Love" Was Not The Core of Jesus' Message
Sadly, the average person thinks Jesus' main message was about love. While it is true that love figured prominently in His message, it was not the core of his proclamation and certainly wasn't what got Him crucified. Neither the Romans nor the Jewish authorities would have been particularly bothered by a Jewish prophet who ran around telling people to love God and love people.
In a nutshell, Jesus' message is summarized in Mark's description of His ministry. (Emphasis Added)
- Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:14-15 NASB)
In fact, Jesus never stopped talking about the "kingdom of God", which phrase is used over 50 times in the four Gospels alone. Matthew, however, used it only four times, apparently preferring the synonymous "kingdom of heaven", which occurs 32 times in his book. This coming kingdom was not only at the heart of many of Jesus' parables (likened to a mustard seed, a pearl of great price, a banquet given by a king, etc), but He even said that the proclamation of the Kingdom was
the reason He was sent to earth.
- But He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose." (Luke 4:43 NASB)
Unfortunately, most people, including most Christians, are absolutely in the dark about what the Scriptures mean by the phrase
kingdom of God/Heaven.