Were Jesus' teachings original?

Question

Almost everyone agrees Jesus was a moral teacher, but were his lessons innovative?

If so, what concepts had never been preached before?
If not, where did the majority of his ideas come from?

Sorry, too many good answers to choose. I'm letting it go to vote.

Answer 1

I don't think his teachings were that original. There are several instances of "Christ-like" people long before the birth of Jesus.

Answer 2

Jesus walked this earth as a rabbi. A Jewish teacher. Everything he said came from the Old Testament.

There were many prophets who came before Jesus who tried to tell the Hebrews that they needed to stop relying on sacrifices and live righteous lives.

Just like those prophets, the Hebrews put Jesus to death. In a foreshadowing of what was to come, one of the prophets was killed at the altar.

There were a few things he came down very hard on the Hebrews for. Saying that God had only granted certain "laws" because the people were too stubborn to do what was right.

Answer 3

Yes and maybe. When he was on earth, he was innovative in that he was fulfilling the hundreds of prophecies about his coming and in carrying out his mission to buy back humankind from under Adam's sin. This was also the first time any group of humans had a chance to go to heaven.

Morally he used the older texts from the prophets and expanded on them. In that sense, things had been said before. But keep in mind Jesus had a pre-human existence. He was the only creature personally made by Jehovah, his Father. All other things were made through him and he was/is called a "Master Worker". So he actually had a hand in saying all things first.

Answer 4

I don't think so - I don't even think the symbolism in the Jesus myth is original. As I understand it Jesus was originally born of a stone, as was the legend of previous cultures (similar to the stone in the cake - the recipient is king for the day) and the resurrection idea was taken from older cultures who believed that the tribe was as strong as it's leader. In that model, the king survived as long as he gave the impression of strength and vitality - so to overcome this, the king or chief would stage his own death and resurrection scene to show the followers that the gods still approved of him.

Even the virgin mary was not added to the Christ myth until the 3rd century when the Christians tried to convert the French - who simply would not get on board without some type of madonna figure, which had been so important to their culture prior.

We are a group that builds upon our past and I think that is true with each religion. We keep what works and modify the rest to suit our needs.

Peace!

Answer 5

There are similarities with many faiths that uphold family values, personal sacrifice to help others, and moral codes. Some influences of Jesus (apart from obvious Old Testement basis) was Socrates ("Let this cup pass from me" was along the lines of Socrates' death ... whereas cups of blessing are Jewish tradition - Psalm 23)

But Jesus had things NEVER talked about before .. mainly in His relationship to God as a Father who loves us.
Mostly, God was to be feared ... and the relationship was that of a servant to a Lord. The teaching of the Prodical Son highlighted God's love for us even when we are undeserving.

Not only did Jesus teach of that love, He exemplified it on the cross when He looked at His torturers and murderers and prayed, "Forgive them Father, for the know not what they do"

That one prayer was unprecedented in History and seldom repeated. There, He not only reinforced that God wants to save us ... but gave His motivation as well.
Parental Love for His children

Answer 6

Jesus is way over-rated. He was probably a good enlightened man and that’s all. His disciples turned him into a god but the problem is they didn’t all agree on everything and that’s why Jesus turns out to be a walking contradiction. I don’t think there is very much originality in Christianity, virtually everything was borrowed from other [older] religions. In fact I can’t think of even one doctrine that is not found in an older pagan religion.

Answer 7

No his teachings were not original. He preached the same basic things that people did before him, like the Essenes or Abraham or Moses. The only thing that was original was the fact that he claimed to be 'the son of God' and performed 'miracles'.

Answer 8

Some say that his teachings were new. The truth is that if you study the Old Testament you will find it all there.
The infamous Mount Olive speech, to love your enemy, to turn the other cheek, it was already there as God's commandments to keep His law, to love God and the stranger.

Taking it to the extreme is new as he abolished an eye for eye. Forgiving is better for us then revenge, fighting evil with evil will only lead to more evil.
With doing a good thing to an enemy you will expose his evil, his unfairness and his inhumanity.

And in the end that way is the only way as violence will lead to war, will lead to our self-destruction

Answer 9

It is thought in some circles that the historical Jesus studied with some Buddhists. He just repeated the things that Buddha said first. There's a few books around that parallel the two.

Answer 10

Yes and no. The plan of salvation taught by Christ was the same plan taught to Adam and Eve and all of their posterity. God made the plan and Christ presented it to the people of His time. However, that same plan had been taught by all the Biblical patriarchs throughout history because they got it from the same source. The new part of Christ's doctrine originates from His own unique part in God's plan, namely that of being our Savior. Because of His atoning sacrifice, the people no longer had to follow the ancient law of sacrifice where they gave up the firstlings of their flocks to God. Those sacrifices were symbolic of the sacrifice of Jesus as the first born of God, sacrificed to take away our sins. His teachings were innovative because he brought to the people a higher law of love, service and forgiveness instead of harsh justice and daily reminders of our duty to God. Instead of writing God's law on their forheads and door posts, Christ taught us to write God's law in our hearts. We are expected to be able to choose right from wrong by ourselves. He wants us to mature into the godly people we are supposed to be. In that sense, Christ was new and innovative.