Following Jesus, that is Christianity, was never meant by Jesus to be a religion, but an eternal RELATIONSHIP based on authoritative and authentic REVELATION. Mark 3.1-6 Following Jesus is a relationship not a religion. Conflict Religion is defined as a belief system that encompasses the practices, doctrines, and institutions of a group of people, often involving a set of moral and ethical principles. The Pharisees focused on their systems, structures, and law. Jesus focused on revelation and relationship. The Pharisees looked for religious conformity and self-righteousness. Jesus looked for faith and obedience to God. Conflict that led to the Cross Faith Jesus never established systems or structures for his followers. He let his followers do that. For the religious, religion can become more important than people. Religion always fails because religion comes from us, not God. We need a relationship with Jesus. The authentic and authoritative Jesus revealed to us in the New Testament. We need to follow him in faith.