“ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.” (Matthew 11:18-19) Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.‘” (Luke 10:21)īut it was not just his friends that saw his joy – it was also his enemies, and they used it as a base for accusation. “ At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. We get a glimpse into his buoyant character by what others said about him. And Jesus knew this about his Father – his optimism was that of God himself. God is so willing to reach us in our sorrows and trouble. ![]() ” Jesus’ response was, “ If you can? Everything is possible for one who believes. When a father, whose son was possessed by a demon that often threw him into fire or water to kill him, begged Jesus, “But if you can do anything. “ ‘Have faith in God!’ Jesus answered” to his disciples, who were surprised that a fig tree he cursed could wither to the ground at his word. Not so with Jesus – he was constantly amazed that we could doubt God. Jesus’ optimism came from his trust in God. It came from a heart that saw all the suffering, and did not lose hope. ![]() He pushed through his isolation and let him know that he was accepted, even diseased as he was – and not just accepted, but also healed. He could have healed him just from a word, but he didn’t. Jesus not only healed the man with leprosy, he touched him. ‘I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!’ Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.” (Mark 1:41-42) “ A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, ‘If you are willing, you can make me clean.’įilled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. They lived alone or with other lepers, and whenever they came into a public place, they were required to announce their presence by yelling “Unclean!” so that people could scurry out of the way. In Jesus’ time, when someone contracted leprosy, they became an outcast to society. And “ When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” (Luke 7:13) Then he raised her son and gave him back to her. He saw the widow of Nain, who had already lost her husband and was now following the funeral procession of her only son. He saw everything, he felt the sorrow, and it moved him to action. His eyes were open to the suffering that most people had grown hardened to. They refuse to see the sadness, the discord, the suffering in humanity. This world has its shallow optimists – those who insist that all will be well, though all evidence is to the contrary. The quotes (apart from the Scriptures) are his words the other words are mine but the ideas are heavily influenced by his writing, and in some cases, even paraphrased. So I have contented myself with quoting the last two paragraphs. ![]() Plus, you know, I do want to write my own blog posts. I was tempted to just copy the entire chapter, word for word for you, but that would have taken too long. And after reading it several times, I am convinced that he has only scratched the surface. Twenty characteristics to describe Jesus, and he revealed more facets to this man of God than I could have ever imagined. morose.Īnd then I stumbled on a book written by Charles Edward Jefferson in 1907, called “Jesus the Same.” It was based on a series of sermons he preached over a two-year span on the characteristics of Jesus. No, no the adjectives I would have used to describe Jesus were good – yes, holy – yes, but. ![]() This guy was despised, rejected, familiar with sorrow, unattractive – someone who caused people to avert their eyes.Īnd then there are the paintings and sculptures of him – on the cross, bleeding, face hanging down, eyes full of sadness. There’s not exactly compelling evidence that this was a happy man, a man full of joy – an optimist. He was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Like one from whom people hide their faces Nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.Ī man of suffering, and familiar with pain. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, I don’t know about you, but the last adjective I would have used to describe Jesus was “optimistic.” Nor would I have used its distant cousin – “joyful.” I mean, the shortest verse to appear in the Bible is “He wept.” It’s not “He laughed.”Īnd then there’s this description of him in Isaiah 53: 2b-3
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