Jesus Was Only About Love

You’ve probably heard that before - right? So have I.

I don’t think however, that the kind of love that people have in mind when they make that comment is the kind of love that was part of Jesus’ makeup. The kind of love that people have in mind is the kind that completely ignores justice and personal responsibility. In reality, what people have in mind isn’t love at all. It’s an immature, wishy-washy, lukewarm kinda stuff that Jesus said makes Him want to "puke you out of My mouth."

Throughout the four Gospels we have an example of the kind of love that Jesus demonstrated. Jesus was a teacher, a Rabbi, an itinerant Preacher. He taught in parables. In the Old Testament we have a prophecy that the Messiah would not just use parables to teach. Rather, the prophecy said the Messiah could be identified by the fact that he wouldn’t use anything BUT parables to teach.

Now, I don’t know what your definition of a parable is. Some say parables were meant to teach the deeper truths of God’s kingdom. And that’s true. Some say parables were lessons taught using common everyday subjects like farming. And that’s true. However, if you asked Jesus what a parable was, or more specifically, if you asked Jesus why He used parables to teach, you’d soon discover and new understanding of the phrase, “Jesus was only about love.”

For example, look at Matthew 13 - the parable of the sower. The same account is told in Mark chapter 4 and Luke chapter 8. In each case, after Jesus is done teaching, Jesus is asked by His disciples, “Master, why do you speak to the people in parables?” It’s like they were asking Him, "Why do you speak to the people in riddles?" Or, "Why don’t you clearly say what you mean?"

Here is Jesus’ answer:
“The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given to you, but not to them.”

In other words, Jesus was saying, “I teach in parables not to reveal truth to the general public but to hide the truth from them.”

What? I thought Jesus was only about love! How could He deliberately hide truth from those who need it? Why would Jesus spend the three short years of His ministry hiding the truth from all but a few? Does this seem fair? Does this sound like the action of a loving God?

Here’s something that might be a clue. After the “sermon” who came to find out more? Who came to ask what the parable was all about? Who wanted to know the truth and the meaning of what Jesus had just said? It certainly wasn’t the crowds. Like the one or two diligent students in any classroom who stay late to ask for extra instruction from their high school teacher, it was only the diligent disciples who remained to learn more from Jesus. It’s the same with spiritual seekers today. Atheists often lament that 80% of the North American population identifies themselves as Christian. I think atheists can relax. I doubt that 80% of any group could legitimately call themselves diligent followers Jesus and of what He taught. Not even of those who attend Church.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

. The Kingdom of heaven is for those who want it.

. The Kingdom of God is for those who search for it, long for it, who "hunger and thirst for it," who go after it as though looking for a treasure.

. The Kingdom of God is for those who are willing to humble themselves enough to accept God’s grace and forgiveness.

God’s love is shown in that even though none of us deserve to be forgiven, God will grant forgiveness to any and all who ask.

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave His Son, His one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in Him, ANYONE can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending His Son merely to point an accusing finger. He came to put the world right again.” John 3:16,17.

No one who truly wants salvation will be turned away. Any and all comers will be accepted on the basis of their faith in what Jesus accomplished through His death and resurrection.

God’s justice is shown in that those who reject His offer of forgiveness, those who want to be free from the presence and influence of God will get exactly that.

God will not force anyone to spend eternity with Him.

The love and justice of Jesus determines that, “Whoever has, will be given more. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables. Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.”

God knew the hearts and motives of the people who came to hear Him speak. Based on what He knew, He obscured His view from those who were not genuine and revealed Himself to those who were sincerely seeking truth.

Whether it was listening to Jesus by the shore back then, or today, sitting in a pew, the crowd generally:
Wanted to be entertained.
Did not want commitment.
Wanted only what they could get from God.
They were not willing to give to Him their lives.

God knows your heart and your motives. Based on what He knows, He’ll either reveal more of Himself to you, or He’ll slam the door shut so that even what little you know about God will remain confusing and incomprehensible to you.

Someone once said, “God has given us just enough evidence of Himself so that those who are looking for Him will find Him, and just enough evidence so that those who don’t want to find Him will not be able to find Him accidentally.”

Jesus pushed that idea a few steps further.
. For those who God knows will respond positively to His offer of forgiveness, God will open their spiritual eyes and reveal Himself to them.

. For those who God knows will deny His existence or simply reject His offer of forgiveness, God will make them spiritually dull of mind and slow of thought. He will send to them a great delusion so that, “They will be ever hearing but never understanding; ever seeing but never perceiving.”

Jesus was only about love? What Jesus are you talking about?