What teaching of Jesus did the Jews not understand?

Answer 1

The thing is, they BELIEVED in what He said. You can not EVER fully understand what Jesus is saying. Wouldn't it be hard to figure out everything the Messiah is saying? Jesus was (and is) perfect, so what He said was perfect too. Being mortals, the disciples couldn't understand what He was saying, why He had to die, etc.

AND

It wasn't until after Jesus' ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit that the disciples fully understood 'salvation by grace'.

Answer 2

Answer 1

Jewish tradition states that very few Jews in the time of Jesus ever heard of him. The Jewish cities were led by the sages whose names are found in the Mishna, such as Rabbi Akiva. They paid no attention to anyone who tried to preach non-traditional ideas.

Answer 2

There are numerous times in the New Testament where the Gospel writers claim that the Jews did not understand what Jesus was preaching, notably: (all citations NIV)

Mark 8:14-21: (paraphrased) Jesus explains that that one loaf of bread is enough to sustain because of the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, but the people do not understand him. (However, in Matthew 16, when this story comes up again, they understand a small part of the message.)

Luke 2:49-50: 49 "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

Luke 8:10: 10 He said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, "'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.'

John 3:5-10: 5 Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit...10 "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things?

John 10:5-6: 5 But [the sheep] will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

In all of these cases, the Jews who were being adressed did not understand Jesus because he was using parables to obscure his words and meanings or because Jesus was innovating or altering Jewish tradition and was therefore confusing the more traditional individuals he opposed.