What Would Jesus Say?

by Stephen Bastin

contact writer

I know it is a lot more popular to ask the question, “What would Jesus do?”  (abbreviated WWJD).  The problem is that if you do not know what Jesus would say then how can you know what Jesus would do?  It all has to start with what Jesus taught.  God has a law and He revealed that law to us through Jesus.

Of course there are some easy situations to determine what Jesus would do.  If he came upon some stranger dying in a ditch, Jesus would stop and help him, take him to the hospital and pay all his expenses.  (See Luke 10 for Jesus’ story about the Good Samaritan.)  If he were falsely accused, he would not argue, hurl counter accusations or in any other way interfere with the rush to judgment and death.  (See Jesus’ conduct while on trial before the Jewish court.)

Jesus said his words would judge us.  Does God expect us to do everything that Jesus did.  The examples above might prove difficult for many of us, but they cannot be dismissed lightly.  On the other hand, there are things Jesus did that we probably are not expected to do.  He walked on water.  We don’t need to do that.  He restored to life a man who had been dead and in the grave four days.  We can’t do that.

Most religions are sort of a mish-mash of things taken from here and there, a little from Moses, a little from Jesus, a little from Mohammed, a little from Buddha and a little from various other sources or some other such mixture.

Religion is sort of viewed as a buffet meal.  Find what you like among all the various teachings and philosophies and then “do your own thing.”  Take what you like.  Leave what you don’t.  Anything that seems too difficult just say, “Oh, that’s just your interpretation.”  This is one way to make religion acceptable to the masses.

On one occasion, Jesus fed several thousand people with a few loaves and fishes.  He made more food!  The next day they came looking for him because they apparently wanted more food.  Jesus talked with them about commitment.  They left.  That is the way people are still treating Jesus.  Do what he says as long as it is convenient and fits in with whatever lifestyle one has chosen.  Quit if the demands are too great.

Turning to his disciples, Jesus asked, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”  Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have words of eternal life.”

Certainly there are many people who might tell you how to get out of some “fix” you are in.  Their suggestion might work and it might not.  But even when it works, it only gets you out of a temporary difficulty.  Finally there will come a difficulty from which there is no escape.  That is, there is no escape except by doing what Jesus said.  Then it is crucial to know the right answer to the question, “What would Jesus say?”

The problem is that if we need the word of Jesus to get us through the last difficulty, is it going to work if we have not used his word to guide us through the day by day difficulties?  You can take that risk if you like, but my suggestion is that you not try it.  Failure is fatal.

A better plan is to listen to Jesus daily.  Make decisions each day based on what Jesus has taught.  His teachings are found in the New Testament.  Some of his teachings are in the gospels.  Others are given to us through special disciples whom he chose.  (We call them apostles.)  Acts, the letters that follow and Revelation complete the New Testament record of the teaching of Jesus.

Consider the doctor performing an abortion.  He is taking the life of a child in the womb.  Jesus said, “The Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”  (Luke 9:56)  Does that have any application to the situation?

Consider the man or woman considering entering into a same sex relationship.  Jesus’ disciple wrote, “Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman.  But because of fornication, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.”  (1 Cor 7:1-2)  The words translated “wife” and “husband” are, in the original text, woman and man.  Let each man have his own woman and each woman her own man.

Consider the person about to cheat on his income taxes by not reporting all his earnings or claiming a deduction to which he is not entitled.  The disciple of Jesus wrote, “Render to all what is due them:  tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.”  (Rom 13:7)

Consider the person about to purchase some pornographic material or visit a pornographic web site.  Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.”  (Matt 5:27-28)

Consider the person who has tickets to an important sports contest.  The only problem is that attendance will interfere with going to church and worshipping God.  The disciple of Jesus wrote, “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.”  (Heb 10:24-25)

Consider the father who signs his son or daughter up to participate in some youth sports league, knowing that it will interfere with taking his child to Sunday School and church.  The disciple of Jesus wrote, “And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger; but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”  (Eph 6:4)

Consider the person in a difficult position because of something they have done previously.  To tell the truth would involve horrible consequences, perhaps even involving other innocent people in those consequences.  Surely it must be all right to lie under such circumstances.  The disciple of Jesus wrote, “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.  (Eph 4:25)

I suppose it is probably a good idea to think about what Jesus would do.  Often that leads to a decision based upon how one “feels” that Jesus would act.  It is much more important to consider what Jesus said.  “What would Jesus say?” To ask this question about my proposed action leaves feelings out and gets down to the nitty-gritty of what Jesus REALLY wants me to do.