For so sworn good or evil an oath may not be broken and it shall pursue oathkeeper and oathbreaker to the world’s end. (J.R.R. Tolkien)
Thinking about the musings from Day 36: Jesus…The Outside, Independent Corroboration…
I would submit to you that the evidence presented in the writings found in the Torah, Old Testament, Flavius Josephus, Tacitus and Pliny the Younger, prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jesus of Nazareth did in fact exist. With that being said, I believe now the focus needs to shift to the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth….
Or, as Pliny the Younger reference to the followers of Jesus of Nazareth as:
“bound themselves by a solemn oath…”
So what is this ‘solemn oath’ that the followers of Jesus of Nazareth were so committed to?
Below are 20 ideas that Jesus of Nazareth brought forward during his 3 years of ministry. I located these 20 ideas from the following two websites:
https://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/christianity/2011/10-radical-sayings-of-jesus.aspx
I have placed a summary of these 20 ideas from these websites below. I have also listed them in order of where they can be quickly located in the Gospels in the New Testament. The first begins in Matthew 5 and the last one is in John 15:
1) Rejoice when you are persecuted on account of Jesus. Matthew 5:10-11.
2) Turn the other cheek. Matthew 5:38-42.
3) Love your enemies. Matthew 5:43-47.
4) God or money, you must make the choice. Matthew 6:24.
5) Do not be anxious about your life. Matthew 6:25.
6) Many are travelling on the road to destruction, and only will stay on the road to life. Matthew 7:13-14.
7) Not everyone enters the kingdom. Matthew 7:21-23.
8) Fear God. Matthew 10:28.
9) There is a place of ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’. Matthew 13:41-43.
10) Become a servant. Matthew 20:26-28.
11) The exalted will be humbled. Matthew 23:12.
12) Serve the poor, or go to hell. Matthew 25:41-46.
13) Gain the world, forfeit life. Mark 8:34-38.
14) Sell your stuff and give to the poor. Mark 10:21
15) The Beatitudes: Luke 6:20-23.
16) Corresponding woes: Luke 6:24-26.
17) Jesus is above everyone else. Luke 14:26.
18) Deny yourself, and take up the cross daily and follow Jesus. Luke 9:23-25.
19) Jesus is the only way to God. John 14.6.
20) The world hated Jesus, so expect the world to hate Christians. John 15:18-20.
Whew! That is definitely a lot to unpack.
Instead of trying to unpack all 20, the interest of time and space, I selected 5…5 of 20 that I believe makes Jesus of Nazareth, and his followers, stand out from all of the other world belief systems:
2) Turn the other cheek.
Matthew 5:38-42 (KJV):
38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
4) God or money, you must make the choice.
Matthew 6:24 (KJV):
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
9) There is a place of ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’.
Matthew 13:41-43 (KJV):
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
19) Jesus is the only way to God.
John 14:6 (KJV):
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
20) The world hated Jesus, so expect the world to hate Christians.
John 15:18-20 (KJV):
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
So, here is a quick summary from these 5 teachings of Jesus of Nazareth:
2) Turn the other cheek when someone hits you;
4) Deal with the fact that you will not get the TV set of your dreams in your living room;
9) Be prepared to live in a place way, way hotter than Texas in the summertime;
19) Follow him and only him or you are never ever going to get to see or visit, or hang out with, THE Someone Upstairs Who Runs The Show?
20) Understand that everyone you know and everywhere you go will see you and hate you for following him?
After reading and summarizing just 5 of 20, why would anyone wish to “bound themselves by a solemn oath…”?
Doesn’t it seem that to be a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, one must be actually following solemn oaths?
After reading the expectations and summaries of just 5, why would anyone want to be a follower of Jesus of Nazareth when one is expected to follow all 20…?
It all just seems way too…
Radical.
Do not feel discouraged if you are having a difficult time trying to comprehend all 20, or even just 5, of the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Do not feel discouraged if you are still confused as to why anyone, then or now, would wish to be bound by that solemn oath. Instead, embrace the idea that this research is necessary to come to a logical conclusion when thinking about the here and now…and eternity.
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13 KJV)
Was today’s blog a little confusing at times? Was the content perhaps a little overwhelming? Did you feel lost not understanding some or most of the subject matter?
Those feelings are totally understandable and it is ok to have one or more of those feelings. Remember that you are reading Day 37: The Solemn Oath.
If you haven’t been in class since the first day of school…or when the project began…or when the contract was first signed, etc., these feelings make perfect and logistical sense.
Please feel free to go back to where all of this began: