what Jesus actually said

People say things in the name of Christianity all the time.  Some of those things are not true.  Some of them are slanderous.  Some of the things they say hurt the gospel, because their words are not good news. Today I am posting five things Jesus actually said. Then I am commenting on them by saying what I think Jesus meant. If you read my comments and wonder how I know what Jesus meant, especially if you disagree with me, all I can say is that I have known Jesus for a little while. I don't know exactly what he meant. I also do not fully understand the context and culture in which he said them, being that Jesus original audience was 1st century Palestine/Israel and I am a 21st century American. What I hope you hear, though, is Jesus speaking from a place of compassion and mercy, with a heart for the least, the poor, and the oppressed minority of his day. Not everyone claiming to speak in His name does the same.


1. ‎"In everything do to others as you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets."Matthew 7:12. 
What Jesus meant. As a rule, your behavior toward others ought to be determined by an honest self-assessment of the ways you wish to be treated by others. Do you wish to be assaulted, maligned, rejected, slandered, humiliated, cursed, forgotten, ignored, misinterpreted, falsely accused, scoffed at, demonized, and abused? I doubt that very much. The entire message of the bible comes down to whether or not your treatment of others reflects the way you expect to be treated. 


2. "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and wealth." Matthew 6:24. 
What Jesus meant: you are fully devoted to one thing. What or who is it? To whom do you answer, who do you serve? Yourself? Your bank account? Your household? Your job? Where does your time, energy, and loyalty lie? If you say you are devoted to God, how would anyone know it?  


3.  ‎"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" Matthew 6:25. 
What Jesus meant: You spend a lot of time shopping for food and clothing, don't you? I suspect you are more consumed by the questions about food and clothing than about any other thing. Thoughts about them pervade your mind all day long. What will I eat? Where will I get it? What will I wear? You know. STOP IT! Do you not have enough already? If you are truly lacking these things, seek God's kingdom and you will find them. And where is God's kingdom found? In generosity, compassion, loving service... 


4.  Jesus said, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." Matthew 4:19.
What Jesus meant: Your skills, your abilities, your preoccupations, your hobbies, your passions, your interests can be put to use in the ongoing work of God's creation. Through your daily work, you can draw others closer to God. When what you love to do enhances the lives of others, you are doing the work of God. When your skills are put to use to bring health, peace, relief from suffering, joy, and/or beauty to people, you are following Jesus.


5.  Jesus said, "I do choose. Be made clean." Matthew 8:3.
Healing and health care is more than a physical act.  Curing disease is good.  But it is not the only way to achieve a healthy life.  Health is also about belonging and acceptance into the larger community and its benefits.  Isolation is the root cause of a lot of suffering.  We live in an isolating culture. We isolate the sick, the elderly, and those whose skin is different from "ours", even if we do not consider ourselves racially biased.  Jesus, on the other hand, chooses to connect with and offer healing to the very people we neglect, abandon, or discard. He chooses to touch people, because in so doing they are reconnected to humanity, both theirs and ours. When Jesus heals, their humanity is acknowledged and restored. Even more than physical healing, people need to be touched by someone else as an act of corporate solidarity. We are more alike than different.  We are more alive together than we are apart.  We need each other in ways we rarely recognize. Jesus chooses to make us clean, whole, complete people.  When we choose to do the same for others, we embody the compassion of Jesus.