What does the love of Jesus look like?

Everyone has their own view of Jesus — what His love looks like, what His view of humanity looks like, (what His hair looks like) — everyone has their own lens through which they view Jesus. The truth is, more often than not, we tend to lean into our view of Jesus that is morphed by past experiences, our own perspectives on subject matter and just general thoughts that are more cultural than scriptural. 

Too often, we even attempt to twist Scripture to force Jesus to fit our own views and agendas. 

The truth is, the love of Jesus doesn’t change to fit any of our narratives. It is constant, and it is consistent. You can find the same examples of Jesus’ love and compassion over and over again in the Scriptures. And His expectation for us to follow His example of love doesn’t change either, regardless of past experiences, our own perspectives on subject matter, or how culture dictates that we handle a situation or person.

So, what does the love of Jesus actually look like? And how do we show it to others? Here’s a peeled-back version to see what Jesus’ friends and eyewitness accounts say about how He consistently showed love.

What does the love of Jesus look like? How did He show it to others?

Let’s back the bus up to the Old Testament for a second. Remember, Jesus is God incarnate, i.e., He is God coming down in human form. Which means all of the characteristics that God possesses, Jesus possesses. So it’s really critical to understand how God shows love and His view of humanity in order to understand how Jesus physically lived out that same level of love for people. 

Back in Exodus, right after God delivers the Israelites from the hands of Egyptians by parting the Red Sea for their famously epic walk across dry land and into freedom, Moses (leader of the Israelites) has an incredibly honest moment with God. He has seen God’s power and His compassion on Israel, and he wants to know exactly who God is. Who is he dealing with here, because he’s about to follow this God into the wilderness — the complete unknown — so he needs a little more information first. 

So in this pivotal moment, Moses cries out to God and asks Him to show him who He is. This is the first time in the Bible where God is recorded giving an account of Himself. This is what He says to Moses:

The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.” (Exodus 34:6 NLT)

Just sit in that for a moment. Of all of the things that God could have said about Himself, He chose His words very carefully. In Hebrew, the order of things matters. There is a hierarchical importance of lists; things are placed at the top of the list because they are more important. Of all the things God could have said about Himself — about His power and grandeur — He chose to open with His compassion and mercy. Instead of boasting about His greatness, He humbles Himself to speak about His great love and mercy for humanity. 

At His very core, God is love. 

Fast-forward to the New Testament, and now we see Jesus as the physical embodiment of this same mercy and love to humanity. Scripture tells us over and over again that Jesus was moved with compassion whenever He was in a crowd. 

Whenever He was close to humanity, His default state was compassion first. And mercy. Sound familiar? Aren’t those the same two characteristics that God chooses first to describe Himself?

So if we want to know what the love of Jesus looks like, we have to look at how He interacted with others. There are a few things to note:

• He engaged with others. The first thing Jesus did was build relationships with people. He met physical needs. He broke bread. He built relationships. He didn’t sit back from a distance and scatter platitudes; He was in the mess of other people’s lives, and He helped them out of it. 

• He sat with the outcasts. It’s great to go to church and have a group. Absolutely. The Bible tells us about the importance of community. But how many friends do you have who aren’t Christian? Has your circle become so “clean” that your friend group no longer looks like the people who Jesus actually hung out with? Jesus regularly attracted people who were nothing like Him — the outcast, the “sinner” — because they couldn’t resist His undeniable love for them, just as they were. Are we showing that same undeniable love for people who are nothing like us? Honestly. Are we inviting them to dinner and building relationships, regardless of status, race, sexual orientation, housing situation, etc.? Because that’s exactly what Jesus’ love looks like. 

•  He openly hated hate. The only people that Jesus openly opposed, consistently, were the Pharisees. Why? Because they were prideful and didn’t care about other people. A lot of times, we think of the Pharisees as these caricatures with their boisterous robes, walking around with their noses stuck in the air. But honestly it probably looked a bit more normal than that. They probably did help the poor and the widow, but their actions never really reached their hearts. They were just going through the motions because it was “right,” not because they were moved with compassion the same way that God is moved with compassion when He is near humanity. And Jesus called them out on it. Love should be authentic; it comes only from lining your heart up with the heart of God.

Centerpoint Church is ready to walk with you on your faith journey

At Centerpoint, our community believes in purpose and passion, and we would love to walk with you on your journey in finding yours. And every journey needs a Starting Point.

Starting Point groups are in-person, stress-free and judgment-free groups that meet periodically at Centerpoint Church. Here, you can spend some time getting to know fellow group members, reading and having an open conversation about topics like God, the Scriptures, faith, and Jesus. Completely new to the teachings of Jesus? Returning to church after a long break? Questioning the teachings you were brought up with or just unsure what you believe? Our Starting Point groups are here to help you navigate your faith journey. Get in touch with us to learn when the next Starting Point group is meeting or to join a Starting Point group.