What Jesus Said . . . and Didn’t Say

What Jesus said . . . “Follow me and go on a mission.”

And didn’t say . . . “Follow me and go to heaven.”

The main thesis of the book is derived from Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In these Synoptic Gospels, Jesus never mentions heaven, except when speaking of God the Father. Being a this-world incarnation of God, he emphasizes life on earth and not the new environment after death.

Our Lord explains that the mission will always involve both words and actions. The words should make two things clear: (1) the one who calls is the man Jesus who is the true revelation of God and (2) one’s relationship with God is a reflection of Jesus’s perfect relationship with the Father. The actions should be in the selfless lifestyle of Jesus himself.