When Jesus taught, He taught simply. He used simple words and gave simple instructions so that the common people could understand His message. And they did. Many of the apostles were uneducated, and some were even illiterate, but they understood and faithfully taught what they had learned from Jesus. Like their Master, the apostles taught simply so that their message could be understood by everyone:

• “The disciples of Jesus scorn mere elegances of style and what is called in Scripture ‘the wisdom according to the flesh’ [1 Cor. 1:26]. . . . They resemble those who investigate to provide the most wholesome food for the largest number of persons. For this purpose, they adapt their language and style to the capacities of the common people.” – Origen (c. 248)
• “[The Gospel of John] has been committed to the earthly treasure house of common speech – a writing that anybody can read. And when it is read aloud, it can be understood by anyone.” – Origen (c. 228)
• “When the Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, came unto all, He gathered alike the learned and unlearned, and He proclaimed to [male and female] and [to] every age the precepts of salvation. He made a large summary of His teachings, that the memory of the scholars might not be burdened with celestial learning, but might quickly learn what was necessary to a simple faith.” – Cyprian (c. 250)
• “Being accustomed to sweet and polished speeches or poems, [educated people] disdain the simple and common language of the sacred writings as being menial. . . . With the greatest foresight, He wished those things that are divine to be without adornment, that everyone might understand the things that He Himself spoke to all.” – Lactantius (c. 304-313)
• “[You say that the Scriptures] were written by unlearned and ignorant men and that, therefore, they should not be readily believed. But is this not rather a stronger reason to believe? For they have not been adulterated by any false statements. Rather, they were produced by men of simple mind, who did not know how to make their accounts deceitful with flashy language. For truth never seeks deceitful polish.” – Arnobius (c. 305)

According to the early Christians, Jesus and the apostles specifically avoided complicated teachings and lofty language:

• “Our prophets, the apostles, and Jesus Himself were careful to adopt a style of speech that would not only convey the truth, but that would be suitable to gain over the multitude. . . . For, if I may venture to say so, few have benefited from the beautiful and polished style of Plato and others who have written like him. . . . It is easy, indeed, to observe that Plato is found only in the hands of those who profess to be literary men.” – Origen (c. 248)
• “We are not to imagine that a truth adorned with the graces of Grecian speech is necessarily better than the same when expressed in the more humble and unpretentious language used by Jews and Christians.” – Origen (c. 248)
• “The more unskilled the discourse, the more evident the reasoning is; for it is not colored by the pomp of eloquence and grace.” – Mark Minucius Felix (c. 200)
• “The power of truth is so great that it defends itself by its own clarity.” – Lactantius (c. 304-313)
• “Simple and undisguised truth is the most clear, for it has sufficient ornament of itself. For this reason, it is corrupted when it is embellished with external ornamentation.” – Lactantius (c. 304-313)

In contrast, the Pharisees were the educated of society. By age 12, they had memorized the first five books of the Old Testament. As teachers, they were adept at dissecting every verse to determine its precise meaning. They were eloquent, dogmatic, and persuasive; and they could win doctrinal debates against the Sadducees. Yet Jesus criticized the Pharisees because, in their study of the minutia of Scripture, they had missed its plain meaning (John 5:39). Their intellect and education had blinded them to its simple message. Jesus said, “You shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in” (Matthew 23:13).

The Pharisees of today

Today’s religious leaders rightfully criticize the Pharisees yet fail to realize the hypocrisy: the Pharisees of Jesus’ day have become the theologians of today.

Hardly any Bible-reading Christian would be without at least one study Bible. Most pastors and seminary professors own multiple commentary sets, some of which are 20, 30, or 40 volumes. Jesus words were intended to be simple and easy to understand, yet these commentaries expound on each verse, carefully parsing the Greek and Hebrew words, in an attempt to explain in complicated language the simple teachings of Scripture. What sense does that make? One prominent commentary set is over 13,000 pages – covering ONLY the New Testament! That is over 50 TIMES the length of the New Testament itself!

Not only have theologians disguised the simple teachings of Scripture in complicated language, but they frequently say that Scripture doesn’t mean what it says! “Difficult verses” are explained away as not applying to believers, referring to “a different dispensation,” or meaning something completely different from what they clearly say. The average Christian who reads a study Bible is left with the realization that he is not smart enough to understand the Bible on his own, much less do what it says. What could be further from the truth?

When did Jesus’ simple teachings for the common person become complicated theology that only a seminary person can understand – and that no one needs to obey anyway because they don’t apply to us?

When did the Pharisees of today receive a license to proclaim themselves authorities over Scripture, filling thousands of commentary pages with manmade teachings and made-up doctrines?

When did the inspired Word of God become subject to the interpretations of men?

The early Christians read the Bible and did what it said. Will you do the same?

“This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:6-7).