When people are faced with the historical proof that Jesus existed, they’re left with little alternative but to diminish what He actually did on Earth. They’ll say things like “His followers just made things up” and “He was just a good, moral teacher.” It’s tempting to counter with the famous C.S. Lewis argument that the historical Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord. However, we can be even more direct and show that, as far as moral teachers go, Jesus wasn’t a very good one.
He was pretty judgmental
Do not judge so that you will not be judged (Matthew 7:1)
The silver bullet to Christians. The absolute proof that we don’t follow Christ because we call sin what it is. How dare we be such hypocrites as to call people sinners? Yet lets look at all the ways Christ was none-too-gentle with how He spoke to people.
- 4 verses later, He immediately calls people hyprocrtes (Matthew 7:5)
- He calls anyone who teaches something other than the gospel a ravenous wolf (Matthew 7:15), and tells us to judge their fruits (Matthew 7:16)
- He calls the Pharisees a brood of vipers (Matthew 12:34)
- He called them pretentious (Matthew 23:14)
- He called them hypocrites all the time (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
- Ultimately, He said the Pharisees and their followers, despite their good works, were going to Hell (Matthew 22:1-15, Matthew 23:15)
The same thing Christians aren’t allowed to say are nothing more than the faithful understanding of our master’s teachings. Christ has a zero-tolerance policy for self-righteousness and false teaching. The Pharisees, the very ones who were meant to lead people to God, were the greatest enemies of Christ.
Christ didn’t try to win them over with kindness or moral living. Christ knew truth, He knew people needed that truth, and He told it. Quite bluntly, as we’ve seen.
He talked about Hell… a lot
People love hearing about Heaven. Streets of gold, singing angels, and freedom from sadness. That’s the message that gets people in the seats, and it’s the kind of teaching you need to emphasize if you want people to like you.
Then, there’s Jesus.
Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)
More than anyone else in the New Testament, Christ talked about Hell at length and in great detail. Although He spoke about Heaven and eternal life, He didn’t pull punches when it came to the position of those under God’s wrath. Even His discussions of Heaven weren’t meant to make people feel good, but served to show what people didn’t deserve because of the greatness of their sin.
Today, Hell is seen as an old-school church topic. There’s certainly merit to that, as Hell was once a scare tactic to get people to buy into Christianity, rather than being used to show how far our sin separates us from God. Yet we can’t remove the reality of Hell from Christ’s teachings. Punishment for sin is intrinsically linked to redemption and salvation.
We shouldn’t love Hell. We shouldn’t find a sense of superiority from looking down on people and condemning them to Hell. That’s for the Pharisees. Instead, we need to follow the example of Christ, teaching the beauty of an eternity with God, the reality of Hell, but ultimately showing that the difference between the two comes down to one thing: the guilt of our sin.
He’s a bit of a home-wrecker
Christ is seen as one who wants unity and harmony throughout the Earth. Hold hands, sing kumbayah, and accept everyone as they are. And considering some of the things He said, it’s not hard to understand why.
I have come to bring fire on the earth—and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is finished! Do you think I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!
For from now on there will be five in one household divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. (Luke 12:49-53)
The gospel of Jesus Christ isn’t one of morality or social justice. He doesn’t teach acceptance and self-love. Christ calls for us to be absolutely devoted to Him, no matter the cost. He doesn’t save us so we can live the life we want, but to live the life we are meant to live.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. (Matthew 16:25)
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? (Romans 6:16)
We have never been free. We were once slaves to sin, called to obey our own desires in the pursuit of happiness. Now that we are Christ’s, we aren’t suddenly free to do as we please. Rather, we are called to obey out of love for who He is.
Service to God results in friction with the world. It must. Darkness hates the light, and a world covered in sin has no choice but to hate the one we serve. We mustn’t seek to cause strife and division, but Christ has all but guaranteed that friendships will end, families will be divided, and Christ’s followers will be persecuted for the truth they teach.
The gospel brings peace with God while simultaneously creating division throughout the world. Even those of us who are saved by grace don’t like to see the reality of our sin – is it any wonder that the world, who is sold out to the false promises of sin, would have it even more? Should we ever be surprised that entire families can be uprooted as some continue their slavery to sin while others seek to serve righteousness?
Was Christ a moral teacher?
“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)
When the world thinks of Christ, they consider the feel-good teachings. Love your neighbor, honor your parents, give to the poor, etc. However, Jesus’s life has a much deeper context than that. He didn’t come to teach the world how to live, but to rescue His people from their rightful condemnation.
For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. (Isaiah 64:6)
The humanitarian goal of people living good, moral lives is of little concern to Him. Christ wasn’t rejected and slaughtered by His own creation so that we could be nice to each other. Christ came to bring light to the darkness, pull His people from death, and call us to the greatest life imaginable: one spent in loving pursuit of Him.
Christ wasn’t a moral teacher. He condemned false teachers, called sinners to hate the very sin that formed their identity, and promised us a life of division and strife as we spend our lives following Him. He certainly taught us kindness, compassion, and giving. Yet never were those things our ultimate goals – rather, they were things that would flow naturally from those whose sin was paid for at that bloody cross.
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)
