The Little Book of Jesus

There are parts of Jesus’ teaching with which we can easily agree. The deeper bits require some effort. We have to rethink our own attitudes. That is more demanding. There is a natural tendency to skip those bits. If we do we discard the most valuable part of all and fail to achieve the objective. Jesus put forward a new commandment, as he called it. It was his great commandment of love. I give you a new commandment: love one another; as I have loved you, so you are to love one another. If there is this love among you, then everyone will know that you are my disciples. (John 13:34–35) Just as Jesus’ love went to everyone, we are to love everyone, whoever they are. It is to be second nature to us. That is how we step over from worldly thinking to be with God. That is what it is to imitate Jesus. Then the Kingdom comes to us and we enter into the Kingdom. The principle of loving our neighbour has an obvious liberating effect. Look at it from the position of the neighbour. To be treated lovingly by everyone removes barriers. It brings out the good in each one of us. Life takes on a new dimension. We are all born into the world together; we become God’s Kingdom by the way we live together. Jesus’ new commandment was not, in fact, new. The Gospel of St Luke tells that a lawyer asked Jesus, ‘Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus turned the question back on him; he was the expert who had studied the law, he was the one to have the answer. Jesus said, ‘What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?’ He replied, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’ ‘That is the right answer,’ said Jesus; ‘do that and you will have life.’ (Luke 10:26–28) The lawyer gave the answer from the ancient book of the Law (Deuteronomy 6:4–5): first love God, then love your neighbour. Jesus said to him, in effect, ‘You know it, do it’. That is where the difficulty comes. Loving God and our neighbour with our all touches on so much. We do not take it nearly far enough. It needs working over and over. What Matthew wrote is only a pointer from which to start. Jesus extended the principle of love in a startling way. But what I tell you is this: Love your enemies and pray for your persecutors; only so can you be children of your heavenly Father… (Matthew 5:44–45) Loving a hostile or unpleasant person is where it is natural to draw the line. Jesus said that instead of feeling a rebuff we should think that that person has failed to love as they should; they have the problem, not us. We may not know what has made them how they are, but they need our help to get out of it. That is how we should see other people’s faults. Lack of consideration and and bad behaviour are cries for help. That is how God sees it. If we do not, we are not with God. Helping each other along, going out of our way to do it, is fundamental in the new teaching. A further revolutionary teaching of Jesus is ‘turn the other cheek’, that is, if someone molests one, do not fight back. Do not resist those who wrong you. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn and offer him the other also. (Matthew 5:39) Defending ourself continues the aggression. A little thing becomes something bigger. It takes two to have a quarrel. Hitting back repeats the other’s wrong action. Turning the other cheek is a simple rebuke. We should leave God to settle such issues, not take it into our own hands. He knows what was behind it all. He can discipline the one who started it, better than we can. Jesus went on to say that if someone takes your shirt on pledge, let him have your cloak as well. If someone in authority presses you into service for one mile, as roman soldiers did, go with him two. Jesus’ principle was to preserve peace. Put that before insisting on one’s rights. Instead, return wrong with good. Leave God to recompense us. Jesus added, ‘Give to anyone who asks, do not turn your back on a borrower’ (Matthew 5:39–42). Satan would have us drawn into doing doubtful things. Jesus said, ‘No’. As his followers we pursue the way of peace. God gives a just settlement.