Jesus Indeed: What Jesus Said about Eternal Life and Salvation

Jesus Indeed

What Jesus Said About Eternal Life And Salvation

By Joseph Torie

Published by Joseph Torie at Smashwords

Copyright 2014-2121 Joseph Torie

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Cover image courtesy of Nevaro at Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/users/nevaro-10596213/)

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Also published at Smashwords by Joseph Torie:

Talk With Jesus (English version)

Talk With Jesus (Chinese Simplified version)

Freedom In God’s Spirit

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Table of Contents

See the end of the book for a more detailed Index, Including each Chapter and Section

Foreword

Chapter 1 — Jesus, The Foundation

Chapter 2 — While Every Word In The Bible Is True, Not Every Word Applies To Those Who Believe In Jesus

Chapter 3 — The Lord Keeps All His Promises And All The Contracts He Enters Into

Chapter 4 — Read The Gospels

Chapter 5 — Jesus' Different Messages To Different Types Of People

Chapter 6 — What Does The Lord Promise His Disciples?

Chapter 7 — Is Heaven Strictly Spiritual Or Also Physical?

Chapter 8 — Religious Hypocrisy And Spiritual Adultery

Chapter 9 — Marriage, Divorce And Adultery

Chapter 10 — Jesus And The Church

Chapter 11 — Personal Accountability

Chapter 12 — Judge Not, That You Be Not Judged (Matthew 7: 1)

Chapter 13 — Believers And ‘The Path Of Minimum Service’

Chapter 14 — Disciples Forsake All, Preach The Gospel Into All The World And Feed The Lord’s Lambs

Chapter 15 — To Be A Disciple, Grab The Power… Of God’s Spirit!

Chapter 16 — Religious Dogma Breeds Self-Righteousness

Chapter 17 — Paul’s Transgression And The Dangers Of Following Followers

Chapter 18 — Why Did James (Called 'The Lord's Brother') Lead The Jerusalem Church Back To The Law?

Chapter 19 — Salvation Is Not Hereditary And Is Received Only By Grace And By Faith

Chapter 20 — There Are No ‘Masters’ Except Jesus; Believers Are One And Equal To Each Other In The Lord

Chapter 21 — Jesus And Kingdom Come

Chapter 22 — The Saved, The Blessed And The Damned

Chapter 23 — God Didn’t Sent His Son Into The World To Condemn The World, But To Save It

Chapter 24 — The Lord’s Exceedingly Merciful Justice

Chapter 25 — Parables And Secrets Kept From The Foundation Of The World About Eternal Life And Salvation

Chapter 26 — Why To Be Saved Is Greater Than To Be Blessed With Eternal Life And Living In The New Earth?

Chapter 27 — Could The Saved Lose The Forgiveness Of Sins They Have Received Along With Salvation?

Thanks And Get In Touch

A few Words about the Author

Connect with Joseph Torie

Full Index

Foreword

Parentheses included in the text of quoted scriptures mark explanatory notes by the author. Those shouldn’t be understood as being part of Scripture, nor should they be quoted as part of the original Biblical text under any circumstance. Those explanations are just the author’s interpretations and views. Notice also that this study quotes the King James Version translation to English of the Bible, in a few cases slightly edited, although there are other equally good translations too. Finally, notice that some scriptures have been quoted more than one time in this text to address different aspects of the passage, and others because such are key scriptures and concepts in this study.

This book is dedicated to the people that would like to know Jesus, to those that already love and believe in Him, and to those that want to follow Him, by giving their lives to Him. The book doesn’t mean to either attack or defend religious Christian organizations, orders, groups or denominations, or anybody else, although as it speaks candidly on many subjects, some comments might reflect well or less so on the views of some groups of people. Those comments are necessary to uphold the central tenet of this study that Christians should base their faith above all on the words of Jesus, as the foundation, regardless of which group or Christian branch any believer might attend or belong to.

Therefore, these pages focus on the Words and Life of Jesus, as recorded in the Gospels and bases any claims on the authority of the words of Jesus. In that context, if any of the propositions of this book contradicts the Words of Jesus, the proposition should be considered invalid and nothing more than another guess or assumption. The author apologizes in advance if any such statements manage to creep into this text, due to ignorance, or lack of understanding or perspective. In addition, if the study presents a personal opinion or interpretation of the words of Jesus, the author is committed to make the fact very clear and to offer support and potential proofs of the assumptions based on the Words and deeds of Jesus, as recorded in the gospels.

Finally, this book is not meant to initiate long discussions about who is right and who is wrong, or to start more denominational or religious bellicose arguments. If you agree to check out this study, you do so at your own risk and it is offered as is, and without any guarantees of perfection. The author assumes you have the maturity of judgment to check out, read someone else’s opinions, benefit from the valuable ones and discard the not so valuable, without starting any more contentions and divisions. Enjoy!

Chapter 1 — Jesus, The Foundation

Come to Jesus!

The ultimate aim of this book is to point people to Jesus, not to the author of the book and not to any particular organization or association. If you are a member of one such organization, or if you are not, but you believe in Jesus, it is your individual responsibility to make sure you know whom you believe in. Jesus said to come unto Me (Jesus). This study aims to bring people closer to Him, the Savior, and it doesn’t aim to replace the words of Jesus, or to defend any particular organization or institution. Come unto me, all you that toil and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my burden upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11: 28 to 30). Jesus is the Savior and only He can save us. This study focuses on His words and on His life, as the Way to grow closer to Him!

The comments in this book, sometimes controversial, about Christian organizations don’t pretend to reform Christian institutions in any way, as those same institutions are responsible for their own affairs and decisions before the Lord. I am no judge of any group of people claiming to believe in the Lord. Jesus and His words are the judge. Therefore, the comments are offered just as further assistance to those that might wonder how they could benefit from the experiences and successes of organized Christian institutions while minimizing any possible pitfalls or disadvantages.

The Writers of the four Gospels

Before diving into the life and words of Jesus, let’s take a look at the four books of the New Testament that record His life in detail, the four gospels. The gospels writers, in the order their books appear in the New Testament are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They did a very good job of recording the life and actions of Jesus, as well as the different types of answers and comments He made, by simply recording verbatim what they heard. Two of those gospel writers recorded the firsthand experiences they had while being with the Lord. They simply recorded things they witnessed, whether they were able to grasp the real meaning of what Jesus was saying and doing or not. They did that because their faith in Jesus was greater than even their understanding of what He was saying or doing. In other words, they recorded the message He gave whether they could understand what the Master was talking about or not and even when Jesus’ message contradicted their deeply held traditions and views of God, His ways, and His Kingdom.

This characteristic of the four gospels makes the same an invaluable source of firsthand information and accounts of Jesus’ life and teaching, as the writers didn’t try to interpret or comment on what they wrote, but instead they just offered a testimony of what took place. An example of this is the time when Jesus said to a multitude of people, disciples and sympathizers that Verily, verily, I say unto you, except you eat the flesh of the Son of man (Jesus), and drink his blood; you have no life in you. Who eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6: 53 and 54).

This saying of Jesus was extremely offensive and repugnant to the Jews and even to many of His ‘disciples’, as the Mosaic Law forbade eating the blood of any creature and those that did were cut off from among the people of Israel. Needlessly to say, the Law opposed also any form of cannibalism or eating of human flesh. Regarding drinking the blood of any animal or creature, it is stated in the Law of Moses, And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel… that eats any manner of blood… I will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul (Leviticus 17: 10 to 12).

The objective and unprejudiced Records of the Gospels

So according to the Hebrew traditions and the Laws of Moses, which were a central part of His disciple’s upbringing, what Jesus was saying was a total heresy. The multitude of people who was listening to Jesus speak in that occasion, left at once and even many of His ‘disciples’ left after Jesus told them that they should eat His flesh and drink His blood. However, the twelve apostles stayed with Him, even if they couldn’t understand why Jesus had said such a thing.

John recorded in his gospel that even many of His disciples went back and walked no more with him (John 6: 66). Afterward, Jesus asked the twelve main disciples, the apostles, whether they Will also go away? (John 6: 67), but they stayed with Him, proving that they believed that Jesus was right even when it looked like His words and actions contradicted their most venerated traditions and religious beliefs. It is that faith most of His apostles had in Him that made them into such true witnesses and keepers of the Words. The accounts in the gospels of John and Matthew, who were among the twelve disciples, record what Jesus said and did ‘no matter what’, offering an unfiltered and unbiased record of who He is and what He said and did. In that sense, the gospels of John and Matthew offer the perfect environment for the readers to come and see for themselves (John 1: 46).

By the way, we don’t have to drink any ‘physical’ blood or eat any ‘physical’ flesh, as Jesus clarified to the remaining disciples after His shocking eat my flesh and drink my blood message. He said to them privately and after everybody else had forsaken Him, It is the spirit that quickens (that gives life); the flesh (His flesh or the blood of His flesh) profits nothing: the ‘Words that I speak unto you’, they are Spirit (Jesus’ Spirit), and they are Life (Jesus’ Life) (John 6: 63). That’s precisely what the gospels offers us, Jesus’ words unadulterated, and as they were delivered by the Lord, giving us His Spirit. This is why this book aims to base its main claims and conclusions solely on the Words and life of Jesus.

The existing minor Discrepancies between the Gospels show that the Records have not been tampered with, but that the Originals have been preserved faithfully

Some critics of the gospels have claimed and pointed to the minor discrepancies found in the records of the four gospels as a ‘proof’ that it is not possible to trust in their reliability. They claim that if there is a ‘mistake’ or discrepancy found, that’s a proof that the testimony is not valid. Curiously, some even claim that the few discrepancies prove that some of the reports are false. However, the same happens in the great majority of the records of history, in which there are in most cases some discrepancies between different accounts of the same event. In fact, studies about history take that as a mark of their authenticity, as records were written by different individuals, often separated by distance, time lapses and viewpoints. In other words, the existence of variations on different accounts is usually taken as a proof of legitimacy of the records and not of lack of authenticity.

In the case of the gospels, the minor discrepancies are also a proof that they were written by different witnesses and recorders at different locations and that their testimony is not ‘exactly’ the same. In other words, those discrepancies show that there had not been a subsequent doctoring or 'photoshopping' of the original texts to try to make them jive, to make them picture-perfect, or politically correct. In addition, a detailed, unprejudiced and carefully study of the gospels reveals that most of the apparent discrepancies are not such, but can be understood and explained in the general context.

Along the same line, another point often brought up by critics is that while the three so-called Synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) often refer to the same events and in a similar order, John includes passages that the others don’t, mentioning places and people that the other gospels don’t mention. Those critics try to use those poor arguments as an assumed proof of the lack of authenticity of the gospel of John. In reality, this is actually another mark of the authenticity of the gospels, as the writers weren’t trying to agree on what to write about and what not to, but instead were giving their own accounts of what they had seen and heard and as they have perceived.

John's Gospel

In the case of John's gospel, it is important to keep in mind that John, along with Peter and James, John’s older brother, were present in a number of events that the other disciples weren’t. For example, Jesus would often ask the rest of the twelve disciples and many of His other followers not to come along, while taking along the three mentioned individuals. One instance of this happened when Jesus resurrected the young daughter of … a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue (Luke 8: 41). When he arrived, the house was full with a crowd of Jairus’ relatives, friends and neighbors, who were mourning that his young daughter had passed away. And when He came into the house, he suffered (allowed) no one to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden (Luke 8: 51) and in the presence of those five souls He resurrected the girl, by simply holding her hand and telling her to arise. Afterward, He told the five witnesses to tell none of the waiting multitude what had happened, although the multitude knew already that Jairus’ daughter had died.

An additional example of the privileged position of those three disciples is when Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with Him (Matthew 17: 1 to 3). And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of Man be risen again from the dead (Matthew 17: 9). It is obvious that John had witnessed a number of things about Jesus that most of the other disciples didn’t, although they must have heard about them in due time. It is curious that John, though, never mentioned in his gospel the experience in the mountain with Moses and Elias, while Matthew did, who hasn’t been present in the occasion. It is easy to understand why Matthew wrote about it, as it is possible that he was informed of the event and asked not to mention about it until after Jesus’ resurrection too. This is because most probably and apparently, Matthew had been the official record keeper among the disciples, being a Levite, someone trained in the scriptures and familiar with the recording of them, although he wasn't a scribe. Mark also reported the encounter in his gospel, details of which he most probably heard first hand from Peter, which was his mentor for a number of years.

As mentioned, Peter was also very close to the Lord. However, he never wrote a gospel, although he instructed Mark who did write one. Finally, James, John’s older brother, who was also very close to the Lord, one of His closest disciples, was martyred not long after Jesus’ resurrection and he never wrote a gospel either. Therefore, it is not unusual or strange that the gospel of John would offer information and details that the other three gospels, the 'Synoptic' gospels, don’t.

Another important characteristic of the gospel of John is that he didn't write it for the Hebrew and Jewish people, as Matthew did for example. In contrast, John wrote for all humankind and for the Gentiles (one who is not one of the children of Israel), often explaining things in a language that people from other cultures and nations, not familiar with many of the details and traditions of the Jewish religion, could understand. In addition, John boldly recorded a number of Jesus’ visits to Jerusalem and to Judah and things that took place there that the other gospels didn't record. He includes many heated and antagonistic encounters and exchanges Jesus had with the chief priests and Jewish rabbis, as well as many of the miracles Jesus performed while in Jerusalem. More on this soon!

John’s Background

Unlike most of the other apostles, before meeting Jesus, John already had been a close follower of John the Baptist, whose main ministry and message had been to announce the soon-coming arrival of the Messiah. In other words, John the disciple had been quite aware that the Messiah was about to come and of many details of what scripture said about Him. In his gospel, John recorded a number of details about John the Baptist’s work, including his dialogue with messengers of the priests from Jerusalem who wanted to inquiry about why he was baptizing and about the Messiah. It is not surprising that the gospel of John also records the baptism of Jesus.

John, the disciple, was quite young when he followed Jesus and decided to become His disciple. In his gospel, he doesn’t refer to himself as ‘John’ or in the first person, but instead he refers to himself sometimes as ‘the disciple that Jesus loved’. Being the youngest of the apostles, probably he was almost like ‘the baby disciple’, at least physically and according to his young age. However, don’t let his young age fool you into thinking that he didn’t understand or love the Lord, as he loved Jesus deeply and believed, and understood perhaps better than the other disciples many of Jesus’ deeper messages, which he recorded years later in his gospel.

John’s gospel is the only one to record Jesus’ meeting and conversation with Nicodemus, a ruler and master of Israel, who came to speak with Jesus and to ask Him questions, during the night (John 3: 2) for fear of being seen by other prominent Jews, who would have disapproved of the meeting. It is possible that John had been the one that led Nicodemus to actually find Jesus late at night, as most people wouldn't have know where He would ‘hide’ at night from antagonist people and even from outright religious enemies.

John was also known of the Jewish high priest (John 18: 15) in Jerusalem and probably of a number of other influential priests there, which gave John a sort of an ‘insider’ status, when it came to having access to information about the society of Jerusalem and its reactions to the ‘New Prophet in Town’, Jesus.

For example, after Jesus was apprehended in Jerusalem by emissaries of the Jewish elders and while He was pending ‘judgment’ and condemnation by the elders and by the high priest and for His eventual execution, John was instrumental in arranging that Peter could enter the house of the high priest with him, where Jesus was kept captive. (John 18: 15 and 16).

In his position as an ‘insider’ among the priests in Jerusalem, or at least among some of them, it is possible that he was privy to events and information emanating from their discussions about Jesus. As mentioned, John’s gospel includes a number of events that only he reported, including some of Jesus’ most controversial encounters with friends and enemies. Obviously, the views of some critics that the gospel of John is ‘different’ and therefore should be doubted or discarded is a very poor argument, as John no doubt recorded events that either the other gospel writers didn't witness first hand, or were not in a position to report about authoritatively. In that sense, the gospel of John should be considered as a unique contribution to the records of the life of Jesus, rather than as a text that should be doubted.

The gospel Writers did exercise a measure of Self-censure in what they said plainly and sometimes didn’t give too many Details

It should be pointed out that while the gospel writers didn’t alter, added to, or change Jesus’ words or actions, they did choose what to write about from among the innumerable things they have heard or have seen, as they directed their writing to specific audiences, highlighting and focusing on some of the major points of His teaching. In addition, some of them omitted certain parts of His teaching or words while others didn’t report them at all, apparently to avoid adding additional and unnecessary opposition to the already highly controversial message of Jesus. Such is the case of the above-mentioned message Jesus gave about ‘eating His flesh and drinking His blood’, which it is only recorded in full in the gospel of John. In addition and in a few instances, the gospel writers only suggested some facts, without giving too many details about it.

An example of the latter is found in the gospel of John chapter four, which records an occasion towards the beginning of the Lord’s ministry, in which the Lord and His disciples spent two days in a Samaritan village, where the whole population readily accepted Jesus as the promised Messiah and Savior promised in Old Testament Scripture. Notice that Samaritans were highly disliked by many of the children of Israel and particularly by the Jewish people. Religious Jews neither would have spent any time in Samaria, nor would have entered in a Samaritan house, much less would have eaten their food nor eaten with them; as the Samaritans were virtual untouchables to the Jews.

Although John records that Jesus and the disciples stayed at the Samaritan village for two days, he doesn’t offer too many details of what happened there but only the bare minimum. After explaining that the entire village believed that Jesus is the Savior and that Jesus and His disciples spent two full days and nights there, he doesn’t record any of the things that Jesus taught, said or did among the Samaritans, after accepting their offer to stay for a while with them.

Jesus spent two Days in a ‘Samaritan’ Town in which the entire Population believed He is the Messiah, but there is little Record of what Jesus said and did in that Town

Mind you, Jesus would most certainly have performed healings and miracles among people with such a strong faith and belief in Him, and would have taught remarkable lessons about God’s love for the Gentiles, for all humankind and even for those that are usually despised by religious people. However, John didn’t offer any further insight into it and although this fact is regrettable, it is understandable too, as the Samaritans and anyone that would interact with them were considered unclean by religious Jews.

The omission of more details in the gospels of the visit to the Samaritan village is partly regrettable because that was an early example of Jesus’ message to all of humanity to whom He would send His disciples when He commissioned them later to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). Yet and although John's gospel doesn’t offer any further detail of what Jesus said and did among those ‘heathen’ Samaritans, it seems obvious Jesus wanted to make sure that His apostles shared that experience with Him, as it was part of their instruction and preparation for their future mission of preaching the gospel to every creature. In fact, Jesus intended for all His disciples to be witnesses of God’s love for all humankind, even for those who are often despised and ignored by many of the mainstream religious groups.

Therefore, the omission of mentioning that experience in the gospels in more detail is understandable, as the same also records the strong opposition Jesus and His disciples received from some of their religious antagonists, when they saw He would talk, eat and drink with prostitutes, drunks and ‘sinners’ who were part of the nation of Israel. How much more would they have objected if too many details of that visit to a Samaritan town would have been made public? The dislike of the religious Jews for the people of Samaria was such that the event would be somewhat comparable to the opposition a modern priest or pastor would receive if it would be known that he had spent two days and nights in a brothel preaching the gospel to the people staying there and the women working there. Many of today’s religious conservative Christians would consider such an action completely unacceptable, even if the true purpose were to preach the gospel.

While visiting the 'City of Priests', Jesus choose to lodge at the House of a notorious Sinner, Zacchaeus, a Chief Tax Collector

The gospel of Luke records the occasion when Jesus invited Himself to stay at the house of an Israelite named Zacchaeus, a wealthy tax collector in the city of Jericho hated, by his own people. Tax collectors, also known as publicans, were people of Israel who collaborated with the Roman occupiers of their land, virtual traitors to their nation. One of their jobs was collecting taxes from their own people, to support the Roman armies. To add to the offense, they were required to collect a certain fix amount of taxes per year from their jurisdiction, but were allowed to pocket any excess collected. Thus, they often became well-off or rich by extorting too much from their countrymen. Zacchaeus was the chief of the publicans of Jericho and was very wealthy.

At the time of that visit by Jesus to Jericho, apparently, there were in the city thousands of priests and Levites living in it, according to some estimates, as the city was designated as a place for priests and Levites to live in. Jesus’ inviting Himself to stay at Zacchaeus’ house caused no small stir among the people, who were indignant with His choice. The gospel of Luke states, And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press (the press of the multitude, not the media); because he was little of stature (he was short). And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, ‘Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at your house’ (Jesus addressed him by name, showing that the Lord knew Zacchaeus, although the man obviously wasn’t acquainted with Jesus, but …sought to see Jesus who he was). And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they (the people of Jericho) saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he (Jesus) was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner (Instead of in the house of one of the thousands of ‘honorable’ members of the city of Jericho). And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, for as much as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to ‘seek and to save’ that which was lost (Luke 19: 1 to 10). Although, Zacchaeus didn’t know the Lord, but wanted to see who He was, the Lord knew him, as he was one of His lost sheep and He went to seek, look for and offer salvation to Zacchaeus, much to the displeasure of the crowd. (See also the Parable of the Lost Sheep in Matthew 18: 12 to 14 and Luke 15: 3 to 7).

Why didn’t John offer more details of Jesus’ stay at that Samaritan religious Center?

If Jesus' association with 'sinners' from among the people of the children of Israel caused such opposition, we can only imagine what would have been the reaction if people would find out too many details of Jesus' stay in that town where the Samaritan people received Him and lodged Him and His disciples for two days and nights. As mentioned, it is understandable why John decided not to include any further details of that visit to a Samaritan town in his gospel, even though that is the only town in the gospels in which the whole population is recorded to have received the Messiah and Savior as such (John 4: 42), and to have believed in Him. Notice that the occasion was much earlier than what Jesus would have even agreed for His disciples to tell the people of Israel that He was the Messiah. As it is recorded in Matthew, Jesus charged… His disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ (Matthew 16: 20), and that was at a much later time than when the entire Samaritan village had received Him and believed that He is the Messiah.

Considering that the Samaritans had a religion that the Hebrews considered a fake imitation of their religion and a heresy, the omission of any additional facts about their stay at their town is no surprise. The Samaritan village where Jesus and His disciples stayed for two days was known to the Jews of that day as Sychar, but it was actually the ancient spot of Shechem, today renamed as Nablus. That town was the final burying place of the bones of the Patriarch Joseph and a place where Jacob (the Patriarch ‘Israel’ and the father of Joseph) had dug a well (John 4: 5 and 12), still in use in Jesus’ days. Near Shechem, there was a mountaintop, on which the Samaritans would perform their religious ceremonies. In fact, Shechem was the Samaritan religious center, just as Jerusalem and its temple was the center of Judaism. The Samaritans worshipped in the mountaintop near Shechem to avoid going to the temple in Jerusalem, as the city of Jerusalem was the capital of Judah and Samaritans and Jews were virtual enemies. In other words, the town of Shechem, although intimately related to the history of the children of Israel, it was by the time Jesus spent a couple days there, a completely ‘heretical’ place for religious Jews, who wouldn’t have dared to go there or wouldn’t have approved of any self-respecting Jew of doing so.

Relevance of the Gospels of John and Matthew

As mentioned, the gospel of Matthew (placed first in the New Testament) and of John (placed fourth) are given special relevance in this study. This is because both of these men, as disciples of Jesus, were direct witnesses of the public and private life of Jesus for the space of more than three years, while Jesus was engaged actively in preaching the gospel to the people in Israel. John was present and close to the Lord from the beginning of His public life, being one of the first people Jesus called to follow Him. After leaving John the Baptist to follow Jesus and become one of His first disciples, John, the gospel writer, continued to be close to the Lord to the very end, and was even present at the crucifixion, close to the foot of the cross, at which time Jesus entrusted the future care of His mother, Mary, to him. As John recorded in his own gospel, When Jesus (while hanging in the cross) therefore saw his mother, and the disciple (John) standing by, whom He loved, He said unto his mother, Woman, behold your son! Then said He to the disciple (to John), Behold your mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home (John 19: 26 and 27). John was also one of the first witnesses, along with Peter, of Jesus' resurrection, although the first person to meet and talk with Jesus after His resurrection was Mary Magdalene.

In contrast, Matthew joined and followed Jesus somewhat later (Matthew 9: 9) and wasn’t part of Jesus’ inner circle of three disciples, which as mentioned, included Peter, James (the brother of John) and John. Notice that whenever the twelve disciples are named in the gospels their names are given in a certain order, and John is always mentioned with the first four leading disciples, but Matthew appears down the line in the seventh or eighth position (Matthew 10: 2; Mark 3: 17; Luke 6: 14). (Notice also that Judas Iscariot is always mentioned last, as the twelfth, with the added explanation that he was the traitor). Matthew, however, was a Levite, and as such had been in contact with scribes and priests from an early age, people very familiar with Scripture.

Matthew was a Levite and therefore was very familiar with the Scriptures

As a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi, who according to the Law were trained to be assistants to the priests, Matthew would have known the importance of the records of Scripture and as He believed Jesus to be the Messiah, he would have been very diligent to record His words carefully. In addition, he would have had a considerable insight into the prophecies found in Scripture as well as recognize a multitude of the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. His gospel reflects those particulars traits and skills on his part.

Matthew wrote his gospel mainly to help the Hebrew people understand that Jesus had fulfilled the Law of Moses and the prophecies about the Coming Messiah; while, as mentioned, the gospel of John is more universal, directed to all humankind and not only to the Jewish nation. That’s the reason why John often explains facts that any Hebrew or Jew would have known, such as the comment he wrote saying that the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was approaching (John 6:4). The Passover is one of the most important celebrations in the Hebrew calendar and obviously, John didn’t have to inform any Jew or Hebrew that the Passover is one of their feasts. That would be the equivalent of writing a book for a Christian audience and state that, ‘Christmas, a feast celebrated by Christians, was approaching’. In the course of this study, we will quote the gospels of John and Matthew often to bring out the things Jesus did and said, as recorded by those two first-hand witnesses.

Luke

Luke, the author of the third gospel included in the canon of the New Testament, was not a Jew or Hebrew. He dedicated his gospel to a certain Theophilus, apparently a high-ranking or influential Gentile to whom Luke apparently had been teaching about Jesus. Luke wrote his gospel and the accompanying Book of the Acts of the Apostles to provide an historical and chronological account of Jesus life and of the beginning of the Christian faith throughout the Roman Empire to the said Theophilus. Unlike Matthew and John, Luke wasn’t one of Jesus’ disciples and apostles, but he later traveled and lived with Paul –who wasn't one of the original disciples of Jesus either- in a number of occasions and for long periods.

As mentioned, in addition to Luke’s gospel, you could read Luke’s Book of Acts of the Apostles, which includes detailed accounts of those times he spent with Paul while they were traveling, establishing and visiting groups of Christians throughout Asia Minor and eastern and southern Europe, including during Paul’s captivity under Rome. Luke was a physician and as such was quite educated and cultured, in contrast to many of the early disciples.

Luke gave testimony of the lack of formal education of the disciples in the Book of Acts. He wrote about Peter and John, Now when they (the educated religious leaders in Jerusalem) saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were ‘unlearned and ignorant men’, they marveled (at their knowledge of Scripture and their boldness); and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus (Acts 4: 13).

Luke quotes the great Rabbi Gamaliel intervening in favor of the Apostles

Although Luke was quite educated, he wouldn’t have been educated in the Hebrew Scriptures so much, being a Greek. Paul in the other hand, who as mentioned instructed Luke in the Christian faith, had a very strong background of the Hebrew culture and scriptures, being a Jew and having been previously a zealous Pharisee. Paul had learned the scriptures at the feet of Gamaliel, a renowned Hebrew Rabbi and teacher mentioned in The Talmud - the body of Jewish civil and ceremonial law and traditions-. Paul’s teacher was the grandson of the prominent Rabbi Hillel and he (Gamaliel) was later considered one of the foremost authorities of all time in the Hebrew religion and scriptures. Therefore, Paul’s background would have amply compensated for any lack in Luke’s own knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures, traditions and history.

Gamaliel is mentioned in Luke’s Acts of the Apostles, as defending Jesus disciples’ right to believe and preach what they did, long before Paul switched from a being an enemy of Christianity to being one of its flaming apostles. Luke wrote that the disciples, not long after Jesus’ resurrection, were taken in front of the same council who had condemned Jesus to death. To say the least, they were in for trouble there and in risk of being also condemned by the same council of the elders or Jerusalem. However, Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space… And said unto them (to the Council), Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do as touching these men… And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work (the new Christian Faith) be of men, it will come to naught: But if it be of God, you cannot overthrow it; lest haply you be found even to fight against God (Acts 5: 34, 35 and 38).

Luke wrote directly in Greek, unlike Matthew whose gospel was originally written in the language of Palestine and was later translated to the Greek language. Luke’s Greek style and language is considered by many scholars to be very precise and highly educated, on par almost with Classical Greek language. In addition, he was in a position to research, inquire and double-check information, as he often visited and met different groups of Christians scattered through Asia Minor and Greece. In those occasions, he would have met many of first-hand witnesses of Jesus’ life and a number of the early leaders of the Christian Church, who would have been a rich source of detailed information about the Lord’s life, as well as offer an opportunity to cross-check the same.

Like wrote to Theophilus in the mentioned introduction to his gospel, It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto you in order, most excellent Theophilus, that you might know the certainty of those things, wherein you had been instructed. (Luke 1: 3 and 4). Notice that he claims to have a perfect understanding from the beginning of the things related to Jesus and to be writing them in the proper order, apparently referring to the chronological one.

Mark

The second gospel (in the order of appearance in the New Testament) is the Gospel of Mark. He had been a teenager when Jesus taught in Israel and had probably heard many things about Him from first hand witnesses and perhaps personally. His uncle Barnabas went to become one of the early leaders of Christianity, traveling and establishing groups of believers with Paul, through Asia Minor and the Mediterranean coasts. In fact, Mark joined Paul and Barnabas in some of those hazardous early trips, later traveled and worked with Peter, and then again rejoined Paul in later years. He would have had access to firsthand information from many different sources and hundreds of witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection, of which Paul claimed in one of his letters there were about five hundred still alive in his day (1 Corinthians 15: 6).

Some scholars claim that the Gospel of Mark somehow resembles and follows the writing of some of Peter’s letters and epistles who as mentioned also had been his mentor. Therefore, the gospels of Luke and Mark, while not on par with John and Matthew’s firsthand accounts, still are choke full of inside information and are quoted in this study too. The sum of these four gospels is the most detailed, comprehensive and faithful source of information known to us about the life and teaching of Jesus.

When reading the gospels, it is important to keep in mind that the bulk of Jesus’ message was meant for the billions to whom God was offering the gift of Salvation by grace and mercy throughout the centuries, and not only for the people of Palestine and Israel or just for the people living in those days. That universal message of the gospels is for people of all epochs, all backgrounds and all conditions, the message of salvation by grace. It states that salvation is a pure ‘gift’ offered by God, not based on what we are supposed to be, do or pay to obtain it, but on what God was doing and paying to secure our eternal life and salvation. As the dictionary defines gift, it is something ‘given willingly to someone without requiring any payment in return; a present’.

Obviously, if we would have to pay anything to deserve or receive Salvation, it wouldn’t be a gift, but it would be something we are entitled to because of some merit we have, something we buy or otherwise ‘obtain’ by our own means. However, it is a gift because God paid the price for us. The price paid for our salvation was the very Life of Jesus –the Lamb of God- who was offered in love and as a ransom payment for our lives. Nobody could have ever paid that price for us, other than God and His only Son, Jesus, the Messiah and Savior, as we will see later.

The Reliability of ‘The Gospels’, also known as ‘The Good News’

The word ‘Gospel’ means ‘Good News’ and the good news were given for all humankind, past, present and future generations irrespective of ethnic groups, nations, gender, age or even regardless of the amount of debt owed by any of the individual parties to God. The gift of salvation was neither conditional on people fulfilling and keeping religious laws, nor regulations, nor attending ceremonies or temples, but in God’s infinite grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. (John 1: 17). To be sure and absolutely clear, the Good News can be summarized in John 3: 16. That key scripture says, For God so loved the world (collectively, humankind, and individually, each one of us), that He gave His only begotten Son (Jesus), that whoever believes in Him (Jesus) should not perish, but have everlasting life in Heaven, forever and entirely as a gift.

Finally, remember that the main proposition of this book is that to understand Jesus is essential to understand what He said and did, as they are preserved and encapsulated in the gospels. Thus, this work aims to exclude most arguments and explanations that may be based either on the records of Old Testament scriptures; the commentary and letters of the New Testament, or the teaching of generations of Christian believers, followers, religious leaders, scholars and apologists since then. Therefore, although this study mentions and offers plenty of information about all of those sources and Old and New Testament scriptures, its history and background, it aims to only offer conclusions based on the words of Jesus, as recorded in the gospels.

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Chapter 2 — While Every Word In The Bible Is True, Not Every Word Applies To Those Who Believe In Jesus

Believers rightly accept every Word in the Bible is true, however, not every Word in the Bible applies to those that Believe in Jesus, but only those things He said that do

The term ‘believer’ in its broader meaning is someone who has a religious faith. Applied to Christianity it is understood, as someone that believes in Jesus and the scriptures in the Old and New Testaments. In other words, a Christian believer accepts that the Holy Bible is the true word of God and that the central figure of the whole Bible is Jesus Christ, the Savior.

A common misunderstanding related to believing that everything the Bible says is true, is to assume by extension that believers should apply every word in the Bible to their own lives. However, this is not the case and in fact, it is not possible to follow everything the Bible says. This is because many of the messages in the Bible, including many of the contracts found in it between God and certain people, neither were meant for everybody, nor were they meant for those that believe in Jesus, but were given for specific people, specific situations and even specific times.

Therefore, while the totality of the record of the Bible is true for believers and followers of Jesus, it doesn’t mean that all apply to them. The things that apply to one who believes in Jesus are only the things He said that do. Christians should follow the teachings that were intended for them and given by Jesus but are neither bound by other contracts in Scripture nor by the commandments of the Law, which were given for the children of Israel and not for those that believe in Jesus.

Some of the Examples Jesus gave of those living under His Grace not being under the Mosaic Law

Regarding this, there are many instances recorded in the gospels in which Jesus said that the Law of Moses didn’t apply to those that believe in Him. For example, while the Law of Moses strictly forbade doing any work on the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, Jesus infuriated His religious detractors by declaring that His Father, God, works on the Sabbath and He does too (John 5: 17), in addition implying that His followers could do the same. In one occasion, He defended His disciples for ‘breaking’ the Sabbath and doing what wasn't allowed under the Law of Moses, and called them guiltless, when the religious leaders accused them (of breaking the Sabbath) (Matthew 12: 7 and 8). Another example is that although the Jewish traditions specified that people should wash their hands before eating, Jesus said that eating with unwashed hands doesn’t defile people. Besides, the Jewish traditions taught that the Hebrew people should worship God in the temple in Jerusalem, but Jesus taught that people should worship the Father neither in Jerusalem nor in a mountain, but in spirit and in truth (John 4: 21 to 24).

The above are just a few samples of the Lord teaching that those that believe in Him and God's grace are not under the Mosaic Law, nor under the traditions and customs of the nation of Israel. His teachings infuriated many of the religious Jews, as they felt He was destroying or trying to change their religion and traditions. The truth is that Jesus wasn’t trying to change the Jewish religion or the traditions of the people of Israel, but He was teaching those that believe in Him a completely new set of views and principles, as we will see in a moment.

The way to know the difference between the things that apply to a follower of Jesus and the ones that don’t is reading His Words and applying them in the context in which He gave them, considering to whom He was speaking. This is because there were often differences between the things He said to His disciples, or to the people of Israel, or to the mostly antagonistic religious leaders of the time. In addition, He gave different messages to people who weren’t even