Jesus was always surprising His hearers, telling them many things they never expected. Here are some of Jesus’ surprising statements, presented in probable chronological order.
- “You are blessed when they [people] insult and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of Me” (Matt. 5:11; see also Luke 6:22).
- “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:43-44; see also Luke 6:27-28).
- “Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:19-21)
- “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because me Me will find it” (Matt. 16:24-25; see also Mark 8:34-35; Luke 9:23-24).
- “I assure you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one child like this in My name welcomes Me” (Matt. 18:3-5; see also Mark 9:36-37; Luke 9:47-48).
- “Watch out and be on guard against all greed because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15).
- “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me, even if he died, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die—ever” (John 11:25-26).
- “Let the little children come to Me. Don’t stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I assure you: Whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it” (Mark 10:14-15; see also Matt. 19:14; Luke 18:16-17).
- “The greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matt. 23:11-12).
- “This poor widow [who gave her last two pennies to the temple treasury] has put in more than all of them [who donated large sums of money]. For these people have put in gifts out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on” (Luke 21:3-4; see also Mark 12:43-44).
- As He was dying on the cross, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
No wonder God said through Isaiah, “As the heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:9). And no wonder Paul said, “God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong” (1 Cor. 1:27).
Copyright © 2016 B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations in this article are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.