The last several posted articles have made Jesus sound a little difficult, either by people He was speaking with or by people today reading what He said.  This time, let’s look at some of the nice things He did.  For the purposes of this article, I am going to ignore the fact that He died on a cross to pay for our sins.  That is way more important than anything else He did, but I’d like to look at some things that maybe some people are not as familiar with.

Jesus’ Compassion

In Matt. 9:36, Jesus had been going from village to village, preaching the gospel as well as healing the sick and diseased(Matt. 9:35).  In the very next verse, it states that Jesus had compassion on the people when he looked at them because they were weary and seemed like sheep scattered without a shepherd.  This passage shows how Jesus had compassion on the people.  Yes, He was healing people, but there was more than just healing.  He was compassion.  Similar compassion statements occur in Matt. 14:14; 15:32; 20:34.  He wanted to help them, and helping them means that He wanted give them a shepherd, a Good Shepherd.  That is because what the people needed even more than physical healing, they needed spiritual healing.  And that is why He came.

General Healing

There are several, specific instances of Jesus healing someone.  However, sometimes, the text simply states that Jesus healed people(like Matt. 9:35 as seen above).  In Mark 1:34, we have a generic statement that Jesus healed many who had various diseases or were possessed by demons.  In Matt. 8:16, many who were demon possessed were brought to Jesus and He drove out the demons and healed all of them.  In Matt. 15:30, great crowds of people came to Jesus.  They brought blind, lame, crippled, mute and others to Him and He healed them all.  In Mark 3:10, Jesus healed many.  In fact, people were apparently pushing through the crowds just trying to be able to touch Him, hoping to be healed.  The reason I wanted to bring up these passages is because there were some times when the text merely states that Jesus healed a bunch of people.  Those verses can be easy to read through without thinking about it, but if you were one of those many people, it would be HUGE to you.

Defending a Woman

Women have not been held in high regard throughout most of human history.  Jesus often treated women with great compassion when most men would not have done so.  In Luke 7:36-50, a woman was washing Jesus’ feet with her tears, drying His feet with her hair, and then she anointed His feet with perfume.  While others talked and thought down about her, Jesus defended her, praising her actions.  In John 8:2-11, when some people brought a woman caught in adultery to Jesus, He treated her very kindly.  Those who brought her to Jesus were wanting Him to condemn her to death.  Instead, He defended her(not defending her sin, as He told her to go and sin no more).  He did not come to condemn people who were already guilty.  He was bringing a sacrifice so people could have their sins forgiven.

In Matt. 15:21-28, a Canaanite woman(not Jewish) begged Jesus to help her child, who was demon-possessed.  Although Jesus initially refused to help her(He stated that He was sent to save the lost sheep of Israel, and she was not one of them), because of her great faith, He relented and healed her daughter immediately.

Feeding the Masses

Jesus miraculously fed large groups of people on at least two occasions(5,000 in John 6 and 4,000 in Matt. 15:29-39).  It is true that these mass feedings are more than Jesus just wanting to feed people, but it also demonstrates His concern for people’s physical needs.

Defending Children

At a time when children were mostly seen and not heard, some people brought little children to Jesus so He could bless them.  Jesus’ own disciples were rebuking people, effectively telling them not to bother Jesus with children.  But Jesus countermanded them, telling them to allow people to bring little children to Him(Matt. 19:13-14).

Jesus Loves Us

The above is merely a short sampling of just some of the many kindnesses that Jesus exercised toward people that He interacted with during His time of earth.  In reality, almost everything Jesus did during His public ministry was a kindness caused by His love for people.  Some things Jesus said or did might not seem very kind or loving, but they are.  We just don’t see them for what they are all of the time.  Our knowledge is limited; our understanding is limited.  Based on our limitations, it is evident that we need to put our faith and trust in Jesus.  That is the single, best thing we can do.