The Teachings of Jesus

By Ray Martinez

There is very much written about what Jesus says throughout the New Testament. So I captured some of the key topics and expounded on what Jesus specifically has to say. Some of my personal thoughts and experiences are interwoven into the topical stories that concerned me and have an impact on my life. The list of topics seems endless, but I’ve carefully chosen the most common questions and themes that people ask about. From my perspective, simplicity equals transparency. “I’m not moved by what I see, but I am moved by what is in the hearts and minds of people,” I think. Consequently, I’ve chosen to simplify the message without diving too deep. While quoting scriptures, I’ve used the NIV version of the Bible, unless otherwise noted differently.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9781669874140

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Copyright © 2023 by Ray Martinez.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 04/19/2023

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CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1 Jesus Cares

Chapter 2 What Jesus Doesn’t Care About

Chapter 3 How Jesus Reasons with People

Chapter 4 What Jesus Says About Love

Chapter 5 What Jesus Says About Grace

Chapter 6 What Jesus Says About Mercy

Chapter 7 What Jesus Says About Depression and Loneliness

Chapter 8 What Does Jesus Mean When He Says That the Truth Will Set You Free?

Chapter 9 What Jesus Wants from Us

Chapter 10 What Jesus Says About Temptation

Chapter 11 What Jesus Says About the End Times

Chapter 12 What Jesus Says About the Rapture

Chapter 13 Asking, Seeking, and Knocking: What Jesus Says About Prayer

Chapter 14 How Jesus Teaches Us to Pray

Chapter 15 The Word of God: What Jesus Says About the Scripture

Chapter 16 The Lord’s Supper: What Jesus Means by Do This in Remembrance of Me

Chapter 17 Jesus’s Teaching on Faith

Chapter 18 Jesus’s Teaching on Anger

Chapter 19 Jesus’s Teaching on the Poor

Chapter 20 Jesus’s Teaching on Children

Chapter 21 Jesus’s Teaching on Orphans

Chapter 22 Jesus’s Authority Over Demons

Chapter 23 Exercising Jesus’s Power

Chapter 24 The Power of Saying In the Name of Jesus

Chapter 25 The Role of Women in Jesus’s Ministry

Chapter 26 The Importance of Compassion in Jesus’s Teaching

Chapter 27 The Power of Silence in Jesus’s Ministry

Chapter 28 The Significance of Fasting in Jesus’s Teaching

Chapter 29 The Passion of Christ: A Reflection on Jesus’s Suffering

Chapter 30 Understanding Fear According to Jesus

Chapter 31 Understanding Worry According to Jesus

Chapter 32 Understanding Angels According to Jesus

Chapter 33 Understanding Hell According to Jesus

Chapter 34 Jesus Describes Heaven

PREFACE

I BELIEVE THAT JESUS Christ is the central figure of the Bible and that He was present in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. Jesus was the promised Messiah who was prophesied in the Old Testament, and the entire Old Testament points to His coming.

One of the ways that Jesus is present in the Old Testament is through what is known as Christophanies. These are appearances of Jesus Christ in various forms throughout the Old Testament. For example, in Genesis 18, three men visit Abraham, and it is believed by some that one of these men was Jesus Christ.

Another way that Jesus is present in the Old Testament is through prophecies that speak of His coming. For example, Isaiah 53 says that He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

These prophecies refer to Jesus, and they point to His coming as the Savior of the world.

In addition to Christophanies and prophecies, Jesus is present in the Old Testament through various types and shadows. For example, the sacrificial system outlined in the book of Leviticus is seen as a foreshadowing of Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross.

The Old Testament points to Jesus through various types of people, such as Moses, who is seen as a type of Christ. Moses leads the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, just as Jesus leads his people out of bondage to sin.

A Christophany is a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. Here are some examples of Christophanies in the Old Testament:

1. As I previously stated, in Genesis 18, three men visit Abraham, and one of them is believed to be Jesus Christ. Abraham refers to him as my Lord and Adonai, which is a name for God.

2. In Genesis 32, Jacob wrestles with a man until daybreak. The man touches Jacob’s hip and dislocates it, but Jacob refuses to let go until the man blesses him. The man then tells Jacob that his name will now be Israel, which means one who struggles with God. It is believed that this man was Jesus Christ.

3. In Exodus 3, the burning bush appears to Moses, and God speaks to him from the bush. Some scholars believe that the angel of the Lord who appeared in the bush was Jesus Christ.

4. In Joshua 5, Joshua encounters a man with a drawn sword who identifies himself as the commander of the Lord’s army. Joshua intentionally falls down and worships Him, and the man tells him to take off his sandals because he is standing on holy ground. Some scholars believe that this man was Jesus Christ.

5. In Daniel 3, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are thrown into a fiery furnace for refusing to worship the golden statue of King Nebuchadnezzar. But they are not consumed by the fire, and a fourth figure appears in the furnace with them, who is described as like a son of the gods. Some scholars believe that this fourth figure was Jesus Christ.

6. In the Bible, Melchizedek is considered a mysterious figure who is mentioned in Genesis 14 and Psalm 110. He is described as a king of Salem (which later became Jerusalem) and a priest of God Most High. He blesses Abraham, and Abraham gives him a tenth of everything he has.

In the New Testament, Melchizedek is mentioned again in the book of Hebrews. The author of Hebrews uses Melchizedek as an example to show that Jesus Christ is a high priest in the order of Melchizedek. The author argues that this makes Jesus superior to the Levitical priesthood of the Old Testament.

Hebrews 5:5–6 says, "So also Christ