A Visit With Jesus

 Difficult Sayings of Jesus

Some statements made by Jesus can sound startling, puzzling, or even contradictory when they are separated from their language, setting, and biblical background. This collection examines those difficult sayings directly.

Each entry explains why the saying has caused difficulty, presents interpretations that have received serious consideration, and offers an assessment of what the saying most likely means.

Illustration of Nowhere to Lay His Head

Nowhere to Lay His Head

  Matthew 8:19-20; Luke 9:57-58
Cultural Context Figurative Language
The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.

Why is this difficult? Is Jesus simply describing his lack of a permanent home, or is he making a deeper statement about rejection and the cost of discipleship?

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Illustration of Who Are My Mother and Brothers?

Who Are My Mother and Brothers?

  Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21
Cultural Context Theological
Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?

Why is this difficult? Is Jesus rejecting his natural family, or is he redefining family and kinship around allegiance to God?

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Illustration of Woman, What Have I to Do with You?

Woman, What Have I to Do with You?

  John 2:1-5
Cultural Context Language
Woman, what does this have to do with me?

Why is this difficult? Jesus' words to his mother can sound harsh or disrespectful in English. What would the expression have communicated in its original setting?

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Illustration of Not One Iota Will Pass from the Law

Not One Iota Will Pass from the Law

  Matthew 5:17-20
Theological Apparent Tension
Until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law.

Why is this difficult? How does Jesus' strong affirmation of the Law relate to later Christian teaching that portions of the Mosaic law do not bind Christians?

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Illustration of Righteousness Greater Than the Pharisees

Righteousness Greater Than the Pharisees

  Matthew 5:20
Cultural Context Theological
Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees...

Why is this difficult? What kind of righteousness could exceed that of people known for careful religious observance?

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Illustration of Lord of the Sabbath

Lord of the Sabbath

  Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5
Cultural Context Theological
The Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.

Why is this difficult? Is Jesus changing Sabbath law, interpreting its proper purpose, or making a larger claim about his own authority?

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Reading Difficult Sayings

A difficult saying is not necessarily an obscure saying. Sometimes the difficulty comes from an unfamiliar figure of speech, a first-century custom, or a biblical reference that Jesus' first hearers would have recognized more readily than we do.

Other sayings raise genuine interpretive or theological questions on which careful readers have reached different conclusions.

These studies try to distinguish what can be explained with confidence from what remains debated.

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