The Hard Sayings of Jesus

THE HARD SAYINGS OF JESUS

CHAPTERS 1-20

As a Christian and a bible student there is on greater subject than Jesus. No other person has effected history more than Jesus; some say he was a prophet, some say he was a great teacher, and others just think he was crazy. But, to those of us who know him to be the Son of God it is very important to understand his teachings.

Throughout Jesus ministry on earth he made a number of statements that went misunderstood both then and now. However it is important as followers of Christ to understand the teachings of his ministry. The author of this book starts off with one of Jesus' toughest sayings. The saying is found in John 6:53 were he says that, "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." To an orthodox Jew this comes off as pure heresy. The Law of Moses forbids cannibalism and drinking blood. However the writer explains this statement as a gradual revelation of who He was. The writer, F.F. Bruce started with the feeding of the 5,000 on (pg 21) and the walking on the water, then in a teaching in the synagogue about manna (Exodus 16:13-36 or Numbers11: 4-9). The story of the woman at the well, also pointed to the fact that Jesus was the Bread of Life and the Living water.

Another saying of Jesus that proved his power and authority on earth to forgive sins found in Mark 2:10, "The Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins." This saying of Jesus occurred before the healing of the paralytic. He was lowered in to the house were Jesus was at by his four friends. The reason the author gave for this being a hard saying is that only a spokesmen of God could say that god has forgiven their sins and they did not see Jesus as such authority.

I have noticed in Jesus ministry that he was often more strict than the Law; for example in Matthew chapter five Jesus makes a series of statements that start with, "For you have heard it was said ______ but I say______." Jesus addresses the subjects of murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, and retaliation or vengeance. It is in these dialogs that it is painfully obvious that the Sadducees did not understand the law. Although they were experts in the law, they did not understand the heart of the law. They made rules such as what constituted work on the Sabbath. This is why when the disciples were