There are three Gospels taking the same general view, (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) which broadly tell the main story and largely agree on the teaching of Jesus. Let us look at the first written Gospel which is Mark. Each succeeding Gospel has moved away from Mark's simple story of Jesus by additions and alterations.

The last chapter of Mark has two endings; a short and a longer ending. The longer ending is marked as being doubtful in the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. The footnotes includes the following. 'Some of the most ancient authorities bring the book to a^lose at the end of verse eight'. It would seem that the additional 12 verses have been added at a later time. I have therefore excluded them. This is another admission that the book of Mark has been subject to adulteration. I am not qualified to tell you about all the texts which have been subject to tampering. You will, however, have my opinion on some occasions.

For all his life, Jesus was a devout Jew who believed in and sincerely trusted the Jewish God- He kept the commandments, respected the prophets and wherever he went, attended the synagogues and Temple. Jesus is presented in Luke 3:23, as a mature man of about thirty.

The direct religious teaching which Jesus gave, related solely to their Hebrew national Mosaic law and loving each other. In other words keeping the laws of the land and loving your neighbour as yourself. Thus he presents a moral code and a social ethical imperative. It was always a case of actions and not just words. His greatest criticism seems to be of the religious sect of Pharisees for hypocrisy. The teaching of Jesus is sound ethics. He presents his thoughts mainly in parables which are fictitious stories with a serious meaning.

Jesus was not interested in any other race of people. He was only concerned with the future reign of the Jewish Messiah as presented by the prophets and good social behaviour. This was the Kingdom of God he so often spoke about.

Remember that Jesus said "go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Matt. 10:5-6. When a Gentile woman asked him to heal her daughter he replied, "Let the children first be fed for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." Mark 7:27. The dogs!! Is that how he felt about Gentiles? But he did fulfil her request and praised her faith.

Jesus showed no intention of starting a new religion. Nor had he any desire to include Gentiles among his followers. Indeed he never made a disciple of a gentile. It has rightly been said that Jesus was not what is understood today as a Christian. In all his teaching he was only concerned with the Hebrew God, the prophets, and that people should keep the Mosaic laws in preparation for the restitution of the throne of King David. Never does he promote faith instead of good deeds. The Hebrew Messiah, according to the prophets, was intended to be a political, not a spiritual Messiah. His message to the people was repent and sin no more, only then will you be able to participate in the Kingdom of God. There was no substitute for this, repentance and good behaviour must always go together.

Our first difficulty in understanding the teaching of Jesus is the great gap in time before the stories about Jesus were recorded by Mark. Perhaps he was the same Mark who accompanied Paul in his missionary work. He was not even one of Jesus' twelve apostles who travelled with him about Israel. So his stories of Jesus were second hand, heard from others-It is believed that Mark was a member of the Christian Church in Rome who took on the responsibility of writing about the life of Jesus around the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Roman army. The spoils from the Temple would have been shown in the victory parade in Rome. It could have been politically unwise for Mark to accuse Rome of the death of Jesus. So Mark relieves Rome of the Responsibility of Jesus execution. He blamed the priests and Jewish people instead.

Ultimately it was Pilate who decided that Jesus should be crucified. The charge was shown on the inscription over the cross "The King of the Jews." This gives the real reason for his death, the fact attested by all four Gospels. The Jews chafed under the Romans who had had enough trouble from them. Rome wanted to give a warning to those who wished to revive the old kingdom of David.