We use the word “love” to mean lots of different things. Love for our spouses…love for our friends…love for our kids. Maybe you love pizza or the Packers. You see? That single word, “love,” can mean a lot of different things. A while ago I had a conversation with our daughter about Jesus and His love. Her perception is that Jesus was always loving, that He never offended anyone. But what does the love of Jesus actually mean? And was Jesus always loving?
There are a number of stories in the Bible where Jesus doesn’t seem very loving at all. As a matter of fact, He sounds confrontational. For example, He pointed out that the Jewish leaders were teaching lies. In Matthew, there’s a sermon called the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) where He says over and over, “you have heard it said…but I say to you...” and He went on to explain a whole bunch of things that the leaders had gotten wrong. Jesus also pointed out the leaders’ hypocrisy and pride. Yikes! That doesn’t sound loving. That sounds like Jesus was picking a fight. And there’s more. There were times when Jesus spoke directly to these leaders with really harsh words (Matthew 23:13-36). They were insulted. How dare Jesus speak to them like that? His miracles made them furious (Luke 6:11) and eventually, Jesus offended them so much they plotted to kill Him (Luke 22:2) It certainly doesn’t seem like Jesus was always loving.
But think about this. Would it be loving and caring of your doctor to not tell you that you have cancer? If you don’t know about the cancer, you get no treatment. The doctor must speak truth to you, or the cancer could kill you. In the same way, Jesus was more concerned with telling the Jewish leaders and all the people the truth than He was about their hurt feelings and injured pride. If the leaders realized they were teaching the people lies, that they were hypocrites and full sin, they could do something about it, right? The love of Jesus means that truth must be spoken. He spoke truth, whether it made people mad or not because He loved them too much to let them die in their sin and go to hell.
And Jesus was always loving because He always spoke the truth! He didn’t sugar-coat the truth by speaking soft words that made people feel good about themselves. Jesus gave them truth: they were sinners in need of forgiveness which comes only by believing in Him. It was a hard truth, but a truth grounded in His love for them. Jesus is still the same today, and the Bible teaches us the truth about Him. Sin is sin, and God (who came to earth in the flesh as Jesus Christ) hates sin (Psalm 5:5). He hates it! And every single person sins. Sin—any wrongdoing—always has a price. You may not like that truth, but it’s true. For those who believe in Him, Jesus paid the price for sin on the cross. Everyone will die one day and face God’s judgment. Jesus is the Savior and Lord who gave His life to take God’s judgment in your place, IF YOU BELIEVE IN JESUS. I pray that you will consider this wonderful truth, and give your life to the Lord Jesus. Let me know if you want to know more, need prayer, or would like a Bible.
