Fear. Hell. Hate. Division. The hard sayings of Jesus
It often seems, for some, that the prime directive in the church is to not offend anybody.
Andy Stanley has all but decanonized the Old Testament because he fears it turns people off. Many Christians stress the need for winsomeness and downplay the more offensive truths of Scripture, putting them off as long as possible or never getting to them. We should never come off as “religious” or holier-than-thou, or hammer people over the head with the Bible, they say.
I’ll be the first to say that our tone does matter, and we should speak and act with the utmost love, grace, and kindness. See this Biblical breakdown of the importance of our manner. It adorns the gospel we preach.
But sweeping the Bible under the rug has seemed to have ironically made us ignorant of how offensive its faithful preachers were — the prophets, the apostles, and Jesus Himself.
Yes, Jesus. Someone who these Christians would never accuse of being harsh, arrogant, religious, unkind or unwise, or not winsome enough. I wonder what they do with many things Jesus said that would shock modern sensibilities and defy our self-imposed rules of engagement.
Luke’s gospel includes a run of four chapters where Jesus says several things for which Christians today would be scolded as too negative. Here’s a breakdown:
Woe
In the Bible, the word “woe” is not just a rebuke, but an imprecation of judgment and condemnation.
Luke 11 ends with Christ’s “woes” against the Pharisees and teachers of the law. He called them foolish and accused them of greed and wickedness. He said the Pharisees are like graves that men walk over. He held the lawyers responsible for the death of God’s prophets. The offended scribes and Pharisees reacted with indignation and attack.
But those were the Pharisees, you might say. They’re the bad guys who deserve it. They’re the religious ones we’re trying not to be like. Jesus was only like that with them, not with people He was trying to reach.
Oh no? The rest of His sayings in this list were spoken to the people in general, people we would call our mission field. And they’re not much easier to hear.
Related: Who hated Jesus? More than just the Pharisees
Fear and hell
Jesus starts chapter 12 by speaking to those He calls His friends. The chapter includes some pleasant, comforting exhortations like “Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows,” and “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” But in the same chapter where He encourages us not to fear, He also teaches whom we should fear:
4 “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!”
Fear God who can throw you in hell? That would get Christians thrown in winsomeness jail today (even though the passage is actually an encouragement for true believers).
Jesus said more about hell than everyone else in the Bible combined. Most of what we know about hell is directly from His lips. He used the fiery valley of Gehenna to illustrate what hell is like.
Jesus proclaimed the way of the kingdom, but He also — frequently — warned of those who would be left out. He preached judgment just as much as He preached mercy. Here’s an example from the same passage:
8 “Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. 9 But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.”
That’s followed by the parable of the rich fool — which, like many of the Lord’s parables, doesn’t have a happy ending: “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’”
Later in chapter 12 come more parables. One describes servants whose master is “delaying his coming.” The servants who are not looking for him meet a gruesome end: “The master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers” (verse 46). Other unfaithful servants get “beaten with many stripes” in the next verse.
Anyone who doesn’t think God punishes people doesn’t have Jesus on their side.
Fire and division
After that comes a paragraph in which Jesus doubles up on statements that would make some heads explode. Not only does He look forward to the fire of God’s judgment (which He Himself will bear first), but He warns that families will be divided because of Him:
49 “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished! 51 Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. 52 For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. 53 Father will be divided 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 her mother-in-law.”
Division is a cardinal sin for many Christians. Many don’t even want to talk about these ideas for the sake of unity. But there, Jesus teaches that division will inevitably result from following Him. It’s unavoidable, if we’re faithful to Him. It’s not even as shocking as what He said in Matthew 10, that He “did not come to bring peace but a sword,” and “children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.”
Related: Christ the Divider: How Jesus breaks the unity of humanity
Luke 12 ends with another warning of judgment, using prison as a metaphor for God’s wrath:
56 “Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time? 57 Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? 58 When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite.”
Verse 54 says He said this not to the Pharisees, but to the multitudes.
Repent or perish
Chapter 13 is no less astonishing in the way it completely upends what the people expected Jesus to say. Look at how He reacts to a Roman atrocity and where He directs His warning:
1 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
Their countrymen had just been slaughtered by their brutal oppressors. They no doubt thirsted for justice. But Jesus’ response was not one of empathy or camaraderie. Instead, He bluntly told them that they deserved death just as much. Repent, He said — another word considered “religious” today.
Later in the chapter come more warnings of judgment. When asked whether few are saved, He speaks of the narrow gate — an exclusive and offensive concept — and describes the ensuing terror when that gate is shut:
25 When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ 26 then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth …”
Jesus uses the phrase “weeping and gnashing of teeth” five times in Matthew’s gospel — twice describing “outer darkness,” twice in association with “the furnace of fire,” and once in a retelling of the parable of the master’s servants from Luke 12. These frighteningly capture the worst horror of hell — the utter hopelessness of it. From the mouth of Jesus.
Hate your family
In chapter 14 we see Jesus do something that would make today’s winsome missiologists go full tilt.
Picture the scene here: “great multitudes” are following Him. That’s the goal, right? The more, the merrier! That’s a successful ministry, we’d say. Just don’t say anything that would turn them off … uh oh.
25 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it — 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”
Jesus had a throng of “seekers” with Him, and out of the blue, He tells them to hate their families*, lay down their lives, count the cost, and forsake all that they have, or don’t bother following Him. Not very seeker-friendly. While today’s churches do and say everything they can to attract people and grow numerically, Jesus did just the opposite with such stark, stunning language that it seems like He was trying to reduce His following.
(*In that culture and language, to “hate” in this context meant to love someone less in comparison. Jesus again set Himself as a divider of families.)
‘Does this offend you?’
We know that He did reduce His following, drastically, in John 6, where He preached a message so confusing and offensive that all of His disciples left Him except the twelve. “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” they said. His biting reply: “Does this offend you?”
These passages make it overwhelmingly clear that offending His audience, which He knew He would, was the least of His concerns. Jesus didn’t want many followers; He wanted true followers. He was far more concerned with the purity of His following than the size of it.
And He knew the way to winnow them was to give them the hard sayings up front. He never delayed them. He never softened or downplayed them. He never tried to make them comfortable. In no way did He fit the modern definitions of “winsome” or “affirming.” He loved people enough to be straight with them.
So the next time you want to discourage certain words or approaches as unwise or religious, remember the words of the Lord and ask whether He would pass that test.
