Why Didn't Christ's Disciples Understand Him?

Jesus Christ often spoke to the people in parables. Parables did not have ready-made answers. Even the closest disciples could not always understand their meaning and turned to the Teacher for clarification. The apostles were men of all backgrounds, ages and temperaments. Most of them were simple fishermen. But they all had faith, spread the good news and selflessly preached the Word of God.

The disciples travelled to towns and villages, talked to people, told them about Christ, and urged them to accept the faith. The apostles were fortunate enough to witness the miracles that Jesus performed. To convince people of the sincerity of their words, the disciples themselves used signs and wonders. For example, Peter healed a lame man in the name of Jesus. And a lot of people believed. Persuading people was no easier back then than it is today. But when the words were confirmed by the power of God, the sermons were effective. The companions of Christ were beaten, imprisoned, persecuted and tortured. Only the Apostle John died of natural causes. Everyone else was killed.

Jesus' Commandments Appeal to the Soul

The apostles followed Christ and listened to his teachings. But they didn't always understand Him, although they were with him for 3 years. Why? Sergey Nikolaevich explains it as follows:

Christ said things that were completely incomprehensible to them. The Old Testament says, «An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.» Christ said, «But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to offer him the other.» One contradicts the other.

People of that time could choose only one or the other: either he had to defend himself – «an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth», or he should not defend himself. They chose the second one – not to defend themselves. And they called it Christianity.

This begs the question. Christ said, «You must not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to complete them..» But his commandment, «Thou shalt not resist evil,» is in fact a call to break the law.

How do you reconcile one with the other?

The fact is that Christ came to supplement the law, to develop the law and to develop an understanding of the world. From the point of view of Judaism, sin is a deed. But Christ explains that sin comes from within. Sin is committed at the level of our feelings, sin is a feeling. Christ's commandments are addressed to the soul. We live at an outer level, according to human logic: «An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.»

On the inside, our soul is turned to God, and at this level there should only be love, acceptance and humility. That is, we should not resist the evil within, we should not feel hatred and contempt for evil. When we have love in our souls, then we will not fight evil, but transform and educate it. We should not be irritated and hate the person who has committed a sin but help him to change. This is the meaning of Christianity. Punishment should not be destruction. Punishment is an «order», that is, an education that helps a person to change. There should not be a destruction of evil, but its transformation.

Jesus Christ had a new way of thinking. The essence of his thinking, according to Sergey Nikolaevich, is that God and love occupy the first and main positions.

― The new thinking is a new level of development, a new stage and a new step. This new way of thinking must be dialectical. We must learn to think in the best way and evaluate the world around us appropriately. Dialectical thinking makes it possible to unite the opposites. If I only see evil or only good, then I will divide the whole world into two parts: the good is from God, and the evil is from some other God. This is where Monotheism ends.

In the past, a person would think linearly: in terms of either «yes» or «no». It is either me or him. It is either good or evil. The new way of thinking is by applying a flat mindset: I understand that I have my own interests and the other person has his own interests, but I can compromise and reconcile our interests. The Bible reflects on this: «Blessed are the peacemakers.» When a person has linear thinking, he solves any conflict only by suppression or destruction. But when his thinking is flat, a person will understand that any problem has its own solution. You don't have to fight each other, but you can combine the opposites.

I have given this example more than once. There is a six, painted on the road. In order to combine two points of view and understand that six can be a nine at the same time: you need to have a feeling of warmth and love for one another. You need to be able to stand in his place, and then the picture of the world will be complete. As you know the left and right sides of our brains give two completely opposite pictures, which, when combined, create a real picture. We must not see merely one side of the coin, but two. Although they are two opposites, they are united. In order to correctly assess what is happening, it is necessary to understand that any process is threefold, that there must be three characteristics: left, right, and their unity, which happens on a higher level.