Chapter 6 : Nature of Jesus’ Acts

Jesus’ acts were characterized by the following:

6-1: His keenness to speak with Incomprehensible parables

Jesus’ words were mysterious. He talked with everyone using parables that no one understood. However, he explained them later to his disciples alone.

“33 And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. 34 But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.” (Mark 4:33-34)

“14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. 16 If any man has ears to hear, let him hear. 17 And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. 18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also?” (Mark 7:14-18)

“Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.” (Mathew 13: 36)

“5 And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. 7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. 8 Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? 9 Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? 10 Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? 11 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? 12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” (Mathew 16:5-12)

“25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. 26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. 27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.” (Mathew 11:25-27)

“41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. 42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? 43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. 44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day… 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me… 66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” (John 6:41-66)  (even his disciples walked away when they did not understand his words)

“44 Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men. 45 But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.” (Luke 9:44-45)  (this shows that the disciples did not understand the most important point in Jesus’ life which is redemption. He did not allow them to understand him deliberately. Shouldn’t the disciples at least understand the nature of his mission?)

We note many things in the lights of the previous verses that  Jesus was keen to speak using parables which neither his disciples nor the people understood. That included his death and the reason why he will be surrendered to the people. He said this is hidden from them. Why is that? This contradicts the claim that who wants to have eternal life must believe in Jesus as a redeemer and a savior. If this claim was true, Jesus would have explained it to everyone so that they would believe or at least explain it to the disciples to explain it later to the people. Jesus hid the matter of his surrender which casts doubt on the said claim.

6-2: He explained the parables to his disciples alone

So that they might enter the kingdom of heaven as he said in (Mathew 13:11). But he did not want the public to understand the parables, so they do not repent and be forgiven.

“10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. 11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: 12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.” (Mark 4:10-12)

“10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.” (Mathew 13:10-12)  (Therefore most of the people are not meant to be guided. Understanding and guidance are only for the disciples. Thus we conclude that redemption is useless because the disciples are guided already to the kingdom of heaven so they do not need redemption. For the people, redemption is of no use to them because they were condemned not to have understanding.

These verses contradict with the claim that Jesus came to redeem people and save them from their sins. Redemption is supposed to offer salvation and forgiveness, but what we see here is that Jesus hid from people everything so that they might not repent and be forgiven. If only the disciples were allowed explanation, repentance and kingdom of heaven, Therefore Jesus came just for the disciples who are already in the kingdom of heaven. But the public were not meant to understand or be saved, actually he intended not to make them understand so that they won’t repent and be forgiven. That means redemption is useless because the disciples entered already the kingdom of heaven, with or without redemption, and the public were meant not to be forgiven already.

Another thing to be noted is what Jesus said to the disciples. He said that they were given the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. The disciples include Judas who betrayed Jesus. It was mentioned earlier what Jesus said regarding who will betray and him how he will be punished. So, if Jesus knows everything, why would he choose Judas among the twelve disciples whom he gave the mystery of the kingdom of heaven. According to the last verse, Judas would have eternal life. Would not it be better not to choose Judas among the twelve disciples so he would not betray him?)

6-3: Were the disciples the only believers?

In the following verses, we note a very strange thing. The disciples are reprimanded and called devils.

“30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? “(Mathew 14:30-31) (He accused one of his disciples of having little faith)

“ But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. “(Mark 8:33)

“14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, 15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. 16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. 17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. 18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. 21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” (Mathew 17:14-21)  (Here he says that his disciples have no faith)

“4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” (John 14:4-7)

And here we find Jesus praises some of the public who were not among his disciples.

“When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” (Luke 7: 9)  This was said to the centurion who asked Jesus to cure his son.

A strange paradox is noted in the following quote: “11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “(Mathew 8:11-12) (Here we wonder, if the children of kingdom, including the disciples will be cast out into outer darkness, and instead of them will enter a lot from the east and the west, why did he care only for the disciples and made them only understand?)

“So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.” (Mathew 28: 15)

Accordingly, we conclude that the disciples were not the only believers. Actually, some of the public were even better than them. However, Jesus was keen to talk to people with parables that they would not understand so they do not believe, while he explained everything to his disciples alone. Can we believe after all of this that Jesus came to redeem the whole world, or Israel Children, or even the people during his time?

6-4: Redemption contradicts with the belief that Jesus came from heaven

Let us examine this verse where Jesus talks to his disciples without parables:

“29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. 30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. 31 Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? 32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. 33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:29-33)

Two things can be concluded from these verses. First, Jesus tells his disciples when he talks about his death that he has overcome the world. This means that he will not die to redeem people to forgive their sins, his death will be a victory over who killed him, so did he come to save and redeem or overcome the world?

Second, we note that when he talked explicitly to his disciples they understood and believed in the last few moments of his life. If he had talked like that to people without parables, they would have understood. He indented not to be understood. Here we ask this: if the disciples who were the only one to understand the parables did not understand until the last moments of his life, why did Jesus stay on earth all that time, starting from his birth and baptism until he grew up and was strengthen by the Holy Spirit and after that he chose the disciples. Why did he stay all that time among people until his death? if he came to redeem the people, why did he stay that long? Wouldn’t it be better to go for just one day, explain to the disciples his truth and then die to redeem people?

Another question is who did Jesus die for? The public? We have read that he did not want them to understand, repent or be forgiven. or did he die for his disciples who entered already the kingdom of heaven although they did not understand his truth until the last moments of his life and he did not tell them explicitly that he would die for them.

Therefore, without doubt, The theory which suggest that Jesus came to redeem is incomplete and full of holes. Thus we believe the reason why Jesus stayed all the time was to accomplish the mission he was sent for which is calling people to repent. Repentance is the only way for salvation and having eternal life.

Conclusion

– Jesus intentionally spoke with incomprehensible proverbs because he did not want the public to understand it and be forgiven. He, however, explained them to his disciples to have eternal life.

– The disciples did not have the strongest faith, and some people had stronger faith.

– Jesus did not tell anyone about redemption and did not explain it to his disciples.