Jesus was the greatest teacher who ever taught — the Light of the World, whose pure Truth brought sight to the blind (John 9). Almost no one — even those who speak openly against Him — disputes His reputation as a wise and good teacher of the way of love. The famous line from the Sermon on the Mount, “love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44) is quoted by persons of all persuasions.
What is less widely recognized is that Jesus was a preacher of paradox. On many occasions He intentionally confounded His audience with sayings that were mysterious. Even more than perplexing, His teaching sometimes seemed utterly incongruous or, worst of all, morally repugnant. My assertions here are not a matter of controversy, since the Gospels themselves draw repeated attention to them.
Perhaps the best known example of teachings that were a mystery to the original hearers, including Jesus’ own disciples, are the parables of the mystery of the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 13. On a superficial reading, they seem to be easily-understood illustrations of Biblical truth, simple stories that illumine difficult ideas. Many Christians have mistakenly interpreted them in that way. But it is written clearly that the disciples themselves were puzzled (cf. Matthew 13:36).
Note Jesus’ words below: apparently elementary illustrations of truth turn out to be not just conundrums, but condemnation.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: ‘You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.’ For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. (Matthew 13:13-15)
The mysteries of the kingdom were mysterious indeed.
Then there are what seemed to His original hearers as contradictions. One of the most incongruous and seemingly contradictory teachings of Jesus was His declaration that He must be crucified in Jerusalem and be raised from the dead three days later. The disciples followed Jesus because they believed that He was the Messiah (John 1:41, 45, 49). Peter’s famous confession (Matthew 16:16) was not a new realization, but a mature confession of a faith that had been confirmed over and over, not only by miracles (John 2), but by His personal presence (Mark 3:14 “with Him”).
For Peter and the others, to imagine that the One whom they confessed to be the Messiah could be killed would have been a fundamental contradiction to the very concept of Messiahship. So, Peter responded to Jesus’ declaration: “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” (Matthew 16:22). Peter was not expressing a private sentiment. All the disciples thought the same.
Jesus rebuked Peter — and implicitly the rest also — in the strongest language: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God but on the things of man.” (Matthew 16:23).
My point here is just to note how very deeply the disciples themselves found Jesus’ teaching to be difficult and, on the surface, a contradiction with the teaching of the prophetic picture of the Messiah. The Messiah was supposed to be like Joshua, Gideon, and David — a great warrior who conquered Israel’s enemies. Suffering and death were definitely not in the picture. Therefore, Peter, speaking on behalf of the others, rebuked Jesus when He spoke of being killed. Jesus was denying the whole Jewish expectation of the Messiah.
Similarly, when returning from the mount of transfiguration, Jesus told Peter, James, and John not to tell anyone what they had seen until after He had risen from the dead. They obeyed Him by keeping the matter secret, but they could not understand what He meant by speaking of resurrection. Jews knew that there would be a resurrection of the dead at the end of history (cf. John 11:24), but Jesus seemed to be speaking of something else and they could not imagine what He meant (Mark 9:10).
Of course, after the cross and the resurrection, they came to understand because Jesus spent 40 days explaining to all of His disciples what He had expounded to the two on the road to Emmaus: “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:26-27). For the first time, much of what they had read in what we call the “Old Testament” began to make sense.
But there is one more category of difficult sayings — the most surprising of all — those which seem to be morally repugnant. Two passages stand out inparticular.
First, Jesus faced a crowd of followers and declared to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26-27). Why should Jesus demand that a disciple hate anyone? On the one hand, He commanded that His disciples love their enemies — difficult to be sure, but not disgusting — while on the other hand, He commanded hatred to those we are normally bound to love. In fact, in the most essential expression of God’s ethical standards, the Ten Commandments, honoring father and mother is enjoined. Certainly “honor” includes love. But Jesus calls His disciples to hate.
Second, on another occasion when He was teaching a large group of people whom John identifies as “disciples,” Jesus demanded what to anyone would be appalling, but most especially to Jews. He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:53). To make the revolting requirement even worse, He repeated it (John 6:54, 55, 56, 57, 58). No normal person would eat human flesh under anything like normal conditions, but blood was specifically forbidden to the people of Israel — and not just human blood, any blood (Leviticus 17:14).
John tells us that many of Jesus’ “disciples” could not stand what He said (John 6:60) so Jesus proceeded to make it even more difficult for them to understand, with the result that “many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him” (John 6:66).
It should not be a surprise to observe that what we see in the teaching of Jesus is not unique to Him. It is a characteristic of all Scripture. Jesus the Word reflects and manifests what is true of the Word of God written. The Bible is full of teaching that is mysterious, or that seems incongruous or even morally outrageous. Most of the difficulties disappear with sufficient study and consideration, but that does not change the fact the Bible is written in such a way that it often shocks us and challenges our faith and understanding.
When Jesus told His disciples that they had to eat His flesh and drink His blood to inherit life, many turned away. So, He asked the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” (John 6:67). As usual, Peter responded for the twelve, but he did not say, “Of course not, we understand you were using figurative language!” or anything similar. He only said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68-69).
Peter and the others did not understand what Jesus said, but they did believe in Him and they were willing to seek and wait for understanding to come later. It is not a rejection of reason or rationality to love and trust the One you have come to know is the Holy One of God. It is a rejection of autonomy and personal pride, a denial of self.
It is the basic posture for anyone who wishes to read and understand the Word of God: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68-69)
Ralph Smith is pastor of Mitaka Evangelical Church.