10 Great Quotes from Jesus of Nazareth
Here you will find 10 sayings of Jesus that I have collected together. Finding quotable passages from Jesus was not that easy, as most of what is recorded of what he said (in the gospel books: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are either metaphorical stories, or Jesus responding to particular questions that had been put to him. Neither work very well when taken out of context.
Of the more direct teachings of Jesus, most of them are contained in what is known as the sermon on the mount, which is a veritable goldmine of counter-cultural wisdom.
1. Love Your Enemies!
OK, you have to admit this is a pretty radical concept...
“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? (Matthew 5:43-47 )
2. Don't Worry About The Future
Sometimes insightful sayings seem obvious once you hear them - I think that is the case here. Live in the moment you're in!
“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:34)
3. How To Treat Others
“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. (Matthew 7:12)
4. The Most Important Commandment
“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
5. Spiritual Greatness
In the topsy-turvy world of the Kingdom of God it seems the usual understanding of things is reversed. Here is yet another example:
“You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45)
6. Gaining The World, Losing Your Soul
Here Jesus highlights that the eternal and spiritual dimension is more important than the temporal physical one. Those who choose to follow His teaching will make physical sacrifices for spiritual rewards.
Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:34-38)
7. The Kingdom Of God Is Not Physical
Christian faith should not be militant, things like the crusades were not in line with what Jesus taught, or even the concept of christendom. He also taught that the Kingdom of God was in the hearts of men.
The statement below was said in response to questioning in his trial before the roman govenor.
“My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36)
8. God Loves Everyone
This very well known passage is actually a quote from Jesus.
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17)
9. Ask, Seek, Knock
“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:9-10)
10. His Claim To Be God
While it seems Jesus didn't make a point of telling everyone that he was God, he did make it clear on a few recorded occasions. This quote is taken from Jesus' court trial, from which the resulting conviction of 'blasphemy' led to his crucifixion.
I include this quote, not because it's a great teaching, but because it affects how one perceives his teaching. It's hard to think of Jesus as [just] a good moral teacher when you know that he thought himself to be God. Either he is a weirdo, or he is God!
Then the high priest said to him, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
Jesus replied, “You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Matthew 26:63-64)
Bible passages are quoted from the New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust
The image below is a portion of a 6th century icon of Jesus at St. Katherine's Monastery on Mt. Sinai. I got it from here on Wikipedia.
Amen
I found this site via drupal themes, but I really do like the content as well. :-)
pocket sized
y'know, i don't think i've seen jesus's stuff compiled like this before. it got me thinking - how far can it be reduced (in number of words) before it loses the essence of what he's saying? i'm thinking half a dozen words per quote, one quote per page, a 10 page book the size of a matchbox / images the size of a mobile fone screen / a series of tiny stickers bsuiness card size / a series of posters that are read at a glance from a speeding car...
my guess is that the more they're reduced in no. of words the more counter-cultural they will sound.
or...
...pictograms?
i feel a project coming on.
i must say i like the idea
i must say i like the idea of collecting 10 jesus quotes.
Especially because these quote's messages are somehow the essential messages of all world-religions.
i just like the non-fundamentalist access to religion and jesus of this post.
just wanted to say that ;)
if there are any mistakes or some misfitting words, im no native speaker so... sorry :>
cooolio
I found this looking for drupal drop down menus.
I like this and the following comments. - Certainly does pose questions about creative christians and the ways in which things can be said/delivered.
I concur!
There needs to be a way of getting kids interested!! I wasnt as a child because private school scared me away from church and religion!!! I wanted to find the truth for a long while.. and it has lead me back to jesus.
Love the site and the ideas posted.. their is a jesus doll which is pretty cool.. tells kids his wisdom!!
good quotes- thanks for
good quotes- thanks for publishing them on the internet-
i always hear "Jesus is God" but I'm not sure that's right or if He ever said it- He has the authority of God from God, He has the power of God through petition to God, but God is God, Jesus is His Son. He sits at the right hand of God, in the power seat, but there is only one God,.. and His son.
Christ not God?
'Visitor', Ross is absolutely right in His claim of Jesus Christ as God. To that point, let the Word Himself speak (the only infallible source of information regarding the person of Christ):
A) John 1:1--"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John--under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit--began his gospel by affirming the deity of Christ.
B) John 1:3-4--John further declared Christ's deity when he wrote, "All things came into being by [Christ], and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men."
C) John 1:14--Christ "became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father."
D) John 8:58--Jesus said, "Before Abraham was born, I am." Jesus appropriated to Himself the name of God, who said, "I am who I am" (Ex. 3:14).
E) Colossians 1:15-17--Paul wrote of Christ, "He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For in Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." Christ is the Creator.
The New Testament gives many examples of His ability to create. He made fish and bread (Matt. 14:15-21), an ear (Luke 22:50-51), new legs (John 5:2-9), new eyes (Matt. 12:22), new ears (Mark 7:32-37), a new mouth (Matt. 9:32-34), and new internal organs to replace diseased ones (Mark 5:25-34)--all acts of creation. Because Christ is the Creator He is God.
F) Hebrews 1:3--"[Christ] is the radiance of [God's] glory and the exact representation of His nature." Christianity begins with the recognition that Jesus Christ is in essence the eternal God. The simple and profound truth is that God became man and we are to be servants like Him.
See the Bible Bulletin Board (http://Biblebb.com) for further exposition on these and other essential matters of Christian Faith...
- - -
(The Preceding is material (besides direct bible quotes) is taken from the John Macarthur collection of expository bible study guides.)
Jesus is God
The idea of the relationship of Jesus to God is a very complex for the human mind to understand. It is embodied in the concept of the Blessed Trinity. Three divine persons in one God. An analogy of this is a Man and Woman who have a baby. They are all human, they all share basic DNA which makes them human. Yet each is uniquely different and each is essential to perpetuating life. One of the most difficult concepts for humans to grasp is that there is no time with God and that God is always in the present. Therefore He was not first nor was Jesus after Him nor was the Holy Spirit the last on the scene. Our minds, those of human beings are finite. God and the three persons that make up God are infinite. Time is necessary only for man since we have a a set lifespan in the physical world.
Jesus is God in essence,
Jesus is God in essence, that is, the one God made incarnate by God, one in the same. God came to be with man on earth by becoming man.
He IS God!
This is why Jesus is different
It's great to read these straightforward words from Jesus which have a quiet authority.
We all need to listen a bit more to these key thoughts.
(By the way - you left the verse numbers in Item 5).
I don't get how this is all
I don't get how this is all that amazing. Have you ever opened a Bible and just read? It's very easy to find these passages and this should be common knowledge.
I just don't get it...
Oh, #1-6 are about following in His footsteps. #7 is true until He returns and builds His millennial kingdom on earth. #8 is true, yes, but His love goes until the end of this world and those who choose not to love Him back get what they deserve, eternal damnation. #9 is taken out of context, if you seek to do His will then He will give it to you in His time w/ your persistence. #10, He 'claims' to be God many times b/c He is God!
Mate This Is Quicker
This is alot quicker mate as i don't just read a bible to find a quote.
Sure there would be a stack of quotes from JESUS!
But, this is quicker as im doin my essay and all religion essays must relate back to JESUS so these quotes are the perfect thing for me
However i know the point that your getting out there
:)
He didn't say he was God at
He didn't say he was God at all. He said he would be at God's right hand, implying he is a separate being. He said he was the Messiah, the son of God. He is the spotless lamb, the passover sacrifice and the king, second only to God.
Genesis and Throughout
Even in Genesis there is evidence that Jesus was with the Father in the beginning. Genesis states: "WE created man in OUR image". Then of course Jesus' saying: "I Am", which the Father said in OT to Moses. So He did claim divinity, and oneness with the Father.
Jesus
"Jesus is Lord - Now & Forever...."
I really enjoyed/needed
I really enjoyed/needed this. Also, Jesus was not white, as in provided picture.
Jesus was olive, as in the provided picture
Jesus was Jewish, and thus,is presumed to have an olive/white complexion, as is displayed in the painting. This is actually a good painting, unlike the ones that show Him to have blue eyes.
Beautiful and simple words
Beautiful and simple words which are all we need to learn to please God and have hope in his salvation! Awesome job! Well done.
not "physical"?
That the kingdom is "not of this world" does not mean that it is not physical. Actually, the kingdom is very physical. It does not exist other than embodied in real, physical people - in individuals and, much more importantly, in communities or churches. The kingdom is a physical as parking lots and potlucks.
Jesus
I believe that Jesus is real. I know that He lived and died for my salvation and for all salvation. I called myself a Christian before non believers. I know that He is the One true Son of God. Born of the Virgin Mary Son of Joseph the carpenter and of high estate.
By pure and unadulterated love by the Holy Ghost was He conceived and led, cured and died for many.
In our world today there are more populous than ever was. Does anyone wonder?
If they do then pray. for the hour is at hand, do you not see the signs of the times.
You see clouds coming and you know there is rain. Can you not see that the last will be first and the first last.
This is not a challenge but a journey to the known. Let it be.
For he knows His own and His own know His voice.
The time will come that many will be deceived but His chosen will know the difference.
Beware the time is at hand.
The days have been shortened for a reason. That you may find the time to find Him who you may seek.
Not the things of the world but of Him.
Be not afraid yet vigilant because He has shortened the days that you may seek Him alone.
Prosper in this.
the bible
anyone of them for your own sake and He will lead you to truth.
He promised.
10 Great Quotes from Jesus of Nazareth
There is a great deal of disagreement among scholars about what Jesus actually said. This is mostly because of the complex history of the texts we now have in our hands. From the very beginning, and over the last two thousand years, the followers of Jesus have also widely disagreed among themselves. Often this disagreement turned to extreme violence. This is disappointing given the the main thrust of the gospel of Jesus appears to have been about love. Firstly love of God and then love of God's creation and especially our fellow humans. His parables appear to talk about the kingdom as if it were already present, although most people then and now could not see it. His kingdom (realm?) was not about power, wealth, or status. Most of us then and now can not give up the pursuit of these "distractions". He did not appear to care much about "institutional issues", which are often about power. He appears to have felt that all people could have a direct relationship with God as if God were a loving father. He ignored the institutional religion of his time and its priests and rituals. He ignored the culture of status, wealth, and power that surrounded him. Not surprising they found this quiet man threatening and they killed him.
Faith means simple "trust", not belief in some dogma which is just someone's attempt to explain something which is beyond our understanding. Why do you need the mystery explained? If you need to believe in a dogma (which is just a material product of this world) could it be that this is really a crutch used to make up for a lack of simple trust.
Be humble. Live quietly. Love God and God's creatures.
Reliability of the Gospel Texts
Hi Larry,
Thanks for your comment, I agree with most of what you said, apart from the first line. While many people might disagree about Christian doctrinal issues, I believe that scholars who deal with the New Testament texts are in general agreement on it's reliability.
You may find this article interesting:
Recent Perspectives on the Reliability of the Gospels
"This case for the trustworthiness of the New Testament is often contrasted with ancient, classical Greek and Roman writings, which do not exhibit the same wealth of data..."
Ross, Thanks you for your
Ross, Thanks you for your response. I have read the article by Gary Habermus that you attached. Mr. Habermus is clearly aware of many of the modes of thinking applied by modern scholars as they study the Bible.
Early in the article he asserts that the New Testament is "reliable". This assertion may or not be true. It depends on how you intend to rely on it.
For example, if you would like to rely on the NT as a source of accurate quotes from Jesus, in my opinion it is not reliable. Many quotes attributed to Jesus are probably pretty close to something he actually said. On the other hand many quotes, those that deal with power within the church institution for example, appear to be later attributions to support later church leaders.
If you think you can distill a general sense of the "gospel which Jesus taught" in the NT then it may be reliable. But you will need to sort out what Jesus taught from what was taught "about Jesus" by his followers. (It follows that the NT may also be a reliable source of the changing "gospel about Jesus" taught by his followers, especially those who lived several generations after his death. But even in this case you would need to recognize that you were seeing the views of a fairly narrow band of his followers, i.e. those who entered into, and won, the debates about what should be reflected in the Gospels and then which Gospels should be included in the NT. )
As you can see what really interests me is the Good News that Jesus taught, not the Good News about Jesus as he was understood generations later or in different cultures and times.
Make no mistake, I find the history of the church fascinating. But in the end the question, for example, of why early Jesus followers thought him a man and later Jesus followers thought him a God does not tell me much about him or his Gospel.
For me the NT looks a lot like a committee report. But even though it is composed by multiple hands with different agendas, I think I can discern a thin thread that goes right back to Jesus.
What emerges for me is a Jesus who saw clean through the material world of wealth, power and status that everyone else experienced:
A Jesus who believed in a simple and direct relationship with God;
A Jesus who did not see the need for the brokerage of priests or institutions;
A Jesus who had no need for doctrines, dogmas, or explanations because he had trust;
A Jesus who was profoundly filled with love.
I find this Jesus tremendously liberating. It makes me think my spiritual journey is just beginning.
Be humble. Live quietly. Love God and his creatures.
All the best.
Larry
the nature of the bible
Hi Larry,
I think I can see what you are trying to get at.
As you suggest, it would be great to have better access to the history and teaching of Jesus - but we only have what we have (and the same applies for any historical figure).
If you believe that God exists, then you will recognise that as humans we are very limited in our ability to gain knowledge about God. From this point the importance of God's self-revelation becomes apparent.
Christians believe that the Bible is a record of God 'revealing' himself through history. If this is the case and God is in fact interested in revealing something about himself to humankind, then it would seem logical that it would come to us in a reliable and appropriate fashion.
Apart from that, I have heard some good arguments that further support the reliability of the New Testament (beyond the level of reliability that you have suggested). Let me know if you are interested and I'll find some references.
Cheers,
Ross.
Ross, Over the years I am
Ross,
Over the years I am sure we have read many of the same arguments for the reliability of the NT. Frankly, it often strikes me that the writers are trying too hard. Let’s go back a step.
In my experience it is useful to divide what I think is true into two categories.
First there are things that we “know”. When I use the word “know” I mean assertions that can be demonstrated and tested in a scientific sense. Others can hear my reasoning, study my evidence, and test my results. In principal they can demonstrate to me that I am wrong and I will be forced to accept their arguments. We say that we “know” water will boil at a certain temperature under certain conditions. We may learn more in the future, but for now we can all accept (know) the assertion is true.
Secondly there are things that we “believe.” You can tell me why you “believe” something, but there is no scientific way for me to test your assumptions. We say that we “believe” God exists. But we can’t prove this is true in a scientific sense. In fact it is pretty hard to talk about it at all in any way that has meaning. God is a mystery, which, by definition means our words are mere pointers to some deeper experience.
Because we are human our lives are filled with truths and we strive to add more. Some truths we know and some truths we believe.
We need to be humble about our truths. In theory all of them are subject to revision. In particular we need to be humble about our beliefs, most of which, relate to spiritual issues. Much of the misery and violence in the world come from people who are not humble about their beliefs As Karen Armstrong says, God talk should always be provisional.
When we say the NT is reliable what are we saying? Like all great religious texts the NT is a rich source of spiritual insights i.e., “beliefs”. For me the NT has been the most important collection of information about what others have believed. But because the early authors (or their translators) had differing life experiences the words they selected to point to their experience of God may or may not resonate for me.
As a source of things we can “know” the NT is very weak. As a history of events or a statement about how the physical world works it is useless.
Is this a problem? Not for me. We have the scientific method for the things of this world.
We don’t need to believe anything. But if you want to be in the Kingdom you do have to trust.
Larry
He looks white??
Doesn't look white to me, bro! That nose, that skin tone, the cheek bones-- no way is that guy "white." Maybe the eyebrows are a little Eastern European...
I do know what you're saying, though. I get tired of seeing "White Jesus: Sanitized and Disneyfied for Your Enjoyment!" too, but that dude up there doesn't look too awfully white to me.
And if he did look white I suppose it would just a sign of the culture that made the pic. (Incidentally, "white" as we know it to look today is nothing like what "white" looked like in the 500's A.D. when this painting was made. I'd even wager the painting may likely be a closer, albeit still slightly inaccurate, representation of what he actually looked like than we might realize.)
I've seen him look Asian, African, white, Middle Eastern... Everybody knows him or wants to know him and most people feel more comfortable relating to someone who looks like them. I myself get a little aggravated after a while seeing Jesus portrayed as anything other than a 1st century A.D. Jewish carpenter from Nazareth, and I'm about as pale as they come.
Still: you can see where people are coming from in making Jesus look like them. They feel him, they know him. They know him and love him without boundaries, without reservations, without prejudices that racial differences often carry. So making him white? Or black? Or Asian? Maybe not accurate, but certainly understandable.
Hi Ross, I like this kind of
Hi Ross, I like this kind of stuff...I found you on StumbleUpon and I'm giving you a "thumbs up".
Check out my blog, www.youredenwork.net. I think you'll like it too, and if you do, please Stumble it! :o)
Cheers
Thanks Bruce for your comment and the 'thumbs up'. I had written this post more as a personal exercise, but I'm glad that others have found it helpful or interesting.
I just had a quick check of your blog, which looks interesting. I don't use StumbleUpon, but I have added it into my del.icio.us bookmarks.
Jesus the messenger of god & his will only
Yes, Certainely he is great teacher with simple aspects of life.
Humbleness give more wisdom to any one.He showed the facts of life as a living example.He is a great follower to will of GOD the almighty. He is not a creator but good explanator,He is model to every who believes in Yehova, The CREATOR.He showed the way to reach TRUE LIVING GOD.
Reading his quotes won't help unless you show in doing only fetches you Eternal life
Ten
I can say a hearty Amen to 9 of your points and congratulate you for realizing that true loving Christians should never be part of wars and crusades. That puts you in a very small but faithful group.
I encourage you to dig deeper on the deity of Jesus. Explore the trinity and see if it comes from scriptures or from church councils.
Read all the openings and closings of Paul's letters and you will see how he saw God.
Read John 1 exactly as he wrote it, don't substitute any words. Did he write in the beginning was God the son? Learn the Greek. Find the connection between the logos and the Hebrew Memra.
A good place to start is www.jewishencyclodpedia.com look up logos.
Knock as if your life depended upon it. Seek as if your life depended upon it and you will find it does.
peace and love(Yah)
Robert Roberg
Gainesville FL
#8
this is very nice, well done, double check #8, it is not Jesus speaking, it is John writing about Jesus
yes it is a quote from Jesus
While you are correct that the passage for #8 is taken from the Gospel of John (which was written by John), if you read the whole passage you will see that it is indeed a quote from Jesus.
Thanks,
Ross.
Life is very beautifull
Life is very beautifull , you can feel heaven within you as long as you thank our Lord Jesus for everything you got .
Example : People feel strong when they have too much money because they can do , buy anything.
Imagin if something pricless with you & it's the power of everything , your rock Jesus..... You know why am rich because i have something money can't buy ....it's Believing
God Bless you all
Jesus
I like the quotes. You've captured the essence of Jesus' teaching. It amazes me though how his so-called followers get on here and want to start an argument about who he is and what his message really means. They missed completely the point you were trying to make in posting these 10 quotes. Apparently, they don't get it and they are not true followers. They are typical of the religious leaders of his day that had him crucified. My guess is they would do the same if he walked in their churches today and started preaching his message. John Lennon once said, "Jesus is cool. It's his followers that ruin it for me." How true.
so called followers
Astral, If there is anything unambiguous about the teachings of Jesus it is how we should treat our opponents. Why would you offer a judgment that anyone is a “so called follower”?
Love God. Love his creatures.
Larry
my input.
My friends, I stumbled upon this page and got occupied in your discussions. I just thought I would share my thoughts. As for Jesus' ethnicity: it doesn't matter. It was only a body. I'd think the question of what he looked like would be long gone since its entirely insignificant. As for debating over what was said by Jesus . The Holy Spirit told the people what to write, as far as my understanding goes. I dare not try to decide what is true and what is not when it comes to things so much more significant than I so these things I say are merely what I believe at the moment and I am not sure enough of myself to declare them true or not.
God knows what is going to happen and how it will happen from end to beginning. Not one hair on your head will go uncounted. The Bible was translated exactly the way it was meant to be translated, and it's in all the versions it was meant to be in. All the people are studying and questioning it whom are meant to.
I meant to go in a different direction with this but I caught myself in my own idea. I was going to say don't question the Bible because it was meant to be translated that way, but then those who question it were meant to question it and study its history. I suppose its safe to say that God reveals/exposes us to what he wanted us to see. It was meant for us and only us. That in itself shows His love, that all of our lives are so unique yet similar.
I must say though that I fear God immensely because He is powerful. He is slow to anger, but fear His wrath.