SIX HARD THINGS JESUS SAID

Explaining the Hard Sayings of Jesus

Jesus said some things that might be hard to swallow. Understanding the context of his words often helps us better understand what Jesus was asking for. I’m taking six of his more difficult sayings and helping you to understand what Jesus was really asking for. It doesn’t always make it any easier to follow, but, at least it might make clearer what he was asking for, and why.

little boy with Bible

 

Six Hard Sayings of Jesus

1. Let the dead bury their dead (Matthew 8:22; Luke 9:60)

Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:60).

A young man came to Jesus and said that he wanted to follow him, but first, he needed to bury his father. Jesus’ response seemed harsh. The young man’s father was probably still alive and the young man meant that he needed first to fulfil the commandment to stay with his father and give him a proper burial (someday when he died) and then he could follow Jesus. Jesus rejected this idea.

When Jesus called Peter, James, John and Andrew it reports that they followed “immediately” leaving their nets (their fishing business) and their father behind to follow Jesus (Mark 4:18-22).

Whatever the case, Jesus was expressing the urgency of the call to follow him. God is at work in the world today, and with or without you, he will accomplish his plan. The work is to be done now, not later. Those who wait, miss out.

2. Whoever Divorces and Marries Another Commits Adultery (Matthew 5:27-32; Mark 10:11-12; Luke 16:18)

But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery” (Matthew 5:32).

This one is complicated. Jesus was actually fighting for the rights of women. Women did not have the right of divorce. Only the husband could divorce his wife, and the wife had no recourse to fight the divorce. In many first century Jewish circles the husband could divorce his wife for any reason at all.

A few verses earlier Jesus had told them that when a man even looked at another woman (not his wife) with lust in his heart he committed adultery (Matthew 5:28).

If a man wanted a woman (not his wife), he didn’t have to have a sexual affair with her – he could simply divorce his current wife, and marry the other woman. In this way, men would get around the adultery charge because they didn’t technically commit adultery.

Jesus said – God is not fooled. As soon as you lusted after the other woman you committed adultery. And, when you divorced your wife because she burned the morning toast, and then immediately hooked up with the one you had been lusting after – guess what? – God knows what’s going on and you just committed adultery.

Here, Jesus was elevating the sanctity of marriage, protecting the rights of the vulnerable (in this case, wives), and calling us to a higher respect for the marriage relationship.

3. You Must Be Perfect (Matthew 5:48)

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

Jesus wasn’t calling us to be morally perfect (as in sinless). Jesus knows about our battle with sin and temptation and knows that, no matter how hard we try, we are not perfect (Rom. 3:23). He is very familiar with our struggles and failures at moral perfection (Hebrews 4:15).

Jesus’ call for us to be perfect was the concluding statement of his teachings on love. We are to love each other unconditionally. Not only that, we are to love all people (even our enemies) with the same love God has for them. It is in this way — loving unconditionally and forgiving freely — that we are made perfect through his indescribable grace  (2 Cor. 12:9).

4.You Must Hate Your Parents, Spouse, Siblings, and Children (Matthew 10:37 Luke 14:26)

If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple” (Matthew 10:37 Luke 14:26).

Jesus was using hyperbole as a tool of comparison. He was saying that your commitment to him and his kingdom had to be supremely important. In fact, the most important and most sacred human relationships of your life – your relationship with family – should absolutely pale in comparison to your relationship with Jesus.

Jesus was actually affirming the importance of all your family relationships. He just wanted to be sure that they (and everything else) were a distant second to your relationship with him.

Jesus doesn’t want you to hate your mother and father. In fact, in other places, he criticizes those who neglect their parents (Mark 7:9-13), and even as he was dying on the cross he was thinking about his mother, wanting to be sure she was taken care of (John 19:26-27).

5.You Can’t Give Someone Something Valuable if They’re Not Going to Appreciate It (Matthew 7:6; 15:26; Mark 7:27; )

It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs” (Matthew 15:26).

A woman comes to Jesus and asks him to heal her daughter who is possessed by an evil spirit. His answer seems discriminatory, at best and bigoted, at worst. Some say Jesus is testing her. There’s something to that – but, I think it’s more than that.

Jesus wants us to know that the Kingdom of God is serious business and to embrace it you have to take it seriously.

In all fairness, Jesus was harsh with everyone on this point. He told his disciples that they would all have to die for him (Matthew 16:24).  He told a rich young Jewish ruler to go and sell everything he had and follow him (Luke 18:22). The poor guy couldn’t do it. He told the crowds that some of them would never get it (Matthew 13:14).  And with this woman, he says to her – I’m not sure I should waste it on you – how badly do you want it?

You have to understand that Jesus has to cross four barriers to reach her. There is a gender barrier (she is a woman), a cultural barrier (she is a Gentile), a religious barrier (she is a Canaanite), and an ethnic barrier (she is Greek). And Jesus wants to know from her – do you really understand what I’m about?

Her answer reveals that she does. So Jesus leaps over all four barriers and heals her daughter. In so doing he showed that if you want it bad enough — God’s Kingdom is truly for anyone!

6. You Must Completely Deny Yourself to Become a Disciple of Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23).

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’” (Mark 8:34).

This one is pretty clear. Jesus calls us to die to self, sacrifice everything for him, and follow him to wherever he leads us. It’s radical, sold-out, non-stop, following Jesus. Jesus refuses to be one thing you commit to among other things. With him — it’s all or nothing.

And that’s hard, hard, hard.  No way around it. Deal with it.