When we are so caught up handling sin, peddling forgiveness, and getting people into heaven, we forget that Jesus was also a great non-dual teacher. His teaching was revelatory, revolutionary and bewildering. Sometimes we think his teaching was merely a secondary part of his life, like “while I’m here to save everybody from their sins, I might as well say some stuff.” I don’t think we have to determine if one was more important than the other. What Jesus was teaching was very much in line with who he was and what he did – die to self, turn the other cheek, the lucky ones are the poor and meek. What he said and his life and death were a cohesive package.

Jesus wasn’t just here to pay the price for our sins; he was here to communicate that everything we think and do is backwards and dumb, even the way we think and try to be “right” about everything. We want to nail things down and establish absolutes and Jesus says a bunch of confusing stuff and lets us figure a lot of things out for ourselves. Then he does a bunch of mic drops and says if you have “ears to hear,” you’ll get it. I don’t think Jesus is just being evasive and enigmatic. This is what great teachers do: they are looking to change you and turn your way of thinking on its head, not just tell you what to think.

When we look at Jesus’ message and apply dualistic (black-or-white) thinking, we miss the point(s). Jesus’ teaching is confusing and even contradictory. That’s because the greatest reality is not dualistic (divided); it is whole (not able to be divided) and greater than logic and thinking. This will seem obvious, but when you are trying to communicate the unknowable, it’s impossible to communicate it using logic or even words. So of course, Jesus was saying things like “the last will be first and the first will be last.” That doesn’t make logical sense: those two things cannot be true at the same time. Like so many things Jesus says, it is meant to scramble your brain and produce an effect – create curiosity and throw you off balance. That’s why it’s so brilliant.

He was also speaking in parables. People were asking him direct questions I’m sure looking to “figure things out” and put something to rest in their minds. We are always seeking certainty. And Jesus was telling people riddles that don’t have an “answer” and talking about plants a lot. There are things Jesus said that I have thought about my whole life and I still haven’t figured them out. I’m not just wondering what they mean – I’m confused by them and maddened by them! They are meant to do something to you, not just communicate “facts.” It’s much more interesting than that.

I would much rather it be this way than the other way where everything “makes sense” logically. That wouldn’t be any fun at all. Beware of anyone who says they understand, or wants to communicate exactly what something Jesus (or the Bible) says means. It is much more useful to stand back and “behold” what he said and let it do something to us. Making it small by analyzing it, picking it apart and synthesizing it is into concise and tidy points is not the point.