The Incoherence of the Biblical Jesus' Teachings
by
Bassam Zawadi
When we look at the teachings of Jesus Christ in the Bible that we have today, we see that his teachings are unclear. Especially if, according to Christians, Jesus claimed divinity and taught the concept of trinity, then this shows that Jesus' teachings are not clear because nowhere do you find any clear teachings of the Christian doctrine today uttered by Jesus' mouth in any of the four gospels. Even the disciples had difficulty figuring out what Jesus was trying to say to them:
Mark 9:30-32
They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he would not have anyone know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, 'The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise.' But they did not understand the saying and were afraid to ask him."
Luke 18:31-34
"And taking the twelve, he said to them, 'Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written of the Son of man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon; they will scourge him and kill him, and on the third day he will rise.' But they understood none of these things; this saying was hid from them, and they did not grasp what was said."
John 16:12-13
"I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come."
In John 16, we see that Jesus is saying that later on, the Spirit of truth will come to guide the people unto all truth. Well, why couldn't Jesus do it himself? Why couldn't he make them understand clearly what was going on?
Even Jesus himself admits that he was speaking figuratively all this time:
John 16:25
25"Though I have been speaking figuratively (paroimia), a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father.
The word paroimia could mean:
1) a saying out of the usual course or deviating from the usual manner of speaking
a) a current or trite saying, a proverb
2) any dark saying which shadows forth some didactic truth
a) esp. a symbolic or figurative saying
b) speech or discourse in which a thing is illustrated by the use of similes and comparisons
c) an allegory
1) extended and elaborate metaphor
Source: http://www.blueletterbible.org/tmp_dir/words/3/1146511128-5176.html
Why wasn't Jesus always speaking in a normal and clear way? Why did Jesus say he won't 'use this kind of language'?
Well, here we find out why:
Mark 4:10-12
10When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12so that," 'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'
So basically, Jesus was teaching in parables so people could be confused. Shouldn't this Messiah, who was expected to come by the people for thousands of years, at least come to communicate clearly to the people regarding what is expected of them? If they are spoken to in an unclear manner, how can you blame them for rejecting the message? God shouldn't be confusing the people because God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33).
Some Christians argue that only true spiritual believers understand the parables, while others don't. However, many sincere Christians attend Bible classes and are taught the meaning of these parables. They need help in understanding them. Does this make them disbelievers?
Conclusion
If Jesus was this Messiah whom people have been waiting in suspense for thousands of years, why did he come to keep people in suspense even longer? Messengers of God are supposed to communicate clearly to the people what God wants them to do. If they do not, how can we expect people to understand and accept the message God is conveying to them? Allah orders the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to deliver the message clearly so that the people may understand and be clear to them (5:92, 16:44, and many others). This way, the person would be accountable for rejecting something made clear to him. The message must be clearly communicated to the individual. This is God's way.
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