The Teaching of Jesus in Context Why was what he was saying so radical at the time?

Remember – Jesus was preaching to commited Jews Remember – Jesus was preaching to commited Jews. A pretty hardcore bunch who were very serious about their religious beliefs. They were all expecting God to send them an almighty Saviour to rescue them from the awful Romans. The zealots, Sadducees, Pharisees and Essenes all had different expectations of what this saviour would be like.

It is true that all of these groups believed in the one God. But they did differ in In how they viewed scripture and the law. Their beliefs as to why there was suffering in the world Their understanding about God’s direct role in helping the human race

The Jewish people at the time genuinely believed that ‘the end is nigh’ – that the world as they knew it was coming to an end There had been a long line of Prophets in Judaism who had claimed the end of the world These prophets preached that people needed to repent their sins NOW before it was too late.

When somebody calls for immediate repentance this is known as METANOIA (THIS IS AN IMPORTANT WORD TO KNOW). In his preaching about the Kingdom of God – Jesus also called for Metanoia

Jesus – The Teacher. Jesus was a prophet. He called for people to turn away from sin and towards God. He was well aware of the beliefs of the people he was preaching to. He challenged people to change their lives His teachings can best be summed up in the phrase The Kingdom of God.