of the Holy Spirit before her marriage to Joseph. Jesus had four brothers and also a number of sisters. What we know of his life comes to us primarily through the Gospels that were written some two generations after his death (Frend 55). Little is know of his early life other than a few incidents noted primarily in the Gospel of Luke. Most accounts begin with his travel to his cousin, John the Baptist, who had established a following as an ascetic, recluse prophet. Jesus went to him for baptism and at that time had a powerful experience of the Holy Spirit entering him. The Holy Spirit then led him into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the Devil to prove his worthiness. Instead of following John’s example of ascetic ministry, Jesus chose a different mission. He recruited disciples from the fishermen and working class of Nazareth and took his message to the common people. One of his earliest and most profound teachings was the Sermon on the Mount:
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
Blessed are the sorrowful;
they shall find consolation.
Blessed are the gentle;
they shall have the earth for their
possession.
Blessed are those who hunger and
thirst to see right prevail;
they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are those who show
mercy;
mercy shall be shown to them.
Blessed are those whose hearts are
pure;
they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers;
they shall be called God’s
children.
Blessed are those who are
persecuted for the cause of right;
the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
(Matthew 5:3-10)
With this remarkable statement of humility and compassion, the basis of Christianity was set. Jesus was adamant that he had not come to abolish the law of Moses but to complete it; he went so far as to say, “not a letter, not a dot will disappear from the law….” (Matthew 5:18). But in completing this law he made some dramatic changes and additions. He said not only must you not murder, but you must not even feel anger against another. He said that the prohibition against adultery extended so far as to not even looking lustfully at anyone other than your spouse. He said that you must not only love your neighbor but you must also love your enemy. He said you must forgive others for whatever wrongs they have done to you. He said you cannot serve both God and money. He said it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. He said we were not to judge others. Many of these new commandments are stated in another of his sermons, the Sermon to the Disciples:
But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who treat you spitefully. If anyone hits you on the cheek, offer the other also; if anyone takes your coat, let him have your shirt as well. Give to everyone that asks you; if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back.
Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. Again, if you do good only to those who do good to you, what credit is there in that? Even sinners do as much. And if you lend only what you expect to be repaid, what credit is there in that? Even sinners lend to each other to be repaid in full. But you must love your enemies and do good, and lend without expecting any return; and you will have a rich reward: you will be sons of the Most High, because he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be compassionate, as your Father is compassionate.
Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned; give, and gifts will be presented you. Good measure, pressed and shaken down and running over, will be poured into your lap; for whatever measure you deal out to others will be dealt to you in turn. (Luke 7:27-37)
Jesus’ teachings often took the form of parables to stress the point of his new or revised commandments. When challenged by a scribe of the Temple as to which of the commandments was greatest, Jesus stated that to love God is the greatest followed by loving your neighbor. Jesus said that all the law and teachings of the prophets were based on these two commandments. The scribe then asked how he was to know who was his neighbor, and Jesus told the parable of the good Samaritan: how a man badly beaten by robbers lay by the side of the road and was ignored by a Jewish priest and a Levite, but was not only cared for, but taken to an inn and his recovery financed by a Samaritan, a Gentile (non-Jewish). Jesus asked the lawyer which of the men had acted like a good neighbor, and the scribe responded the Samaritan had. Jesus told him to go and act like that. In another case he illustrated his teaching of being non-judgmental. Jewish leaders brought a woman accused of adultery and asked what should be done with her, knowing well that the law of Moses required stoning her to death. After doodling on the ground with his finger, Jesus told them that whoever was without sin should cast the first stone. After they had all left, he told her to go and sin no more. Jesus’ sense of forgiveness was also given life in his parable of the Prodigal Son, the story of a son who convinced his father to give him his share of the estate early and immediately went off and squandered it on wild living. He became so destitute he was reduced to tending a man’s pigs and not eating as well as they did. He came crawling back to his father and asked him to take him back as a slave. Instead the father ordered the fatted-calf killed and a feast laid out to celebrate his son’s return. The father’s other son was disturbed to see such a welcome, as he had remained faithful, but the father told him to celebrate, as he would always be dear to him, but now his lost son was found and it was a time for rejoicing.
While the radical teachings of Jesus undoubtedly gathered a following, his reputation as a miracle worker and healer was probably as great, if not greater, an attraction to his growing devotees. He healed the lepers, the blind, the lame, the paralyzed, and the sick. He brought people back from the dead. He walked on water, drove out demons, calmed storms, and fed five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fishes.
The Gospels put forth all these teachings and miracles, but they also present some contrasting images of Jesus; he violently drove merchants from the Temple (Matthew 21:12-13); he killed a fig tree that bore no fruit when he was hungry (Matthew 21:18-19); he said those who were not for him were automatically against him (Matthew 12:30); he refused to see his mother and brothers when in their concern they came to visit him (Matthew 12:46-50); he repudiated the Jewish tradition of divorce (Matthew 19:9); he challenged the ancient dietary regulations of the Jewish faith by teaching, “No one is defiled by what goes into the mouth; only by what comes out of it.” In his teachings in the Temple he not only radically changed the interpretation of the law of Moses, he attacked the Jewish leaders of the day. The following is a small fragment of his onslaught of accusations:
