What is the message of Jesus Christ?

The gospel is the good news of salvation through God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It is the message that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried, was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and then appeared to his disciples. The gospel is the good news that we can enter the kingdom of God through the saving work of Jesus Christ (1. Corinthians 15,1-5; Acts of the Apostles 5,31; Luke 24,46-48; John 3,16; Matthew 28,19-20; Mark 1,14-15; Acts of the Apostles 8,12; 28,30-31).

What is the message of Jesus Christ?

Jesus said that the words he spoke are words of life (John 6,63). “His teaching” came from God the Father (John 3,34; 7,16; 14,10), and it was his wish that his words dwell in the believer.

John, who outlived the other apostles, had this to say about Jesus' teaching: “Whoever goes beyond and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever abides in this doctrine has the Father and the Son" (2. John 9).

"But why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not what I tell you," said Jesus (Luke 6,46). How can a Christian claim surrender to Christ's lordship while ignoring his words? For the Christian, obedience is directed to our Lord Jesus Christ and his gospel (2. Corinthians 10,5; 2. Thessalonians 1,8).

The Sermon on the Mount

In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5,1 7,29; Luke 6,20 49), Christ begins by explaining spiritual attitudes that his followers should readily adopt. The poor in spirit, who are touched by the needs of others to such an extent that they grieve; the meek, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, who are pure in heart, the peacemakers, who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness - such people are spiritually rich and blessed, they are the "salt of the earth" and they glorify the Father in heaven (Matthew 5,1-16).

Jesus then compares OT instructions (“what was said to the ancients”) with what he says to those who believe in him (“but I tell you”). Note the comparative phrases in Matthew 5,21-22, 27-28, 31-32, 38-39 and 43-44.

He introduces this comparison by saying that he did not come to dissolve the law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5,17). As discussed in Bible Study 3, Matthew uses the word "fulfill" in a prophetic sense, not in the sense of "keeping" or "observing." If Jesus had not fulfilled every letter and tittle of the Messianic promises, then he would be an imposter. All that was written in the Law, the Prophets, and the Scriptures [Psalms] concerning the Messiah had to find prophetic fulfillment in Christ (Luke 2 Cor4,44). 

Jesus' statements are commandments for us. He speaks in Matthew 5,19 of "these commandments" - "these" referred to what he was about to teach, as opposed to "those" which referred to commandments set forth before.

His concern is at the center of the Christian's faith and obedience. Using comparisons, Jesus commands his followers to obey his speeches instead of adhering to aspects of the Mosaic Law that are either inadequate (Moses' teaching on murder, adultery, or divorce in Matthew 5,21-32), or irrelevant (Moses teaching on swearing in Matthew 5,33-37), or against his moral view (Moses' teaching on justice and behavior towards enemies in Matthew 5,38-48).

In Matthew 6, our Lord, who “shapes the form, substance, and ultimate end of our faith” (Jinkins 2001:98), goes on to distinguish Christianity from religiosity.

Genuine mercy does not display its good deeds to gain praise, but rather serves selflessly (Matthew 6,1-4). Prayer and fasting are not modeled in public displays of piety, but rather through a humble and divine attitude (Matthew 6,5-18). What we desire or acquire is neither the point nor the concern of the righteous life. What is important is to seek the righteousness that Christ began to describe in the previous chapter (Matthew 6,19-34).

The sermon ends emphatically in Matthew 7. Christians should not judge others by judging them because they are also sinners (Matthew 7,1-6). God, our Father, wants to bless us with good gifts, and the intention behind his addressing the ancients in the law and the prophets is that we should treat others as we would like to be treated (Matthew 7,7-12).

The life of the kingdom of God consists in doing the will of the Father (Matthew 7,13-23), which means that we listen to the words of Christ and do them (Matthew 7,24; 17,5).

Basing your faith on anything other than your speeches is like building a house on sand that will collapse when the storm comes. Faith based on the sayings of Christ is like a house built on a rock on solid foundations that can stand the trials of time (Matthew 7,24-27).

This teaching was shocking for the audience (Matthew 7,28-29) because Old Testament law was seen as the foundation and rock on which the Pharisees built their righteousness. Christ says his followers should go beyond that and build their faith on him alone (Matthew 5,20). Christ, not the law, is the rock that Moses sang about2,4; psalm 18,2; 1. Corinthians 10,4). “For the law was given by Moses; Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1,17).

You have to be born again

Instead of increasing the law of Moses, which was expected of the rabbis (Jewish religious teachers), Jesus taught otherwise as the Son of God. He challenged the audience's imagination and the authority of their teachers.

He went so far as to declare: “You search the Scriptures, thinking you have eternal life therein; and it is she that testifies of me; but you would not come to me that you might have life” (John 5,39-40). Correct reading of the Old and New Testaments does not bring eternal life, although they are inspired to help us understand salvation and express our faith (as discussed in Study 1). We must come to Jesus to receive eternal life.

There is no other source of salvation. Jesus is "the way, and the truth, and the life" (John 14,6). There is no route to the father except through the son. Salvation has to do with our coming to the person known as Jesus Christ.

How do we get to Jesus? In John 3 Nicodemus came to Jesus by night to learn more about his teaching. Nicodemus was startled when Jesus said to him, "You must be born again" (John 3,7). "How is that possible?" asked Nicodemus, "can our mother bear us again?"

Jesus was talking about a spiritual transformation, a rebirth of supernatural proportion, being born "from above," which is a supplementary translation of the Greek word "again" [again] in this passage. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3,16). Jesus continued, "Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life" (John 5,24).

It's a fact of faith. John the Baptist said that the person "who believes in the Son has eternal life" (John 3,36). Faith in Christ is the starting point “to be born again, not of perishable seed but immortal (1. Petrus 1,23), the beginning of salvation.

Believing in Christ means accepting who Jesus is, that he is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16,16; Luke 9,18-20; Acts of the Apostles 8,37), who “has words of everlasting life” (John 6,68-69).

To believe in Christ is to assume that Jesus is God, who

• Became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1,14).
• crucified for us, that "by the grace of God he should taste death for all" (Hebrews 2,9).
• "died for all, so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again" (2. Corinthians 5,15).
• “died to sin once for all” (Romans 6,10) and “in which we have redemption, which is the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1,14).
• "Has died and is alive again, that he may be Lord of the living and the dead" (Romans 14,9).
• "Who is at the right hand of God, ascended into heaven, and angels and potentates and mighty ones are subject to him" (1. Petrus 3,22).
• was "taken up into heaven" and "will come again" as he "ascended into heaven" (Acts 1,11).
• "will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom" (2. Timothy 4,1).
• "will return to earth to receive those who believe" (John 14,1 4).

By accepting Jesus Christ by faith as He revealed Himself, we are "born again."

Repent and be baptized

John the Baptist declared, "Repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1,15)! Jesus taught that he, the Son of God and the Son of man, "has authority on earth to forgive sins" (Mark 2,10; Matthew 9,6). That was the gospel that God had sent his Son for the salvation of the world.

Included in this message of salvation was repentance: "I came to call sinners, and not the righteous" (Matthew 9,13). Paul clears up all confusion: "There is none righteous, not even one" (Romans 3,10). We are all sinners whom Christ calls to repentance.

Repentance is a call to return to God. Biblically speaking, humankind is in a state of alienation from God. Like the Son in the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15, men and women have moved away from God. Likewise, as illustrated in this story, the Father is anxious for us to return to Him. To leave the Father - that is the beginning of sin. The issues of sin and Christian accountability will be dealt with in a future Bible study.

The only way back to the Father is through the Son. Jesus said: “All things have been committed to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son but the Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son, and to whom the Son will reveal it" (Matthew 11,28). The beginning of repentance therefore lies in turning away from other recognized paths to salvation and turning to Jesus.

The ceremony of baptism attests to the recognition of Jesus as Savior, Lord and King to come. Christ directs us that His disciples should be baptized "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Baptism is an outward expression of an inner commitment to follow Jesus.

In Matthew 28,20 Jesus continued: “…and teach them to obey all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the world." In most New Testament examples, teaching followed baptism. Notice that Jesus clearly stated that He left commandments for us as explained in the Sermon on the Mount.

Repentance continues in the believer's life as he or she approaches Christ more and more. And as Christ says, he will always be with us. But how? How can Jesus be with us and how can meaningful remorse happen? These questions will be dealt with in the next study.

Summary:

Jesus explained that his words are words of life and they influence the believer by informing him or her of the path to salvation.

by James Henderson