The Lost Message of Jesus
Centuries of Ritual and Division have Eviscerated The Gospels
May 30, 2009
What is the message of Jesus? It can be argued that his message began to lose focus and meaning within a generation of the events mentioned in the Gospels. Centuries after those events, hundreds of different faith traditions interpret that message differently, many denying communion with each other and consigning those with differing opinions to eternal perdition.
Jesus the Teacher and Prophet
During his brief ministry, Jesus excluded no one. He healed a Centurion’s child; he gave new life to a Samaritan woman of ill repute. He treated men and women equally, had followers that were rich as well as poor, and preached a simple message that could be understood by everyone, even the intellectuals like Nicodemus who had to have that simple message explained. (John 3)
In Matthew 4, the writer describes Jesus early in his ministry, teaching in synagogues, “and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom…” (4:23) “Gospel” can be translated as “good news” from the Greek root term. In Matthew 6:10, Jesus, teaching his disciples to pray, says, “Thy kingdom come…”
What is the kingdom of God? Some believe it pertains to an eternal state. In Matthew 25:34 Jesus, in referring to the separation of the sheep and the goats, addresses the sheep by stating that the “kingdom [was] prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
But that kingdom is also an earthly or everyday life experience, as seen in Matthew 25:46. The sheep were “the righteous.” They fed the hungry, clothed the naked, invited in the stranger, and visited the sick as well as those in prison. Jesus described a way of life.
The Basic Elements of God’s Kingdom
Matthew and Luke were written long after the death of Jesus; Mark’s Gospel probably dates to ca 68-70 AD while John’s comes at the end of the century. Regardless of whether one subscribes to a literal view or one of the many modernist views of the New Testament, certain elements of Jesus’ teachings remain a constant.
This includes the admonition to be righteous. Just as the kingdom of God belonged to children (Matthew 19:14ff), so it posed difficulties for others whose ambitions and wealth blinded them by transient goals (Mark 10.24). The righteous saw everyone as their neighbor (Luke 10:29) and acted accordingly.
Jesus taught that to love one’s neighbor was akin to loving oneself. But this sense of personal individuality was predicated on one’s relationship to loving God and defined by everyday righteousness. Salvation, for Jesus, was not an altar call or a limited decision; it was a conscious resolve to live out a divine ethic.
Practicing Tough Love in the Style of Jesus
In Matthew 21:12 a very masculine and angry Jesus enters the massive temple grounds and casts out the buyers and sellers, overturning the tables of the money-changers. Mark 11:15 indicates that this was Jesus’ first act after entering Jerusalem.
The temple was a “house of prayer.” Worldly commerce had no place in this environment. Further, the money-changers and merchants capitalized on religious ritual. For several days, Jesus taught the multitudes at those same grounds, replacing ritual with the message of righteousness.
The Bipartisan Church
Christianity, like politics, has devolved into different spheres of influence, burying the simple message of Jesus. Roman Catholics deny full communion with non-Catholics. Some Evangelical, fundamentalist groups believe that they have the only true path to eternal salvation. Other groups, like the Mormons (LDS), hold to three eternal kingdoms in which only Mormons can achieve the “Celestial Kingdom.”
The kingdom of God is a lifestyle not identified with any particular faith tradition. Jesus did not intend to found a “church,” but to chart the path to righteous living. As he said himself several times, this simple dictum would be hard to follow for those with other agendas and areas of focus.
Source:
- New American Standard Bible, reference edition (Chicago: Moody Press, 1973).
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