When Jesus Insulted People: A Comprehensive List
Below is an extensive biblical list of the times Jesus insulted people. Some will be shocked to find out that Jesus ever insulted anyone, as they have fashioned their own non-threatening, feathered-haired, and limp-wristed version of Christ. The thing is, the Jesus of Scripture is far more complicated than we often let on. Fashioning idols is wrong, even when it is bent toward being nice.
Some may wonder why anyone would compile such a list, especially a pastor. It is true, that Jesus also spoke many kind and gracious words to people, but I am not aware of anyone who denies that. Yet many, who should know better, appear ignorant of Jesus’s many offensive and insulting words. I want us to know the true, biblical Christ in all his complexity. If the words of Jesus make us uncomfortable, then it is us who are in error.
For too long, the American church has neutered and domesticated Jesus. So much so, that even a Chancellor of a Reformed Seminary appears to be ignorant of the many hard words of Christ. In the Bible, Jesus said far more offensive things than John the Baptist did. In fact, Jesus being offensive is a reoccurring theme in the gospels (Matt. 11:6 cf. Matt. 13:57; John 6:61). The Jewish leaders killed him in large part because of what he said (Mark 14:53-63). Jesus is so offensive, that one biblical title for him is the stone of offense (1 Pet. 2:8). If we distort the biblical Jesus, then we will eventually lose everything.
Why Write This Now?
There is a lot of debate concerning offensive language in the American church, especially around the so-called Moscow Mood. There are indeed trolls online who deserve our scorn, but it is wrong to lump everyone sympathetic to the Moscow Project under that condemnation.
Movements like the Moscow Mood, come in response to a much more stubborn distortion of the Christ we find in Scripture—the always nice and soft-spoken one. In the last several years, I have seen far too many theologians and pastors misrepresent Christ as some kind of aw-shucks, non-offensive, and always soft-spoken caricature of the true Jesus. Sometimes I wonder, “What gospel are they reading?”
I am writing this because I’m far more interested in getting Jesus right than I am in refereeing online squabbles. If the Jesus of Scripture offends our cultural sensitivities, then perhaps, like the Pharisees, we need to be offended.
Methodology
Several months ago, I set out to read all of the words of Christ in Scripture to find every time he insulted people. What you find below demonstrates that if we want to minister like Christ, and we should, then correctly insulting others must be a part of our arsenal. Jesus’s insults are not isolated instances, but a reoccurring theme of his ministry.
What do I mean by an insult? For this study, I am using the definition of insult from the Cambridge Dictionary, “an offensive remark or action.”[1] This is a broad definition, but it gives us something to judge by. In short, if Jesus used an offensive term or label for a person or group of people, I classify it as an insult. For example, I’m sure the Pharisees did not view the term “hypocrites” as a compliment. By “insult” I do not mean a “degrading,” “abusive,” or “pejorative.”
In this article, I focus on verbal insults, and not the offensive actions of Christ (like healing on the Sabbath). This means a comprehensive list of everything offensive Christ did would be much longer. Nonetheless, the list below makes the point—Jesus frequently employed insults.
One final note, every insult Jesus used was true. He never slandered anyone, but he did accurately use hyperbole against his opponents. Slander is always wrong. I have seen far too much of it lately, and I’ve seen it from just about every theological camp. Brothers, we must do better.
The Results
In my reading of the gospels, I found 78 examples of Christ insulting someone. In the gospels, there are 89 chapters. This means there is almost one insult per chapter. Again, this tally does not include many of the offensive analogies and parables Jesus used (e.g., John 6:22-71, Matt. 21:33-46, etc.), or his offensive actions like cleansing the Temple. If we were to count all those up, we would have many more.
Matthew leads the way with 42 recorded insults, followed by Luke with 22, Mark with 9, and John with only 5. I expected to find more in John, but most of Jesus’s controversial words are not direct insults, but pushing on cultural norms (John 6:22-71).
Additionally, in the Book of Revelation, we find another 9 insults from Christ. This brings us to 87 total insults from the mouth of Christ. If we were to perform the same research for the apostles and prophets, we would certainly have many more.
Below is the list of the insults of Christ.
Jesus’s Insults in the Gospel of Matthew
1. Matt. 6:2- “Hypocrites”
2. Matt. 6:5- “Hypocrites”
3. Matt. 6:16- “Hypocrites”
4. Matt. 7:5- “Hypocrites”
5. Matt. 7:6- “Dogs”
6. Matt. 7:6- “Pigs”
7. Matt. 7:15- “Ravenous wolves”
8. Matt. 7:23- “Workers of lawlessness”
9. Matt. 8:26- “You of little faith”
10. Matt. 10:15- Jesus equates whole Jewish towns with “Sodom and Gomorrah”
11. Matt.11:21-22- Jesus says the current cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida are worse than the Baal-worshiping cities condemned by the OT prophets of “Tyre and Sidon”
12. Matt. 11:23-24- Capernaum is worse than “Sodom”
13. Matt. 12:34- “Brood of vipers”
14. Matt. 12:39- “An evil and adulterous generation”
15. Matt. 12:41- This generation is worse than “Nineveh”
16. Matt. 12:45- This “evil generation” is akin to being demon-possessed
17. Matt. 12:46-49- Jesus rejects his family by implying that his mother and brothers are not really his mother and brothers
18. Matt. 15:7- “Hypocrites” (Pharisees take offense at this Matt. 15:12)
19. Matt. 15:14- “Blind guides”
20. Matt. 15:26-27- Calls the Gentiles “Dogs”
21. Matt. 16:4- “An evil and adulterous generation”
22. Matt. 16:23- Jesus says to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan”
23. Matt. 17:17- “Faithless and twisted generation”
24. Matt. 21:28-32- Jesus says to the crowd they are worse than the “tax collectors and prostitutes”
25. Matt. 22:18- “Hypocrites”
26. Matt. 22:29- Jesus says to the religious leaders (Sadducees) that they don’t know “the Scriptures” or the “power of God”
27. Matt. 23:13- “Hypocrites”
28. Matt. 23:15-“Hypocrites”
29. Matt. 23:15- Jesus calls the Scribes and Pharisees “child[ren] of hell”
30. Matt. 23:16- “Blind guides”
31. Matt. 23:16- “Blind fools”
32. Matt. 23:19- “Blind men”
33. Matt. 23:23- “Hypocrites”
34. Matt. 23:24-“Blind guides”
35. Matt. 23:25- “Hypocrites”
36. Matt. 23:26- “Blind Pharisee”
37. Matt. 23:27- “Hypocrites”
38. Matt. 23:27- ‘Whitewashed tombs”
39. Matt. 23:28- “Full of hypocrisy and lawlessness”
40. Matt. 23:29- “Hypocrites”
41. Matt. 23:33- “You serpents”
42. Matt. 23:33- “You brood of vipers”
Jesus’s Insults in the Gospel of Mark
1. Mark 3:31-34- Jesus rejects his family by implying that his mother and brothers are not really his mother and brothers
2. Mark 7:6- “Hypocrites”
3. Mark 7:27- “Dogs”
4. Mark 8:33- Jesus says to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan”
5. Mark 8:38- “Adulterous and sinful generation”
6. Mark 9:19- “Faithless generation”
7. Mark 11:17- Jesus calls the money changers “Robbers”
8. Mark 12:24- Jesus says to the religious leaders (Sadducees) that they don’t know “the Scriptures” or the “power of God”
9. Mark 12:38- Jesus insults the scribes accusing them of defrauding widows and being hypocritical in their actions
Jesus’s Insults in the Gospel of Luke
1. Luke 4:24-29- Jesus compares the crowd to OT unclean Gentiles, they respond by almost killing Jesus
2. Luke 6:42- “Hypocrite”
3. Luke 8:19-21- Jesus rejects his family by implying that his mother and brothers are not really his mother and brothers
4. Luke 9:41-“faithless and twisted generation”
5. Luke 9:66- Turns away someone who wants to bury his father, and says, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead”
6. Luke 10:12- Condemns whole towns by making them out as worse than “Sodom”
7. Luke 10:13-16- Jesus says the current cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida are worse than the Baal-worshiping cities condemned by the OT prophets of “Tyre and Sidon”
8. Luke 11:29- “Evil generation”
9. Luke 11:40- “You fools”
10. Luke 11:44- Jesus calls the Pharisees and lawyers “unmarked graves”
11. Luke 11:45-52- The lawyers complain that Jesus is “insult[ing]” them as well, and he then turns and insults them directly for making things worse and being guilty of all the blood of the prophets
12. Luke 12:1- Jesus accuses the Pharisees of “hypocrisy”
13. Luke 12:20- In a parable, Jesus calls a rich young man a “Fool”
14. Luke 12:56- “Hypocrites”
15. Luke 13:15- “Hypocrites”
16. Luke 13:27- “Workers of evil”
17. Luke 13:32- Jesus calls King Herod a “fox”
18. Luke 19:22- “Wicked servant”
19. Luke 19:27- “Enemies” for the “slaughter”
20. Luke 19:46- Jesus calls the money changers “robbers”
21. Luke 20:45-47- Jesus identifies the scribes as phonies who take advantage of widows and they will receive the “greater condemnation”
22. Luke 24:25- Calls some of his disciples “foolish ones”
Jesus’s Insults in the Gospel of John
1. John 6:70- Jesus says to his disciples, “One of you is a devil”
2. John 8:39-41- Jesus tells a group of Jews Abraham is not their father
3. John 8:44- Jesus tells a group of Jews that their true father is the “devil:
4. John 8:55- Jesus tells the crowd they are “liar[s]” like their father
5. John 10:8-Jesus calls those who came before “thieves and robbers”
Jesus’s Insults in Revelation
1. Revelation 2:9- Jesus calls a group of unbelieving Jews the “synagogue of Satan”
2. Revelation 2:13- Jesus refers to a town, because of its various false religions, as “Satan’s throne”
3. Revelation 2:20-22- Jesus calls a woman “Jezebel” and promises to punish her and her followers
4. Revelation 3:9- Jesus calls a group of unbelieving Jews the “synagogue of Satan”
5. Revelation 3:17- Calls a church “wretched”
6. Revelation 3:17- Calls a church “pitiable”
7. Revelation 3:17- Calls a church “poor”
8. Revelation 3:17- Calls a church “blind”
9. Revelation 3:17- Calls a church “naked”
Conclusion
We all want to be more like Jesus, but do we know what that means? Pastors want to speak like Jesus, but then they act like hard words are somehow unchristian. Is Scripture our highest authority or not?
How then should we speak?
First, if we categorically rule out the use of insults in the name of Christlikeness, then it is likely we are fashioning a sub-biblical version of Christ. To fit our cultural morality, many evangelicals have cut out whole parts of Scripture.
Second, if we take this list as a justification to always insult others, or to use hard words as our primary form of engagement, then we are also distorting the Jesus of Scripture. If we want to speak and minister as Christ did, then we must recognize that he often acted in surprising ways. Sometimes, we will need to speak with grace. At other times, we will be required to use hard and intentionally offensive words. Such a balance requires both wisdom and courage.
Jesus was able to balance this tension perfectly, but as sinners, we will often fall short. Above all, we need to stop fashioning our own neutered versions of Christ and instead behold his glory as revealed in Scripture.
Levi Secord
April 23, 2024
[1] Many of these insults are indisputably insults, while others likely are. In reading through the gospels, this list could be edited to add some and remove others. The general point remains—Jesus regularly used insults.
