The Message of Jesus: What Jesus Said About Himself
Perhaps it seems obvious to anyone who reads the New Testament: the message is about Jesus, about how we are saved by what he did. The gospel tells us to believe the message, to trust in Jesus, and he will give us an eternal life of love and joy. Nevertheless, some people ignore the obvious and base their message on their own understanding of the word “kingdom.”
The kingdom must have a territory, they say. It will happen only when Jesus returns to set up his kingdom. The gospel is not about Jesus – it’s about “the wonderful world tomorrow.” The focus of the message must be on the future, not on what Jesus did to save us, they say.
It is true that the kingdom will be wonderful in the future, but it is false to say that Jesus did not preach about himself. We will have a glorious and beautiful future, but an important part of the message is that we can participate in that future only through Jesus. He is the key to everything that is good and glorious, and the apostles emphasized him as the center of the message.
Christ gave the church the mission of preaching the gospel, and we want to be sure we are delivering the right message. As we saw in the book of Acts, when the apostles preached about the kingdom, they emphasized what Jesus had done to make it true for us. The message of the kingdom begins with and centers on Jesus.
Let’s go back to the four Gospels to see: Is the early church’s focus on Jesus a continuation of, or a change away from Jesus’ own teaching?
Did Jesus teach people about himself?
Much, in every way.
Matthew
Near the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus indicates that he will act as the judge of whether people enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7:21-22). The wise person is the one who “hears these words of mine and acts on them” (verse 23, NRSVue throughout). Jesus is pointing to himself, to his own authority. People should put his words into practice just as seriously as they obey God.
He said he could forgive sins (Matthew 9:2-6). Sin is an offense against God, so how could an ordinary human declare anyone forgiven, without any temple rituals, just on his own authority? Jesus points to himself as having that authority. He is the judge, the one who determines whether anyone gets into the kingdom. If people reject Jesus, he will deny them (Matthew 10:33).
He says that the future judgment will be bad for people who ignore what he is doing (Matthew 11:20-24). He has God’s authority. He claims to know the Father in a way that no other human does (verse 27). He says he gives people rest for their souls (verse 29).
He is greater than the temple, greater than the Sabbath, greater than Solomon (Matthew 12:6-8, 42). He is pointing people to himself, not just teaching about the kingdom of God. There is no contradiction here, because Jesus is the key to whether anyone will be in the kingdom.
Jesus asked his disciples about what the people thought of Jesus. He was concerned about their attitude toward him. When Peter said that Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus praised him, and said that God had revealed this to Peter – he was agreeing that he was the Messiah. God wanted Jesus’ disciples to know who Jesus was – although it was not yet time to tell everyone else (Matthew 16:13-20).
Jesus claimed to have an authority that no one else had. He often used the words “me” and “my.” He was teaching about himself. He is the key to whether a person is in the kingdom. The kingdom would not be good news without him.
Speaking of himself, he said, “the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done” (Matthew 16:27). Jesus is the judge, and he will reward people who obeyed him. He said that he would have a “throne of glory” (Matthew 19:28-29).
He claimed that his life would be able to ransom many people (Matthew 20:28). He said that a psalm about God was also about himself (Matthew 21:15-16; Psalm 8:2). He claims that he will come “‘on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30, quoting Daniel 7:13-14); he will have authority over the angels. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).
When Jesus “comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:31-32). He will decide whether people are in the kingdom (verses 34, 41). He is the judge who decides the eternal future of all people.
Jesus not only talked about himself, he did so in ways that set him apart from all other humans. If anyone else said these things, we would think that he was mentally ill. Jesus talked about himself, because who he is makes all the difference in what he said. His message about the kingdom was different from what everyone had been thinking, so he also had to tell people about his authority. They should accept his teachings about the kingdom because of who he is.
Jesus claimed to bring about a new covenant between God and his people, a covenant that includes forgiveness (Matthew 26:28) – made possible by his death. It was an astounding claim regarding himself, that his death would have such results for other people.
He claims universal authority (Matthew 28:18); he includes himself as having the same name as the Father (verse 19), and he says that his commands are what people need (verse 20). He will be with his people, no matter how scattered they are on the earth (verse 20).
Jesus preached about the kingdom and he preached about himself.
The kingdom of God is here, he taught. You do not have to wait for some future day – you can be part of the royal family right now. The kingdom is here because the King is here. You can enter the kingdom by responding to what he teaches. God accepts people who accept his Son.
The kingdom begins small, but it will grow. You can be part of it now, and Jesus the King will reward you richly when he returns in glory. The gospel of the kingdom cannot be separated from the good news about Jesus our Lord and Savior.
Both the present and the future are part of the message that Jesus brought, the message he wanted his disciples to spread throughout the world. The kingdom is not only a wonderful future for us, but it says something about the way life is right now.
Luke
After Jesus was resurrected, he taught his disciples how Old Testament prophecies pointed to him (Luke 24:27). But Jesus didn’t wait until the resurrection to teach people about himself. “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled” (verse 44).
When Jesus sent out the 72 disciples on a mission, he told them that he is the one who had given them authority “over all the power of the enemy” (10:19). He claimed the power to give his disciples a kingdom (22:29) – so that they would sit on thrones over all the tribes of Israel (v. 30). Their role in the kingdom will come about only because of who he is.
When Jesus approached Jerusalem, he equated his own coming with “the time of your visitation from God” (19:41-44). Even on the cross, Jesus claimed that he had the authority to judge whether a person would be in the kingdom (23:42-43). He had the authority to send the power of God on his disciples (24:49).
Many Jews were hoping for an earthly kingdom, with land, laws, king and subjects. If Jesus preached this kind of kingdom, most people would have found it within the range of normal.
But Jesus caused controversy by the things he taught about himself. Even at risk of his life, he taught that he had a special role in what God was doing. The Jewish leaders didn’t seem to care much about what he said about the kingdom, but they were very angry about what he said about himself. This led to his crucifixion.
John
The Gospel of John does not use the word “gospel.” However, it does tell us what Jesus preached, both in private and to the public. Jesus often focuses on who he is, on his unique role in what God is doing with humanity. There are numerous “I am” statements, in which Jesus teaches something about himself. He is the answer to various human needs:
- I am the bread of life (6:35, 41); the living bread (6:51).
- I am the light of the world (8:12; 9:5).
- I am from above, not from this world (8:23)
- I am the door or gate for the sheep (10:7, 9).
- I am the good shepherd who gives his life (10:11, 14).
- I am the resurrection and the life (11:25).
- I am the way, the truth, and the life (14:6).
- I am the true vine (15:1, 5).
- I am a king (18:37).
The Gospel of John rarely refers to the kingdom of God.[1] Instead, Jesus’ message is often described in terms of life, or eternal life. “No one has ascended into heaven except…me,” he told Nicodemus. “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so I must be lifted up, that whoever believes in me may have eternal life” (John 3:13-15).[2]
Jesus refers to himself as “the Son” when he says, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may…have eternal life” (3:16). “The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life” (verse 35).
The people soon saw that Jesus was preaching about himself. The religious leaders “were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was…calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God” (5:18).
Jesus said that he had God’s authority: “The Son gives life to whomever he wishes. The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father” (5:21-23).
“The hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself, and he has given him authority to execute judgment because he is the Son of Man” (5:25-27).
Jesus can give eternal life (6:27); he will bring back to life all who believe in him (verse 40). He told Martha, “Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” (11:25-26).
Conclusion
Jesus did not begin his sermons with, “Let me tell you about how great I am.” Nevertheless, in his preaching and teaching, Jesus often taught about himself. He taught that he was unusually great, and our eternal future depends on whether we accept him for who he is. We must believe in him before we can experience his forgiveness and life in his kingdom.
Jesus’ disciples didn’t always understand what Jesus taught. They did not understand Jesus’ role as Savior until after the resurrection. He was great beyond their ability to understand.
After Jesus went back into heaven and the Holy Spirit energized the apostles, they saw more clearly that Jesus’ teachings about himself were very important. People can have many misunderstandings about the kingdom and still be saved, but in order for them to experience salvation, it is essential that they accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. He is the most important part of the message.
Jesus taught about his own death and resurrection, and he taught that forgiveness comes through him. That also formed the focus of the preaching of the early church. The apostles did not go off in a different direction. We see continuity and greater understanding, not any contradictions. The gospel focuses on who Jesus is and what he did so that we might have eternal life in God’s kingdom.
There are many ways to preach the gospel. When we see the different parables and sayings of Jesus, we see a variety of ways to tell people about what Jesus accomplished for us. When we examine the letters of Paul, we again see some variety, as well as the same basic message: believe in Jesus Christ. Trust him as Lord and Savior. Follow him into eternal life. This is the message that Jesus has given us to preach to all the world.
[1] The word “kingdom” occurs in 3:3, 5, and 18:36. None of these are in public preaching.
[2] In these quotes, we used “I” and “me” to replace the phrase “Son of man,” which Jesus used to refer to himself. Scholars debate why Jesus sometimes used this roundabout way of referring to himself. Nicodemus may not have understood that Jesus was talking about himself, but John knew it and reported it.
Author: Michael Morrison, updated 2025
