Did Jesus Say Harsh-Sounding Things During His Ministry?
Did Jesus Say Harsh-Sounding Things During His Ministry?
Jesus spent approximately three and a half years travelling about Judea and Galilee, calling men to God, teaching them the truth about God, and demonstrating His jurisdiction through miracles and knowledge that He could not have apart from God:
John 10:37-38 If I do not the works of my Father, believe Me not. But if I do, though you believe not Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me and I in Him.’”
John 14:11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the very works’ sake.’”
He gave them no room to repudiate His ministry or His message, by performing the works that no one else could do.[1] As with God’s interaction with Israel – and the pagan nations around them – left Israel no excuse to disbelieve Him, Jesus left no excuse, by His actions throughout the nation, for anyone to doubt anything that He had said. As Paul wrote, “…they were without excuse.” (Rom 1:20) He declared Himself to be eternal, the One from heaven, the commander of angels, the sender of prophets; Jesus Christ declared Himself to be God, and proved His words were true.
Some say that Jesus spoke more about hell than heaven. John’s gospel, with the largest record of Jesus’ teaching, speaks as often about salvation as about damnation; the other gospels give as much teaching about salvation as damnation. But many social gospel promoters prefer to avoid and ignore Jesus’ many comments about the end state of the lost, which is eternal condemnation, separated from God and all that means. Part Two of this study lists verses where Jesus speaks of judgement, of hell, and of those who will perish. He spoke very plainly against all who would refuse to believe in Him: “He who believes in Him is not condemned, but the unbeliever is condemned already because he has not believed on the name of the only-begotten Son of God.” John 3:18
The same Jesus who expressed tremendous compassion on men and women wilfully sinning, braided a whip to drive out the hawkers profaning the temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 21:13), compared the hypocritical religious leaders to ‘white-washed graves” (Matthew 23:27), as well as to poisonous snakes (Matthew 12:34, 23:33), false teachers (Matthew 16:6, 11-12); self-righteous (ie; Lk 10:29), extortioners, self-indulgent, unmerciful, unfaithful, lawless, and unjust, dead, and murders (Matthew 23:25-35). He openly declared “woe” to these religious abusers in a public venue, exposing their many sins to the masses they exploited and oppressed to maintain their power and prosperity.
He also did not refrain from calling the crowds “hypocrites” who were willing to judge others before dealing with their own wrongs. (Matthew 7:1-5) He called them faithless and perverse because they looked continually for “signs from God” rather than just believing God because He is God, (Matthew 12:39; Matthew 17:17) and pronounced “woe” upon Capernaum and Chorazin for failing to believe Him when they had seen His many works. (Matthew 11:21-24)
The Old Testament contains over 23,000 verses compared to less than 8,000 in the New; nearly four times the content in the Old Testament than in the New. The Old Testament spans a period of approximately four thousand years, from the beginning of time itself, to about 4 centuries before the birth of Christ, whereas the New Testament covers less than one century of time. The focus of both Testaments is the record of history of the people with whom God interacted, and the details of God’s interaction.
The Old Testament is a record of four thousand years of history from the creation of the world, including God’s judgment, condemnation, and punishment of the sometimes extreme evils committed by many peoples over that period. Included in its pages is the record of God’s warnings, commandments, instructions, mercy, and judgement, as well as His incredible prophetic word on the coming of a Saviour Who would bring forgiveness of sin to those who would believe Him, who would return to judge those who will refuse Him, and Who will restore the creation to its original perfection, in which all who love Him will live forever in God’s presence, with Jesus, and the holy angels, in a place which sin and harm will never touch, and corruption is prevented by God’s divine providence.
Because the Old Testament records the evils of several people groups through its four millennia of history, and God’s responses to their wicked conduct, the reader observes many instances of God’s exercise of judgment against those sins. God never punished whom He did not warn, and He did not fail to warn the nations many times before those nations were considered unredeemable. While the reality of war, and execution of criminals, is an ugly, painful reality, justice demands action when humans refuse to cease their evil ways. Why did God use other humans to execute that judgement? He did not state His “why’s”, but in different places, God’s writers tell us that a record is there for the instruction of the reader. For someone considering whether to follow the evil example of one following Satan’s rebellion, whether in sorcery, or theft, or lies, or murder, or any other evil, perhaps the reality of witnessing or hearing about the reality of judgment executed on those already committing these heinous crimes would deter that foolish consideration, and turn a man from perdition while emphasizing God’s righteous condemnation and unwavering, impartial judgment, against the sin.
The New Testament is primarily a record of the life and ministry of Jesus, with a focus on the salvation He purchased through His death and resurrection. Judgement for sin was already fully demonstrated; there was no further need to focus on the evils of men. God had promised a Saviour, and this new Work was the account of that Saviour and His means of salvation, for anyone and everyone who would “hear” Him and believe.
Jesus did not make light of sin, nor avoid the subject of judgment; in fact, He warned clearly and repeatedly what would come upon those who refuse Him, without soft-soaping the terror of that end. Nevertheless, His purpose was not to judge, at His coming (John 3:17), but to save, and His followers were appointed, not as judges to condemn, but as “fishers of men” for the kingdom of God (Matthew 4:19; cf Jeremiah 16:16), commissioned to “go, proclaiming the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15), because the time had come for salvation to begin its beneficent work.
Because Jesus ministry was the ministry of reconciliation of men to God, He did not focus His teaching on eternal condemnation or punishment, but rather on mercy and salvation. Because the New Testament is concerned with the gospel proclamation of salvation from the condemnation of sin through faith in Jesus Christ, it does not record much about God’s judgement and condemnation. A careless read may lead one to think that somehow Jesus is “different than God” because of that difference in focus, but the careful reader will see the many times that Jesus states without qualification that the unbelievers will perish to eternal torment, and recognize that His call to repentance and faith is God’s offer of peace purchased by Himself to any who are willing to hear Him.
[1] Joh 10:25 Jesus answered them, ‘I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.’”
Joh 10:32 Jesus answered them, ‘Many good works have I shown you from my Father; for which of those works do you stone me?’”
Joh 5:31 If I bear witness of myself, My witness is not true.’”
Joh 12:37 But though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him:
Joh 12:38 …that the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report?” and “to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”’”
Joh 12:39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Isaiah said again,
Joh 12:40 “He has blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.”’”
Joh 14:10 You do not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwells in me, He does the works.
Joh 15:24 If I had not done among them the works which no other man did, they had not had sin; but now have they both seen and hated both Me and my Father.
Mt 11:20-24 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:
Woe unto you, Chorazin! Woe unto you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes!
But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
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