From Following Jesus to Believing About Him

 The Synoptic Gospels describe the life and ministry of Jesus, especially what he taught. At the centre of his message was the Kingdom of God, the divine rule that the people of Israel had long awaited with hope.

Through Jesus’ actions and teaching, his disciples came to believe that he was the Messiah they were expecting. However, when Jesus was crucified, that belief collapsed. His death appeared to bring the messianic hope to an end.

After this, a decisive shift occurred. When many claimed to have seen Jesus alive after his death, the conviction that Jesus truly was the Messiah arose again with renewed force. This resurrection faith became the foundation of a new movement.

As the movement grew, the beliefs associated with it also developed and transformed. Paul interpreted Jesus’ death as a sacrificial act of salvation. The Gospel of John presented Jesus as the divine Word (Logos) who existed with God from the beginning. In later Christian belief, Jesus came to be understood as the second person of the Trinity.

These developing beliefs increasingly separated Christianity from Judaism. For the same reasons, Islam—which views Jesus as a prophet rather than divine—also stands clearly apart from Christian faith.

Within Christianity itself, differences in belief led to the formation of numerous denominations and sects. Jesus had hoped that his disciples would remain united and that they would teach the world what he himself had taught. Yet what actually happened was different. Instead of primarily teaching what Jesus taught, Christians increasingly taught what they believed about Jesus.

This diversity of beliefs gradually fragmented Christianity into many pieces, replacing unity with division.

Jesus, Belief, and the Foundation of Christianity

 Christianity today presents itself mainly as a belief system centered on Jesus—especially the belief that he is “the Christ.” Acceptance of this belief is often treated as the foundation of the faith. But this raises a serious question: Is Christianity built on the solid rock of Jesus’ life and teaching, or on the shifting sand of beliefs about him?

If all beliefs about Jesus are removed, he is not reduced to a mere moral teacher. What remains is a profound observer of human and social sickness and a guide toward healing. Jesus diagnosed the deep problems of his society—fear, hypocrisy, exclusion, violence, and obsession with power—and offered a way of life that restores wholeness. His teachings are practical, existential, and transformative.

Jesus did not ask people to believe ideas about him. He asked them to follow him. Discipleship meant imitation: living as he lived and acting as he acted. Forgiving enemies, rejecting domination, trusting God rather than wealth, and serving others—this was the path he embodied and called others to walk.

Over time, Christianity shifted from this lived way to a system of beliefs. Creeds about Jesus replaced imitation of Jesus. Faith became intellectual assent rather than embodied practice. As a result, one can hold correct beliefs about Jesus while living in contradiction to his teaching.

This shift explains why Christianity often feels fragile. When belief becomes the foundation, challenging a belief threatens the whole structure. But Jesus never intended belief about him to be the foundation. The true foundation is a life shaped by truth, compassion, justice, and self-giving love.

Christianity’s crisis, therefore, is not about losing beliefs but about losing practice. To recover its integrity, Christianity must move back—from believing about Jesus to living like Jesus.