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Lately I’ve been thinking about selective listening.

If a child is in the other side of the house, and if you say something that interests them—perhaps something about getting ice cream—they can usually hear you. They have great hearing when it is to their benefit.

But if that child is sitting in the other side of the house, and if you say something they don’t want to hear—like how it’s time to do chores—they might not hear you as well.

This is what I mean by “selective listening.” Oh, and it doesn’t only happen to children.

In Mark 4:20, Jesus tells us how we should respond to God’s teachings. We should “hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop…” Sure, we may hear and respond to some of Jesus’ words, but do we hear and respond to all of Jesus’ words?

Is to listen to some of what Jesus says
And not to all of what Jesus says
To not listen to what Jesus says?

I realize this is a work in progress for all of us, myself included. From what I’ve seen, everyone has a “Bible within a Bible,” meaning that they selectively prioritize certain passages over others. To have a “Bible within a Bible” is kind of like following a certain version of Jesus—a photoshopped Jesus who highlights what you like and crops out what you don’t.

I realize that some passages are hard to understand. It’s tempting to skim over what confuses us. So there are times when it takes prayer, study, and even a bit of wrestling, to more fully understand Scripture.

Deep down, however, I think we know the parts we are consciously avoiding because we would rather just think and do what we want instead of what God wants—which is a way of saying that we know best.

Perhaps looking more comprehensively at Christ’s teachings is our next best step in comprehensive Christlikeness.

As an experiment, here are 10 popular things Jesus said. Keep in mind that I haven’t done a survey. I’m simply listing 10 statements which I’ve noticed are frequently quoted in a favourable way.

They are quoted by Christians. But some of them are even quoted by non-Christians. That’s how popular some of them have become.

In the days to come I’ll publish a blog and podcast which is meant to accompany this one: “10 Unpopular Things Jesus Said.” The intent is to help us honestly reflect on our own preferences.

Now Available: 10 Unpopular Things Jesus Said

What are our “go-to” passages?
What do we readily embrace?
What makes us uncomfortable?
What embarrasses us?
What do we need to keep researching?

When Jesus said and did things, people responded in different ways. Sometimes they gathered in great numbers and hung on his every word. Other times they dispersed and called him names. The sayings in this initial entry tend to fall into the first category, not the second.

With that background in mind, here are 10 popular things Jesus said. I’ll mostly use the NIV translation of the Bible since it is the one most English-speaking readers have.

#1 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16)

This is probably the most quoted Bible verse in the world. It speaks about God’s love, Jesus’ sacrifice, and eternal life. One pastor I know calls it the summary verse of the entire biblical story.

Granted, there is some debate about who said it. Some translators end Jesus’ words before verse 16 begins, meaning that they think verse 16 is commentary by the apostle John. Modern English has very clear quotation marks to indicate what someone said. The Greek of the New Testament is not always as clear, hence the uncertainty. Either way, this is a very popular statement, often attributed to Jesus.

#2 – “do to others what you would have them do to you…” (Matthew 7:12)

Here’s the full verse, taken from the Sermon on the Mount: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

This statement is sometimes called the “golden rule.” Versions of it can be found in other traditions as well. It’s about reciprocity. If you want to be respected, respect others. If you want to be treated fairly, treat others fairly.

I remember visiting a congregant in the hospital before she died. She quoted this verse saying it had served as her ethical guide for life. It’s a great one!

#3 – “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Mark 12:31)

This is a part of the “greatest command,” and appears in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke as well. (John has a lot to say about love, but he tends to share sayings of Jesus that the others don’t capture.)

Jesus was asked by some religious teachers about the greatest command. He responded by quoting the Shema, an ancient Jewish Creed from Deuteronomy 6. It was about loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. He immediately added something else: “The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

He was actually quoting Leviticus 19:18. In placing them together, he closely linked the love we have for God and the love we have for neighbour. To use a spatial analogy, the One we look to vertically, calls us to love horizontally (i.e. the people around us). The parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 captures this famously well. Show mercy broadly.

#4 – “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26)

Here’s the context. Jesus was teaching about the kingdom of God and how it is difficult for rich people to enter it. Yes, the temptation to organize our lives around money and things instead of God is very real. In fact, it is easier, Jesus said, “for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

The disciples were astonished. That’s when Jesus delivered the now-famous line: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

That was the original context. But today, it is applied generally to a wide variety of situations, and rightly so. After all, the power of God is described in countless ways throughout the Bible. His greatness cannot be fathomed (Psalm 145:3) and his paths are beyond our comprehension (Romans 11:33).

We recently watched a football movie called “Facing the Giants” which included this verse as the movie’s main theme.

#5 – “the truth will set you free” (John 8:32)

So famous is this statement that it has made it’s way onto many a court building. It’s inspiring to think that truth has the capacity to liberate people.

In context, Jesus was speaking about the truth concerning his identity and teaching: “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

#6 – “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1)

This too is from the Sermon on the Mount. More commonly, people reference this statement by saying “Don’t judge,” or “Judge not.”

It’s meaning is clarified in the verses which follow it in Matthew 7 (which, unfortunately, many people miss).

Jesus goes on to say, “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Some people say, “Jesus said we shouldn’t judge,” referencing this verse. True enough. But to “not judge” does not mean to not use judgment. Jesus himself goes on to explain that there are in fact times when we need to share a word of correction with someone. However, we shouldn’t be hypocrites when we do so. Before we share that word of correction we need to be humble and first address those same concerns in our own lives.

#7 – “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35)

This saying has become so commonplace that some people will quote it, including non-Christians, not even realizing that it came from the lips of Jesus.

Unlike the other statements I have highlighted so far, this actually comes from the book of Acts. Paul quotes it when speaking to the church elders from Ephesus.

In a world that seems more focused on receiving than giving, Jesus here reminds us that the greater gift is in the giving. Perhaps you’ve had that very discussion with your family or friends in the Christmas season.

#8 – “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12)

Here’s the full quote: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Jesus was teaching about his identity at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. It was a very dramatic thing to say, and definitely controversial. Not only did Jesus identify himself as the “light of the world,” but the Greek words that are used in this verse (ego eimi) include a specific phrase that was also used when God revealed himself to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3:14 (ego eimi). Jesus does this many times in John’s Gospel. Jesus said and did things to indicate that he was the God of Israel come to us in human form!

Part of why this statement has been so popular is because it gives us hope in a world of darkness. Following Jesus is a journey of illumination; doing so results in his people obtaining the “light of life.”

At the church I pastor, we have a candlelight service on Christmas Eve. As we light the Christ candle, and as that light is then shared with everyone else, and as the lights go down, and as the light from their candles begins to dance, and just before we sing Silent Night, I quote this statement. Darkness surrounds, but fear not, there is good news of great joy. Jesus is the light of the world, and those who follow him will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

#9 – “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28)

As a pastor, whenever I read this in front of the congregation, I see smiles of refreshment and hope emerge on people’s faces. Here’s the longer quote: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

In his book on this verse called Gentle and Lowly, Dane Ortlund says that in 89 chapters, this is the only place where Christ specifically describes his own heart. So for those who are “weary and burdened” (which, to be sure, is a lot of people) this statement is a much-needed reminder that their Lord provides rest for the soul.

Ortlund writes: “For those united to him, the heart of Jesus is not a rental; it is your new permanent residence. You are not a tenant; you are a child.”1

#10 – “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…” (Matthew 6:9-13)

This is the first part of The Lord’s Prayer. Some call it the “Our Father” because of how it begins. I’ve quoted it here in it’s most common form. The language feels quite formal because we tend to preserve the style of the older English versions which were passed down to us.

Jesus’ disciples asked him how to pray. This prayer was his response. We pray in other ways as well, but this was a model to follow. Ever since, billions upon billions of devotees have done so.

In a book devoted exclusively to this prayer, Bible scholar N.T. Wright says that when we take this prayer upon our lips we are standing “on hallowed ground.” We pray it “as the new royal family.” It “clears away the paranoia and gets us down to business.”2

Castles came out of his mouth

So, there they are: 10 popular things Jesus said.

  • “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”
  • “do to others what you would have them do to you…”
  • “Love your neighbour as yourself”
  • “with God all things are possible”
  • “the truth will set you free”
  • “Do not judge, or you too will be judged”
  • “It is more blessed to give than to receive”
  • “I am the light of the world”
  • “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”
  • “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…”

C.S. Lewis described one of his characters, Dimble, like this: He “raised his head, and great syllables of words that sounded like castles came out of his mouth.”3 What an idea—that words can be so potent and commanding that they seem like castles. Such are the words of Jesus: invisible lighthouses, narrow pathways, loving embraces and piercing swords, that are even more real than the physical things.

Would you agree with the 10 I put in this list? Are there others you think I should have included?

As we prepare for the next entry (which, as a reminder, will include 10 Un-Popular things Jesus said), let’s do some thoughtful introspection. Do we like following a certain version of Jesus—a photoshopped Jesus who highlights what we like and crops out what we don’t—or the Jesus of Scripture? It’s a temptation for all of us, myself included.

But selective listening tends to snuff out wholehearted doing.

Let’s strive for honest growth in the footsteps of the one who knows better than we do. As Jesus said in Mark 13:31: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

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