The preaching of Jesus commences

The open and public preaching of Jesus fully commenced after John was put in prison (Matthew 4:12). This was many months after Jesus’ baptism.

The main theme of his preaching is summarised in his discourse on the Mount (Matthew 5–8). On reading through these chapters we see the wonder of his teaching as he shows his disciples how to live a Godly life. God is the model and Christ himself the example. It is in this discourse that Jesus introduces the aspect of God as a “Father” to his disciples (cp Matthew 5:43–48; 5:8–9; 6:31–33; 7:7–11).

Jesus also gives “The Lord’s Prayer” in this discourse as a pattern to teach his disciples how to pray (Matthew 6:9–13).

In his teaching he presents the deeper spiritual significance of the Law of Moses. He is not, as some think, contradicting the Law given by God to Moses, but identifying the principles inherent in each command or prohibition. The Law had said, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13), but Jesus shows that anger itself is wrong. If we love our neighbour we will not even be angry with him (Matthew 5:21–22). Similarly the Law had said, “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14), but Jesus shows that the very contemplation of lustful thoughts is unacceptable to God, being contrary to the spirit of that Law (Matthew 5:27–28). He summarises the spirit of the Law and the Prophets in these words: “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).

The Gospel

The Gospel which Jesus preached (Mark 1:14–15)

The main theme of Jesus’ message is termed “the Gospel”. The word means “good news” or “glad tidings”. There are two main elements to this Gospel message, as summarised in Acts 8:12:

1. The Kingdom of God Jesus spoke of the Kingdom which God had promised (Luke 8:1; cp Daniel 2:44; Revelation 11:15). He told his disciples to pray for it because it would usher in his reign of righteousness and peace (Matthew 6:10). He also outlined the essential characteristics of this Kingdom in many of his parables (Luke 19:11–27; Matthew 25:31–34).

2. Salvation from Sin and Death through the Name of Jesus Christ This is the second and equally important element of the gospel. It affects the individual very personally, for it relates to the way in which we can be saved through Jesus Christ.

Belief in these two aspects of the Gospel leads to the first act of obedience, which is baptism (Mark 16:15–16; Romans 5:21; 6:23).

The Disciples and the Apostles

The word “disciple” comes from a Greek word indicating “one who learns from a teacher”. Jesus had many disciples. We too can be his disciples today, by carefully reading and absorbing the story of his life and striving to put into practice his teaching and example.

The word “apostle” means “one who is sent” with a message. Jesus selected from his disciples twelve men whom he called apostles for he sent them out for the specific work of preaching the Gospel. Their names and how they were selected are recorded in Luke 6:13–16 and Matthew 10:1–7. The Greek word apostello is used when Jesus “sent forth” the twelve (Matthew 10:5).

“The Kingdom of God” and “the Kingdom of Heaven”

In the Gospel records both these terms occur. However, by comparing the records we note that the expressions both relate to the Kingdom that will be set up on the earth when Christ returns.

For example, compare Matthew 8:11 with Luke 13:28–29. In Luke we read that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will be in “the kingdom of God” and in Matthew, in “the kingdom of heaven”. It is the same Kingdom referred to in the Lord’s Prayer, where Jesus prayed, “Thy Kingdom come; thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). The Kingdom to be set up on earth is a heavenly Kingdom for it is God’s Kingdom. When “the meek shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5) they will do so in company with such people as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 13:14–17; see notes on the promises to Abraham, Lesson 8). Jesus Christ will soon return to set up this Kingdom (Revelation 11:15; Daniel 2:44), and reign from Jerusalem as King (Matthew 5:35; Jeremiah 3:17).

The Miracles of Healing Which Jesus Performed

These miracles of healing of sickness and even raising the dead had a twofold lesson. They were:

A sign that God was working through him

The remarkable miracles he performed testified that God had sent him and were a witness that he was the Messiah (that is, “Christ”) foretold in the prophets—the Hebrew word Messiah and Greek word Christ mean“anointed”. Jesus was anointed at his baptism by the Holy Spirit that he might perform these miracles while preaching the Gospel (Isaiah 61:1; cp Matthew 11:4–6; Luke 4:16–21; also Isaiah 42:1–3,7; cp Matthew 12:17–21). These works were a sign that he was sent by God (John 5:36; 10:25; Acts 2:22).

A sign that sin and death can be removed through him

Sickness, disease and death have come upon mankind because of the sin of Adam and Eve. All men eventually die and return to the dust. The lesson of the miracles of Jesus is beautifully summarised in Matthew 8:16–17, which is quoted from Isaiah 53:4. Jesus had compassion on those who were suffering, for he also was “touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Hebrews 4:15). His healing of sickness and death by the power of God was a sign that he was sent to deliver man from the root cause of his problem, which is sin. Consider the miracle of healing the paralytic (Matthew 9:1–8; Psalm 103:3).

Because of Jesus’ sinless life and perfect obedience to God, even unto death (1 Peter 2:22–24; Philippians 2:8), God raised him to life again to be the Saviour of all mankind (2 Timothy 1:9–10; Romans 5:10). Through him we too have the hope of resurrection from the grave and can be delivered from mortality and corruption (1 Corinthians 15:20–23, 50–58). The miracles of healing taught this wonderful lesson.

The Parables of Jesus

Often Jesus spoke in parables. Why did he do this? The reason is given in his explanation of the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:10–16).

A parable is a story, usually of everyday things, but with a deeper spiritual meaning that is to be drawn from the simple details. Jesus spoke in parables to separate between the genuine disciples and those who were attracted to him purely because of the miracles he performed. The prophets actually foretold that Jesus would use this method of teaching (Isaiah 6:9–10; cp Matthew 13:10–17; Psalm 78:2; cp Matthew 13:34–35).

The parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1–23)

The story is simple and clear, but the spiritual lesson is very important. The seed sown was the “word of God” (v19). Individuals fall into four categories:

1. the hard wayside

2. the stony ground

3. the thorny ground

4. the good ground

These four kinds of ground represent the four different kinds of responses from people who hear the gospel. The lesson of this parable is powerful and pointed. Jesus explains that the ones who are like the hard wayside are those who hear the word of God but they do not understand it and so it is soon lost. Then there are those like the stony ground – these hear the word and receive it with joy but do not have any depth to sustain its growth and so when trials and difficulties come in life they wither and cease to follow God’s ways. When speaking of the thorny ground Jesus explains that this speaks of those people who let their concern for riches and the worries and cares of life choke interest in Christ’s teaching and so they turn from following him. Only those like the good ground respond and produce fruit. They seriously approach the reading of the word of God (the “seed” of the parable) and let it grow in the good soil of their minds, that their lives may be enriched and bring forth fruit, that is, a way of life to God’s glory.

The nobleman going into a far country (Luke 19:11–27)

Again the story is simple on the surface, but the lesson is very important. Jesus told this parable because the disciples were expecting the Kingdom to be set up right then. They did not understand that Jesus must first be crucified and then be raised and go to his Father in heaven for quite a long period before returning to set up the Kingdom on earth. This parable was given so that his disciples might come to appreciate this.

The lesson for us from this parable is that the Lord Jesus Christ will soon return to the earth, but while he is absent we need to toil diligently in his service like the faithful servants. If we follow this example then we too will receive his words of approval: “Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities” (v17).

As we read the parables of Jesus we need to look for their spiritual lessons, and pay careful attention to what he is teaching so that we may be counted among his true disciples.

Adapted from “The Exploring the Bible Course” by David Evans