Jesus and Ethics

“From the time of the first Greek philosophers, ethics has had but one meaning: it is the reflective study of what is good or bad in that part of human conduct for which man has some personal responsibility” (Keck, 1996, 7). In this general view of ethics, the world considers that the case for morality rests on a natural law “which was the same for all persons, whether they knew Christ or not” (Spohn, 1999, 2). Yet Keck (1996, 10) highlights that a believer's ethics differ from the common view in that they have their foundation in a specific ‘event’, “namely the event of Jesus (including his resurrection and exaltation to God’s right hand), and the community that resulted.”

One might then ask; to what extent does the life and ministry of Jesus give Christian believers an example of ethics and morality? The answer is both simple and complex. The Gospels are not a recorded ethical guideline taught by Jesus. They do not specifically outline any kind of ethical system of moral values – Jesus himself does not set out to teach on ethics specifically. However, through Jesus’ announcement of the coming kingdom, through his teaching on kingdom living, outlining his understanding and expectation of the higher righteousness of God’s law and also his life example of these teachings, believers find they can formulate their own ethical system based on the beliefs and actions of their Lord.

When coupling the model of Jesus’ life to the belief that once reborn into Christ’s salvation his followers remain in him, one sees that Jesus becomes the central focal point for all ethics and morality – in that anything outside of Christ is not of God, and anything done apart from him in darkness is regarded as sin.

Once this conclusion is reached, the answer to the extent of Jesus’ example in terms of ethics and morality is that all ethics for Christian believers can be found in Christ.

---references---
Keck, L. E. 1996, "Rethinking ‘New Testament Ethics’", JBL 115:3-16
Spohn, W C, 1999, Go And Do Likewise – Jesus and Ethics, Continuum, New York