke, unlike John, share the message (in common with JtB), 'Get ready, the Kingdom of God on Earth is imminent, will happen in your lifetime.'

It's also clear from Mark, and also found in the garden scenes of the others, but not Paul, that Jesus' mission from the start was meant to end in his death, though the tone of that death is different in all four gospels, from Mark's sad and agonized Jesus who asks why God has forsaken him to John's confident, in-charge figure who instead commends his spirit to God. (I've never understood why Jesus' death was necessary.)

But I leave it to others to pick out which (if any) other parts of the messages of the various Jesuses is the essence of gospel teaching.

There are possibly five women in my mother.
She is mostly calm, cool and collected.
Some see her as being a tad vindictive.
Some see her as a bit scattery.
Sometimes she can be witty in a very dry way
And yes, there is the loving sentimental mother.

John saw Jesus as the elder brother
Luke saw him as the fulfillment of prophecy
Matthew saw him as the teacher
Peter saw him as Lord and Master

The varying perspectives show Jesus isn't some
single dimensional, redacted, cartoonish figure.

 

[Jim]

In a previous, recent thread it was claimed that Jesus' message was to "be nice" and the rest was less significant.

What do you think? What are the important lessons taught by Jesus? Please share your opinion backed up with verses from scripture.

I respectfully request:

• No preaching
• No debating
• Limit responses to Jesus' words as presented in scripture

Thank you,

- He teaches us to call God “Father.”
- He calls His gospel a “gospel of the Kingdom,” and tells many stories to explain what He means by that.
- He teaches us that what a word means, coming from God, can be very different from what it means in any other context.
- He gives us a new commandment which looks like an old one but is actually very much different.
- He teaches us to free ourselves from the tyranny of our desires by surrendering our will to His, equating that with surrendering to the will of God.

In my view, any gospel without God in Jesus at its heart and center, is not the gospel of Jesus.

 

[The Anointed]

In a previous, recent thread it was claimed that Jesus' message was to "be nice" and the rest was less significant.

What do you think? What are the important lessons taught by Jesus? Please share your opinion backed up with verses from scripture.

I respectfully request:

• No preaching
• No debating
• Limit responses to Jesus' words as presented in scripture

Thank you,

What did Jesus say?

Only that which he was commanded to say by the Lord, who put HIS words into the mouth of the man Jesus who he chose as the earthly vessel through which he would reveal himself to the world.

it was JHWH, who said to Moses in Deuteronomy 18:18-19; "I will send them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put 'MY WORDS' in his mouth, and he and he shall speak to them all that I command, and whosoever will not heed 'MY WORDS,' which he shall speak in 'MY NAME' I will punish, etc.

The words that came out of the mouth of Jesus, were the words of JHWH, not the words of the man Jesus,

 

[blü 2]

There are possibly five women in my mother.
She is mostly calm, cool and collected.
Some see her as being a tad vindictive.
Some see her as a bit scattery.
Sometimes she can be witty in a very dry way
And yes, there is the loving sentimental mother.

John saw Jesus as the elder brother
Luke saw him as the fulfillment of prophecy
Matthew saw him as the teacher
Peter saw him as Lord and Master

The varying perspectives show Jesus isn't some
single dimensional, redacted, cartoonish figure.

But ─ to take one example ─ one part of her was not born into an ordinary Jewish family, and grew up an ordinary person until it became popular to be baptized by an itinerant holy man, at which point God adopted her as his daughter (Mark), while another part of her was born of a virgin after heavenly messengers foretold it and her mother was impregnated by the holy spirit (Matthew, Luke), while another part of her had always lived in heaven and had created the material universe (Paul and John) and had became incarnate as the Logos in an unspecified manner (John).

And one part of her didn't think the essential job in hand was to warn people that the Kingdom was immanent (Paul, Mark, Matthew, Luke) while another thought that wasn't going to happen (John).

And so on.

(The author of Mark, who wrote what is in substance the only biography of Jesus, devised his story from what he took to be messianic prophecies in the Tanakh, and moved Jesus through them. The author of Matthew thought the story needed certain corrections and additions. The author of Luke thought they both hadn't got it quite right and wrote his correcting version. The author of John, coming a decade or two later, did a similar thing but with a much freer hand.

This being the process, it's impossible to tell if there was ever an historical Jesus at all. But that's for another thread.)

 

[Faithofchristian]

"Love thy neighbor as thyself" pretty much sums it up.

But the question is according to the Bible,
Who's the neighbor ?

 

[Fool]

In a previous, recent thread it was claimed that Jesus' message was to "be nice" and the rest was less significant.

What do you think? What are the important lessons taught by Jesus? Please share your opinion backed up with verses from scripture.

I respectfully request:

• No preaching
• No debating
• Limit responses to Jesus' words as presented in scripture

Thank you,

the golden rule, or the Law is based upon the law of reciprocity

the whole of what jesus said was summed up in two commandments. love others as self and would want to be loved. the love of self and the second love of other as self is like the first love.


Matt 22:35-Matt 22:40 KJV Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

 

[exchemist]

In a previous, recent thread it was claimed that Jesus' message was to "be nice" and the rest was less significant.

What do you think? What are the important lessons taught by Jesus? Please share your opinion backed up with verses from scripture.

I respectfully request:

• No preaching
• No debating
• Limit responses to Jesus' words as presented in scripture

Thank you,

I'm not sure how you can have a discussion without any debate. Be that as it may, this link discusses what is probably considered the most important teaching: Great Commandment - Wikipedia

 

[exchemist]

But the question is according to the Bible,
Who's the neighbor ?

The answer to which Jesus immediately gave, when someone asked him that, by means of the parable of the Good Samaritan.

 

[Faithofchristian]

The answer to which Jesus immediately gave, when someone asked him that, by means of the parable of the Good Samaritan.

The Samaritans were people that were half breed Jews,
That lived along side Israel, which were Israels neighbor.
The Samaritans worship the same God as did Israel.
Let's for say, there's a person who attends a church every Sunday, they are not a member, thereby being the neighbor.

Once they become a member of the church, then they are no longer a neighbor, but a brother/sister of the church.

The same with the Samaritans, they were not of Israel, thereby being the neighbor to Israel.
Even though the Samaritans were half breed Jews. They were still Israel neighbor

 

[exchemist]

The Samaritans were people that were half breed Jews,
That lived along side Israel, which were Israels neighbor.
The Samaritans worship the same God as did Israel.
Let's for say, there's a person who attends a church every Sunday, they are not a member, thereby being the neighbor.

Once they become a member of the church, then they are no longer a neighbor, but a brother/sister of the church.

The same with the Samaritans, they were not of Israel, thereby being the neighbor to Israel.
Even though the Samaritans were half breed Jews. They were still Israel neighbor

Er, yes?