The Teachings of Jesus Christ
During His ministry on earth, Jesus Christ taught His followers the way back to God, giving purpose to their lives and to ours today.
Jesus’s teachings: a divine blueprint
Within Jesus Christ’s teachings we find the plan for our happiness, our redemption, and our salvation—a divine blueprint that includes faith in Christ, repentance, baptism, keeping God’s commandments, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. These are the saving principles taught by Jesus Christ, the bedrock on which His Gospel is built.
The Beatitudes
Shortly after His baptism by John the Baptist, Jesus taught His gospel and outlined how to be a righteous disciple in a powerful discourse called the Sermon on the Mount. During this beloved sermon, Jesus introduced a new standard of righteousness that expanded on the Ten Commandments. “Thou shalt not kill” was no longer enough; Jesus required His followers to reject hatred, be forgiving, and even love their enemies. He asked for people to change their hearts as well as their actions.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus also gave eight important teachings called the Beatitudes. The word beatitude means “supreme blessedness” or “exalted happiness.” The Beatitudes highlight the amazing promised blessings that come when we develop certain righteous traits.
Click through a summary of the Beatitudes below.
The Beatitudes
Jesus taught that the kingdom of heaven is for those who humble themselves.
Matthew 5:3
Those who are teachable, patient, long-suffering, etc., are promised to “inherit the earth.”
Matthew 5:5
Jesus said, “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:36), meaning those who show mercy will also receive it.
Matthew 5:7
Those who make peace with one another “shall be called sons of God.”
Matthew 5:9
Jesus promised that those who mourn and turn to Him will find the comfort they seek.
Matthew 5:4
Those who seek out righteousness are promised to be satisfied because of their faithful desire.
Matthew 5:6
Those who strive to keep goodness in their hearts and minds “shall see God.”
Matthew 5:8
When people are persecuted for living righteously, Jesus declared that “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:10
Jesus’s parables
Because of Christ’s compassion and divine insight, He was uniquely able to understand those He taught and speak compellingly to them through simple words and also through parables. The use of parables was a powerful teaching method that fit the tradition of His time, and these simple, memorable stories represent a third of His teachings found in the Bible.
The unique power of parables is that they contain several layers of meaning and can be understood on different levels depending on the spiritual preparation and sensitivity of the reader. His parables teach important lessons that are still applicable today.
Click through a summary of Jesus’s parables below.
The Parables of Jesus
Jesus taught that all who choose to come unto Him and labor in His work can have the opportunity to receive equal blessings (see Matthew 20:1–16).
Jesus taught us the important lesson of forgiveness by asking, “Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?” (see Matthew 18:33).
Jesus said that we should love our neighbor, and the parable of the good Samaritan teaches us that our neighbors can be anyone, including strangers or foes (see Luke 10:25–37).
As the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ earnestly seeks after all of us—especially those who have been separated from His flock (see Luke 15:3–7).
Every person who turns to Christ will receive His loving acceptance, regardless of what he or she has done (see Luke 15:11–32).
The miracles of Jesus
Through His actions, and specifically miracles, Jesus taught important lessons about faith, kindness, and God’s ability to make great things from our most humble offerings. For example, as a multitude of 5,000 men and an untold number of women and children gathered around Him near Bethsaida, Jesus Christ fed them all with two fish and five loaves of bread.
Similar opportunities to teach—sometimes through miracles, and sometimes through His actions—arose when He encountered lepers, rich men, the woman at the well, and the Pharisees. He taught at religious and social gatherings, He taught among the afflicted as He healed them, He taught among the powerful as He rebuked them, and He taught among the sinners as He forgave them.
Jesus continues to perform miracles even today. The inspiring accounts of His miracles can help us grow closer to Him. And as we come to know Him, we can experience the miraculous effects of His teachings and grace in our lives.
Explore the miracles of Jesus in the slider below.
The miracles of Jesus
“Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it” (Matthew 9:27–31).
“And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed” (Luke 17:12–19).
“And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God” (Luke 13:11–17).
“Behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. … And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. … And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up” (Luke 7:12–15).
“Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. … And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was” (John 2:3–11).
“And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea” (Matthew 14:25).
“And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. And they did all eat, and were filled” (Mark 6:41–42).
Jesus Christ: teacher by example
Christ’s teachings are found in much more than just His parables and sermons; they are also found in the personal example He set for us throughout His life, an example of obedience, humility, and love. The eternal truths He taught, both by word and deed, can influence our lives today as much as they did the lives of those He first taught during His earthly ministry. We invite you to join us as we strive to learn His teachings and follow Him.
