Love

Jesus loved all kinds of people: including sinners, marginalized people, tax collectors, the sick, women and children. In fact, he used to eat with notorious public sinners in order to guide them to repentance. The love of Jesus is declared in many ways. i. Relieving the Weary: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11: 28-30). ii. Feeding the Hungry At least on two occasions, Jesus fed a multitude of hungry people who were following him. On one occasion, he fed about five thousand men besides women and children by blessing five loaves of bread and two fish (Matthew 14:13-21; Luke 9:11-17). On the other occasion, he fed about four thousand men besides women and children by blessing seven loaves of bread and a few fish (Matthew 15: 32-39). On both occasions, he did that upon his own initiative: “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way” (Matthew 15:32). iii. Healing the sick Jesus healed many people afflicted with a variety of ailments. He healed the leper (Luke 5: 12-15; 17: 11-19), the paralytic (Luke 5: 16-26), the paralyzed (Matthew 8: 5-13), the blind (Matthew 9: 27-31), a bleeding woman (Luke 8: 43-48), and those with a variety of diseases: “Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel” (Matthew 15: 30-31). iv. Freeing the demon-possessed from demonic power Jesus set many people free from demonic powers that possessed and tormented them. Demons knew that he was the Christ (Luke 4: 41; 8: 26-39; Mark 9: 17-29; Matthew 8: 16, 28-34; 9: 32-33; 12: 22-23). “Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Let us alone! What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!’ But Jesus rebuked him saying, ‘Be quiet, and come out of him!’ And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, ‘What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out” (Luke 4: 33-36). When they accused him of casting out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons, he declared that he cast out demons by the power of the living God: “But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house” (Matthew 12: 25-29; Luke 11: 17-23). In fact, Jesus terrified demons. They feared that he might send them to eternal torment before the time (Matthew 8: 29).