Didn't Jesus preach the Gospel of Grace?

This week I  had a chance to listen to the story of Salahuddin Decero, an american born in a Roman Catholic family. Salahuddin after engulfing a life of worldly pleasures enrolled as Carmelite monk for eight and a half years. During this time he practiced a very ascetic life, dedicated to prayer and study of the Bible. One day he was challenged by a Muslim convert from christianity to defend whetherJesus really said that he was God. Salahuddin after being unable to answer, says that he studied the Bible in more detail, concluding that according to the Gospels, the Jesus presented in the Qur'an is more historical than the Jesus worshipped in christianity. 

Also this week I came across to a debate aired on Trinity television, of which the muslim apologist Sheikh Mohammed Awal participated. During the debate, he quoted the gospel according to Matthew to defend his thesis that Jesus preached a message of religiosity, in alignment to what the Qur'an and islam teach. These are the scriptures he quoted:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20 NIV)"

Sheikh made special emphasis on the words highlighted in bold. He commented that it was clear that in order to enter the kingdom of heaven one had to be more righteous than the Pharisees. And the Pharisees were strictly following the Torah, according to his comments.

That made me reflect and search within the scripture. I asked myself, Is it true that Jesus didn't preach the Gospel of Grace? Jesus style of teaching was very special. He spoke with words and parables that appealed even to those who had little religious knowledge. In other cases he spoke clearly, quoting from scriptures,with great authority challenging the teachers of The law and the religious leaders. 

Now, I've mentioned in other articles that the biggest mistake one can make when reading the Bible is taking single verses and interpreting them in isolated manner. This usually leads to misinterpretation. At a glance, one verse may seem to mean something, but when compared to others then is concluded exactly what the right message is. For example, when Matthew 5:20 says " unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven" may mean:

a. That you need to strictly follow all commandments without failing even one. 

b. That you need to have a different attitude of righteousness than that one of the Pharisees.

c. That you need something else that the Pharisees and teachers of The Law didn't have.

d. All of the above.

So I decided to read through the gospel according to Luke to meditate on the word. I wanted to find if there was any scriptures where Jesus appears to preach the Gospel of Grace. You see, some people argue that Paul came with certain messages, including that of the gospel of grace. Those also think Christ never said something like salvation is for free. So, after reading for a while, I came across to the parable of the Tax collector and the Pharisee. The parable reads as follows:

"To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14 NIV)"

According to this parable it seems like the Pharisee was following the commandments of The Law. He prayed, he tought he was grateful to God, he didn't physically steal, he didn't physically commit adultery, he was not doing evil physically. He also fasted twice per week. He would be considered by others a pious man who follows what it is written, people should have admired him. However, Jesus says of this Pharisee was not justified before God. This contradicts that which was alluded by Sheikh Mohammed   Awal. Doing good and pious deeds are not enough in the eyes of God. It is clear that a Pharisee like the one described in the parable of Luke 18 would not enter the kingdom of heaven.

On the other hand in the parable, it is said that the Tax collector also prayed, but in a different way. He didn't feel self justified; he was ashamed and as such "he stood at a distance". He didn't pray saying how good he thought he was, but rather he was praying asking for God's help. In his prayer he said, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner". Strangely, Jesus says that actually the Tax collector was the one who "went home justified before God". Tax collectors were not considered pious. In fact, besides working for the roman oppressors, they would take an extra cut on the taxes for their own. People considered them thiefs.

I'd like to clarify one important point about the Tax collector's prayer, because this is where difference is made between him and the Pharisee. The Tax collector prays "have mercy on me", "ilastheti moi" in the original Greek. These words come from the roots hilaskomai which means to make propitious, and egō first person singular (me). The Tax collector had to be aware of The Law and the commandments, otherwise he would not be in the temple. Through knowledge of The Law he realized that he was a sinner. He knew he deserved the wrath of God, the punishment for failing to meet the standard of God. Hopeless, he asked God to make him propitious. Propitious comes from the Latin propitius which means favorable, gracious. So the tax collector never said,  "I've come to pray, I'm good person, I'm a sinner as well, but I'm good". No, he realized he was hopeless on his own. That's why Jesus says at the end of the parable "those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted". Jesus was preaching that no matter how good you are, only God can make you propitious. Only God can make you good as needed to enter the kingdom of heaven. 

So, as you see when you analyze the verses of the Bible in a wholistic context is easier to realize what the true message is. So we've seen that the gospel Jesus  preached told us that we need to strictly follow all commandments without failing even one. This helps us realize that we are not good enough to enter the kingdom of heaven. Also that we need to have a different attitude of righteousness than that one of the Pharisees; because we can't approach God saying we are free of guilt, there are sins hidden within our hearts. And lastly, that we need something else that the Pharisees and teachers of The Law didn't have. We need His grace to make us propitious, good.

Up to here we've only found extra information to enlighten the purpose of The Law. But still further meditation on the word can bring clearer understanding. The more you look at different verses from the Bible, the more understanding you can find. Let's look at another verse in Luke, "But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:16-17 NIV)". 

What does it mean to receive the Kingdom of God as a children? It's necessary to understand what were the religious expectations that were expected from children. Kids were not considered accountable to fulfill religious deeds. This is even practiced today by Jews. Children before ther Bar or Bat Mitzvah are not considered accountable of their deeds: 

"According to Jewish law, when Jewish boys become 13 years old, they become accountable for their actions and become a bar mitzvah (son of the commandments). A girl becomes a bat mitzvah at the age of 12 according to Orthodox and Conservative Jews, and at the age of 13 according to Reform Jews. Prior to reaching bar mitzvah, the child's parents hold the responsibility for the child's actions. After this age, the boys and girls bear their own responsibility for Jewish ritual law, tradition, and ethics, and are able to participate in all areas of Jewish community life." http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_and_Bat_Mitzvah

 A child is held non accountable, because his wrongdoings are laid upon his or her father. Jesus was indicating that those who come as sons or daughters of the commandments would be judged under those commandments. But those who came as children, their Heavenly Father would hold responsibility of their actions. Powerful message. 

Lastly, I want to make reference to a third passage. The repentance of the criminal. One of the criminals who was crucified alongside to Jesus was promised to be in the kingdom of heaven the very same day:

"One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. ” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43 NIV)"

Please think about this. What good deeds could this criminal do to justify himself there in the cross? Could he bow and pray? Could he give alms in charity? It wasn't but until he recognized who Jesus was, and what Jesus was doing on the cross. Jesus himself had said that ""The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day."Luke 9:22 (HCSB)" Jesus made reference to prophecies and how he was fulfilling them. He said he was The Son of Man, the Servant of God and the Messiah. Some people accepted this as truth, others didn't. However, prophecy clearly mentioned that upon the Servant and the Messiah would be laid the punishment for the sins of many.

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? (...). He was despised and rejected by mankind, (...). Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But 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. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:1-12 NIV)"

“Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Messiah will be put to death and will have nothing. (...). (Daniel 9:24-26 NIV)

The Messiah, The Servant, The Son of Man are the same person. Jesus demonstrated he was the Savior.  The verses of the Bible are not isolated, they are interwoven. Jesus did preach the Gospel of Grace, it wasn't an invention from Paul or others. This message was clear for those who were not focus on self justification. Those doing good deeds trying to earn the favor of God, were too focus on their own works and missed the big picture. It was the ones who looked at the big picture who could finally understand that they can only approach God as little children. These are the ones who are hoping for their Heavenly Father to bear the consequences of their wrongdoings. They know they deserve to be punished, but they also know The Love without limits provided by God. And it was that Love which lead God to take the punishment we deserve upon Himself.

Jesus real message is very different than the one preached by Islam.