In examining the writings of and about Jesus and Paul in the Bible, it becomes readily apparent to the earnest reader that whereas Jesus’ fundamental teachings remain remarkably consistent throughout the Gospels, Paul’s quite clearly do not. Indeed, Paul himself even goes so far as to openly boast about his knack for theological bendability, at one point bragging that “I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jew I became a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the Law I became as one under the Law (though I myself an not under the Law) so that I might win those under the Law … I have become all things to all people, that I might be any and all means save some of them.” (1 Corinthians 9:19-22) He also admitted openly and without remorse that “I try to please everyone else in everything I do” in 1 Corinthians 10:33, and encouraged his followers not to speak their Truth courageously, but rather to “Let your speech always be gracious, and seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6), for in his opinion “some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, and others from goodwill … [some] out of love … and others out of selfish ambition … What does it matter, so long as Christ is proclaimed? … Whether out of false motives or true, in that I rejoice” (Philippians 1:15-18). Unsurprisingly, this penchant for irregularity manifested itself is many of the more fundamental tenets of Paul’s theology.  Consider …

*Paul was inconsistent in his approach to honoring the Law. Sometimes he claimed to be a strictly staunch upholder thereof – “believing everything laid down according to the Law and written in the prophets” (Acts 24:14) and being “as to the righteousness under the Law, blameless” (Philippians 3:6 – see also Acts 22:3, Acts 23:6, & Acts 26:5), while at other times he spoke openly and quite heretically against the same – claiming in Romans 13:8-9 & Galatians 5:14 that all the Law could be fulfilled in one word (with Jesus saying otherwise in Matthew 5:17-18, Matthew 7:21, Matthew 13:16-23, Matthew 22:37-40, & Matthew 24:12-14 et al), claiming in 1 Corinthians 6:12-14 & Colossians 2:16 that all things were lawful (with Jesus saying otherwise in Matthew 5:18, Luke 6:17, & John 14:15 et al), claiming in Romans 14:14 that “nothing is unclean in itself” (with Jesus asserting otherwise in Matthew 5:8, Matthew 15:11, & Matthew 23:25-26 et al), claiming in Romans 6:14 & Romans 7:4 that Christ had abolished the Law and replaced it with grace (with Jesus noting otherwise in Matthew 5:17-18, Matthew 7:21, Matthew 19:17, Matthew 28:20, Luke 16:17, & John 13:15-17 et al), claiming in Romans 3:20, Galatians 2:16-21, & Galatians 3:11-21 that no one was justified by the Law and even in Galatians 3:13 that the Law was a “curse” (with Jesus clearly announcing otherwise in Matthew 7:20-21, Matthew 13:18-23, Matthew 16:27, Matthew 19:17, Matthew 24:12-14, & John 13:15-17 et al), and claiming in 2 Corinthians 3:12-16 that the Law was “veiled” and thereby too difficult to understand or fulfill (with Jesus intoning otherwise in Matthew 11:28-30, Matthew 19:26, Matthew 22:37-40, John 14:4-6, & John 15:11 et al).

*Paul was also inconsistent in his proclamations concerning Faith & Works – on the one hand often proclaiming that it was only faith that saved (see Romans 4:1-5, Romans 5:1-2, Romans 10:6-9, Galatians 2:21, & Galatians 3:22 et al), while on the other hand brazenly stating in Galatians 5:6 that “the only thing that counts is faith enlivened¹ by Love” and in Acts 26:20 that his followers should “turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance.” Similarly, Paul cannot seem to make his mind up regarding when his version of faith takes hold – noting in Galatians 3:23 that “before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the Law”, and yet essentially stating exactly the opposite in his later letter to the Romans. (see Romans 4:3 & Romans 4:22)

*Paul was inconsistent in his teachings on the nature of Jesus Christ – on the one hand claiming that he was the divine Son of God (see 1 Corinthians 8:6 – also Romans 9:5, 1 Corinthians 2:16 & Romans 10:13), and on the other that he was a human saint, lord, and teacher. (see Romans 1:3, Galatians 4:4, 1 Corinthians 2:8, & 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 et al)²

*Paul was inconsistent in his proclamations about predestination & choice – on the one hand stating that God “has mercy on whomever He chooses, and hardens the heart of whomever he chooses” (Romans 9:18) and on the other that God “has imprisoned all in disobedience so that He might be merciful towards all” (Romans 11:32); on the one hand declaring that he sinned because of the Law (see Romans 7:7-13) and on the other that he “will not be dominated by anything.” (1 Corinthians 6:12)

*Perhaps most amusing of all, Paul cannot even make up his mind about making up his mind – stating on the one hand quite clearly that “If I were seeking to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10), and yet also stating just as boldly that “I try to please everyone in everything I do.” (1 Corinthians 10:32 – see also Romans 12:17, Romans 14:18 & 2 Corinthians 8:21)³

Jesus Christ, on the other hand, never wavered in sharing his brand of Gospel – a Gospel which was clearly defined twofold: A) that the Kingdom of Heaven was already present in every single moment of every human’s life (specifically that it is “even now at hand” via Matthew 10:7 – see also Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:15, Luke 10:9-11, & Luke 17:20-21 et al) and B) that the entrance into that Kingdom came only to those who were willing to actively (see Matthew 7:21 & John 13:15-17 et al) and self-sacrificially (a la Luke 9:23 & Matthew 16:24-26, along with Matthew 5:38-42 & Luke 6:28-30) care for others (explicitly referenced in Matthew 24:12-14) – especially the downtrodden in their midst (a la Matthew 25:35-40) &/or the enemies in their lives (a la Matthew 5:43-48, Luke 6:27-28 & Luke 10:29-37).  Consider …

*When crowds of people demanded he show them “signs” and miracles, Jesus often refused to do so – opting instead to share the message of his Way of selfless Love (see Matthew 12:38-39, Mark 8:11-13, Luke 11:29-30, & Luke 12:54-56 – also John 4:48-50).

*When strangers or his disciples or even demons proclaimed that he was the Davidian Messiah (instead of simply a pure relayer of a most pure Way), Jesus repeatedly informed them of their error and told them with great vehemence not to spread that particular falsehood to others (see Matthew 8:4, Matthew 9:30-31, Matthew 16:20, Mark 1:23-25, Mark 1:34, Mark 1:40-44, Mark 7:36, Mark 8:22-26, Mark 8:27-30, Mark 8:31-33, Luke 4:31-35, Luke 4:41, Luke 5:12-16, & Luke 8:49-56 et al).

*When tested on the Law, Jesus never faltered in defended the absolute purity of the same (see Matthew 5:17-18, along with the rest of Matthew 5-7) – ever doing so under the penumbra of its most essential Gospel (i.e. that God was a celestial Father of perfect Love & absolute mercy – a la Matthew 5:48 & Luke 6:36 et al, and that we could all become his spiritual Children via acting accordingly – see Matthew 7:21, Matthew 13:18-23, Matthew 24:12-14, John 10:34-38, John 13:15-17, John 14:12, & John 14:20-23 et al).

*Even when threatened by the authorities, Jesus affirmed his message and its underlying principles – calmly “passing through” violent mobs instead of caving to their criticisms (a la Luke 4:30), answering his aggressive questioners cryptically (often saying “No” in the form of the subtly coy “You say so” a la Mark 15:2 & Luke 23:3 juxtaposed with John 6:15 – see also Matthew 26:64 & Mark 14:61b-62 juxtaposed with Mark 10:18 et al), and even maintaining complete silence in the face of dire legal challenges (see Matthew 26:63, Matthew 27:12, Mark 14:61a, Mark 15:5, Luke 23:9, & John 19:9).

*Even though others persistently proclaimed that he was the Messiah – the one and only “Son of God”, Jesus repeatedly informed them that this was certainly not the case – that he was not equal to God (see Matthew 24:36, Mark 10:18, John 7:16, John 8:50-54, & John 12:44 et al), and that instead of worshiping him (see Matthew 7:21 & John 5:41‘s “I accept the glory of no human being” et al) they should all simply do as he had done (see John 11:26 + John 14:12 & John 13:15-17 et al) and thereby become as he had become (see John 10:34-35 & John 14:20-23 et al).

*Indeed, despite all manner of resistance & rejection & ridicule, Jesus’ message remained stunningly consistent from start to finish – in his ministry’s very beginning calling for all to “repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is even now at hand” (a la Matthew 4:17 & Mark 1:15 – see also Matthew 11:21, Luke 3:8-11, Luke 5:32, Luke 13:3-5, & John 3:3-8), throughout its course noting again & again & again that the “repentance” which he proclaimed (the Greek metanoeo – Strong’s #4430, a word that combined one’s state of mind (noeo) with an active renewal thereof (meta); meaning that for Jesus “repentance” had little to do with what one thought or said, and everything to do with what one did for others) was nothing short of showing unconditional Love for others in the form of deeds of selfless kindness (see Matthew 5:39-48, Matthew 7:21, Matthew 18:21-22, Matthew 25:35-40, Luke 6:27-36, Matthew 22:37-40 juxtaposed with Luke 10:29-37, John 13:15-17, & John 15:12-13 et al), and defining his unique “Gospel” quite specifically in accordance with the same (see Matthew 24:12-14, where he quite clearly states “the Love of many will grow cold, and yet the one who endures [in Love] to the end will be saved. And it is this Good News of the Kingdom that must be proclaimed throughout the world” – see also Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15-16, Luke 24:46-48, & John 20:21).

*Just as revealing, every single one of Jesus’ biblical parables (by far his favorite teaching medium – see Matthew 13:10-15, Matthew 13:34, Mark 4:33-34, & Luke 8:10 – and also John 16:25) is grounded in the same Truth; namely, the Truth that the Way to real Life (what he sometimes refers to as “the narrow gate” – see Matthew 7:13-14 & Luke 13:23-25) is tread solely via deeds of selfless caring & loving kindness. For starters, both his very first biblical parable (sometimes called The Wise & Foolish Builders – where the “wise man” was the one who “hears these words of mine and acts on them”; as found in Matthew 7:24-27 and also Luke 6:47-49) as well as his final three such teachings (the parables of The 10 Virgins, The Talents, and The Sheep & the Goats⁴ – all found in Matthew 25) are all built upon &/or immersed in this basic Christ-principle of selfless action for others. Even more importantly (at least for evangelical fundamentalists and any other “biblical literalists”), the Parable of the Sower – which Jesus himself clearly raises up as being the most important of all his parables (“If you do not understand this parable, how will you understand all [my other] parables?” ~ Mark 4:13) – quite obviously adheres to the same teaching; stating in no uncertain terms that “as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the Word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance” (Luke 8:15 – see also Matthew 13:23 & Mark 4:20). In truth, throughout the Gospels it can be readily seen that almost every single one of Jesus’ parables has selfless action as one of its primary hubs, if not as its sole centrifuge (see his focus on the “harvest” of The Tares in Matthew 13:24-30+36-43 and of The Growing Seed in Mark 4:26-34, on the “sowing” of The Mustard Seed in Matthew 13:31-32 & Mark 4:30-32 & Luke 13:18-19, on the “mixing” of The Yeast in Matthew 13:33 & Luke 13:20-21, on “seeking” The Hidden Treasure & The Pearl in Matthew 13:44-45, on The Two Sons and “doing the will of the Father” in Matthew 21:28-32 & Mark 11:27-33 & Luke 20:09-19, on going out and “gathering” guests for The Wedding Banquet in Matthew 22:01-14 & Luke 14:16-24 as well as for The Great Supper in Luke 14:16-24, on The Faithful Servant being ever “at work” in Matthew 24:45-51 & Mark 13:33-37 & Luke 12:35-48, on The Good Samaritan actively “showing mercy” in Luke 10:29-37, on the generosity of The Giving Friend in Luke 11:05-10 as well as Lazarus and the Rich Man‘s lack thereof in Luke 16:19-31, and on celebrating the “finding” of The Lost Sheep & The Lost Coin & The Lost Son in Luke 15:03-32).

 

……………………………………………………………………….

 

Filed under: Jesus & the Cult of Paul by Scaughdt