The honesty principle
What Did Jesus Say About...?
People often ask, What did Jesus say about this or that? The honest answer has two halves. On many things, love, money, worry, forgiveness, prayer, he taught plainly, and you can read his own words. On many modern questions he gave no direct teaching, and it would be dishonest to invent one. There, we point to the broader principles he did give, love God and love your neighbour, without pretending he said more than he did.
Two honest halves
It is tempting to make Jesus answer every question we bring, but love for the truth means drawing a clear line between what he actually taught and what we merely infer. Both matter; they are simply not the same, and blurring them does no one any good.
Where Jesus taught directly
On a great many things Jesus spoke plainly, and his own words are recorded. You can read them, topic by topic, in his own red-letter sayings, and in the datasets of his commands, promises, and prayers.
- What Jesus saidMoney, worry, forgiveness, prayer, and more, in his words.
- The commands of JesusWhat he directly told his followers to do.
- The promises of JesusWhat he pledged, in his own words.
- The prayers of JesusHow and what he prayed.
Where he did not speak directly
On many questions people ask today, particular technologies, specific modern political systems, and countless personal details, the Gospels do not record a direct teaching from Jesus. The faithful thing is to admit it. We will not fabricate a saying, stretch a verse past its meaning, or make him a mascot for a cause. Instead we return to what he did give: the two great commandments.
On these two commandments, Jesus said, hang all the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:40). For questions he did not directly address, this is the ground Christians reason from, carefully, and without claiming his direct authority for their conclusions.
What this shows about Jesus
A Teacher worth trusting does not need his words inflated. Jesus said enough, and what he said is clear enough, to change a life. Handling his words with honesty is itself a way of honoring him, and it lets you trust that when these pages say Jesus said something, he really did.
These are his own words and deeds
Everything on this page is drawn straight from the Gospels, nothing added, nothing softened. The living Christ is not an argument to be won but a Person to be met, and he still draws near to everyone who comes to him with an open heart. Read his own words, watch what he does, and see. The Gospel of John is a gentle place to begin.
Meet JesusRead the Gospel of JohnThe gospelJesus Christ is Lord.
Frequently asked questions
- Did Jesus talk about everything?
- No. Jesus taught directly on many things, love, money, worry, forgiveness, prayer, the kingdom of God, but the Gospels do not record him addressing every modern topic. Where he gave no direct teaching, honesty means saying so rather than inventing a quote.
- What did Jesus say about modern issues he never named?
- For questions Jesus did not directly address, Christians look to the principles he did give, above all to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbour as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39), and reason carefully from there, without claiming he said what he did not.
- Where can I read what Jesus actually said?
- The red-letter pages at 'What Jesus said' gather his direct teaching topic by topic, each quoted from the King James Version. The dataset pages on his commands, promises, and prayers do the same for those categories.