13. Jesus' Character

Jesus Christ, true Son of God by His divine nature, was at the same time the greatest man who ever lived. In this lesson we shall try to understand something of His unsurpassed human character. We shall try to get to know Him better as a man so that, through His humanity, we will better realise how He was the full revelation of God's love for us .

What is "Character"?

NOT EXTERNAL APPEARANCE. "Character" does not depend on a person's external appearance. It has nothing to do with the colour of one's skin, with one's stature, muscular build, bodily health, the soundness of one's teeth or the beauty of one's fingers!

NOT NATURAL TALENTS. Neither should we confuse "character" with the natural talents and gifts we have received, such as intelligence, a sense of humour, artistic feeling, the spontaneous gift of dealing with people, and so on.

NOT TEMPERAMENT. Moreover, "character" simply cannot be identified with what we call a man's "temperament": his energy, his moods, his quickness or slowness of feeling.

NOT THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE. In judging a man's character, we should also distinguish it from the circumstances of his life. These may be: poverty, certain family backgrounds, events that influenced his life such as war, sickness, and so on.

Character is something more than all these things. It presupposes them all. It builds on them. But it cannot be identified with them.

Character is a man's or woman's basic disposition, acquired by a person's free and conscious acts.
Character is the way in which we have made use of our external appearance, our natural talents, our temperament and the circumstances of our life.
Character is the sum total of good habits, attitudes and virtues acquired by our own conscious effort.

Example: Jesus called Herod Antipas "a fox" (Lk 13:32). Hereby Jesus certainly refers to Herod's character. Herod was quite a talented person, but in the course of time he had acquired some dubious habits and attitudes. He lived for his own comfort. He had become dishonest and cunning in his dealing with the Jews and the Romans. He had no scruples about having people murdered if this suited his purpose. All these qualities reveal Herod's character, i.e. the personality he had become by his own free and conscious acts. With the same natural dispositions and talents and under the same circumstances he could have made himself into a different personality: an honest, just and conscientious ruler. Then his character would have been different. In Jesus' time foxes were considered more or less as we consider hyenas. They were animals that did a lot of damage to the crops, sneaking in under cover of darkness. They did not have the strength or courage to attack other animals, but loved to guzzle on half-finished carcasses. Herod Antipas had made himself similar to a fox in many ways, thereby acquiring the character of a fox.

How can we get to know Jesus' "Character"?

In daily life we meet dozens of persons whom we get to know well. We understand their 'character.' We know their habits, attitudes and virtues. We know what they are worth. But have we ever thought about the ways in which we acquired this knowledge? For, after all, a person's character is not something we can see with our eyes. It cannot be measured with a yardstick. How, then, do we get to know a person's inner character? And, how can we get to know Jesus' character?

1. We get to know Jesus' Character by His behaviour and His attitude

Note well: we should not simply judge by His 'external appearance'. For appearances are deceptive. Two persons may both look very smart but one may be lazy, the other hard-working. What we mean by "behaviour and attitude" is: the way in which we see a person react to certain circumstances; the emotions he displays; the expression of his personality in his general bearing and so on.

Examples:

— The Pharisees did not allow Jesus to cure the man with the crippled hand on the Sabbath. Then "Jesus was angry as He looked around at them but at the same time He felt sorry for them because they were so stubborn and wrong" (Mk 3:5.). Jesus does not say anything just then. But the expression on His face reveals His anger, His disappointment and His sorrow. From this attitude we (just like the people present) learn about His character.

— While the apostles are crossing the lake of Galilee a storm arises. The boat is tossed up and down. Huge waves crush against the sides, splashing water all around and gradually filling the boat. But "Jesus was in the back of the boat, sleeping with His head on a pillow". (Mk 4:38) In spite of all that happens Jesus remains completely unperturbed. Nothing could so clearly demonstrate the calmness and serenity of His character.

— Jesus went to Bethany where His friend Lazarus had died. After meeting Martha, He goes to the tomb where Mary is mourning. "Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her weeping also; His heart was touched, and He was deeply moved ..and He wept. So the Jews said: 'See how much He loved him'!" (Jn 11:33-36). Jesus responds to the human sorrow of His friends with a very genuine expression of His own sympathy: He wept'

— Jesus had been sent to Herod. Standing before Herod's throne He was made to undergo much humiliation. Herod asked Him questions inviting Him to do miracles. The Pharisees accused Him. The courtier mocked Him. All around Jesus there was shouting, laughter, jesting. But "Jesus did not say a word". (Lk 23:9) He did not try to save His life by saying pleasant things to Herod. He did not think it any use to defend Himself. His attitude of dignified silence proves the inner strength of His character.

The Gospels do not record the details of Jesus' external appearance. Obviously, these details are not considered important for the biblical message and for our understanding of Jesus' character.

But the Gospels do present us Jesus' behaviour and attitude. When we read the episodes recorded in the Gospels, we should pay attention to His way of reacting to events. His emotions, the expressions on His face, His gestures, and so on. They will help us to know His character.

2. We get to know Jesus' Character by His speech and conversation

We learn much about a man's character from what he says. This does not mean so much the things we learn from what he says about himself. Usually we soon perceive a person's qualities from his way of speaking: his refinement, his inner feelings, his way of treating others, the things he values, and so on. Jesus' words and His conversations throw much light on His character.

Examples:

— In the parable of the prodigal son, Jesus describes how the father welcomes his son: "He was still a long way from home when his father saw him; his heart was filled with pity and he ran, threw his arms around his son, and kissed him". (Lk 15: 20) From the very way in which Jesus describes such touching scenes, from the whole 'atmosphere' of the parable we somehow understand Jesus' own feelings of kindness, of mercy, of forgiveness. Jesus' own character is reflected in such parables.

— The scribes wanted to trap Jesus with a question about taxes. They hoped that He would either forbid the paying of taxes to Rome (and so incur the censure of the Romans) or allow these taxes (and so incur the indignation of the Jewish nationalists). Jesus made them produce the tax coin, with the Emperor's image on it, and said; "Pay to the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor, and to God what belongs to God!" (Mt 22:21) In the discussion Jesus shows Himself the absolute master, not only intellectually, but also as a man of principle and as a true leader of men.

— When a certain disciple wanted to delay following Jesus in order to look after the affairs of his family (expressed by the words "to bury his father"), Jesus retorts: "Let the dead bury their own dead; as to you, go and preach the Kingdom of God!" (Lk 9:60). Jesus' words are a demand expressing His conviction and revealing the depth of His own commitment.

— At the last Supper Jesus talks familiarly with His disciples. He says to Philip: "For a long time I have been with you all; yet you do not know Me, Philip? Whoever has seen Me, has seen the Father. Why, then, do you say: 'Show us the Father'?" (Jn 14:9) In such familiar discourses Jesus frequently allows us to obtain direct knowledge of His most cherished thoughts and desires.

— Jesus' indignation rings out in words such as these: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees! Impostors! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but are full of dead men's bones and rotten stuff on the inside!" (Mt 23:27) These warnings and threats show how deeply Jesus detests hypocrisy and insincerity.

We should examine Jesus' words and see what they tell us of His character. To a certain extent we can hide our true character under words, if we wish to do so. In spite of that we cannot altogether hide it. Jesus did not want to hide his character from us. He speaks simple and straight forward language. He expresses Himself without fear or inhibition. He teaches the things that naturally flow from His rich inner convictions. It is, therefore, relatively easy to study Jesus' character from what He said.

3. We get to Know Jesus' Character from His actions and deeds

We are all familiar with proverbs such as "a friend in need, a friend indeed" Actions prove a man's character more than words can ever do. For it is easy to say things and to make statements, but it requires real inner strength (real 'character') to live up to these statements. It is by what we do that we demonstrate to what values we have committed ourselves. We learn much about Jesus from His deeds.

Examples:

— The first mission of the twelve apostles meant a great development for the kingdom Jesus was preaching. We read how Jesus prepared Himself for it. "Then Jesus went up a hill to pray, and spent the whole night there praying to God. When day came He called His disciples..." (Lk 6:12). This prayer of preparation, a whole night long, how convincingly it illustrates the profound motivations with which Jesus fulfils His mission!

— Tax collectors were considered traitors, since they worked for the Romans, and public sinners, since they often took unjust gains. When Zaccheus wants to see Jesus, He responds to this desire by saying: "I will stay in your house today". (Lk 19:5) Jesus' friendship with such 'public sinners' was frequently objected to (see also Mt 9:9-13; Mk 2:13-17). But Jesus shows by it the genuine kindness and mercy of a man who does not seek His own glory.

—After the multiplication of the bread, the mob decides to make Jesus king. Jesus takes resolute action by dispersing the crowd and by 'forcing' His disciples to cross the lake at once (Mt 14:22: cf Jn 6:15). He does not allow the situation to get out of hand. A better demonstration of 'leadership' could hardly be found.

—Meeting a funeral procession outside Nain, Jesus is moved to compassion for the mother of the deceased person. He stops the men who are carrying the dead body and He raises the dead man and "gave him back to his mother". (Lk 7: 14,15). In all Jesus' cures His action results from sympathy and compassion. These miracles reveal not only his divine power, but also His great kindness.

—At the last Supper, Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. It was not a mere symbol, or an empty performance. By doing this work Jesus humiliated himself, thereby wanting to teach us that He lived by the principles of selfless service and charity (Jn 13:3-15; Mt 20:24-28).

—The greatest expression of Jesus' character must be seen in His voluntary death, a death He wanted to undergo as a sacrificial reconciliation for mankind. His own words were thereby realized: "The greatest love a man can have for his friends is to give his life for them" (Jn 15:13). All through His passion Jesus showed the dignity, loftiness, strength and profundity of His character.

4. We get to know Jesus' Character from the reactions of other people

Frequently we learn to appreciate a person because of the attraction he or she exercises on others. Students may tell us about a teacher whom they respect. Even before we ourselves meet this teacher we will have a good idea of what his or her character is. The very fact that other people like or dislike a certain person; the fact that they fear him or despise him; the way in which they speak about him or in which they act towards him - all these things help us to get to know a person's character. Of course, people can be mistaken about persons and they can be unjust in their judgment; yet, from the reactions of others the character of a person can be known to some extent. This also applies to Jesus.

Examples:

— One day Jesus walked along the coast and saw Matthew in his custom house. "He said to him: 'Come, follow Me!' And Matthew got up and followed Him". (Mt 9:9) Matthew's reaction to Jesus' call must have been caused by the extraordinary impact Jesus had made on his life! From this, and from similar vocation narratives, we can deduce the impression Jesus made on His contemporaries.

— After Jesus had calmed the storm, the disciples were overwhelmed with awe. "They were terribly afraid, and began to say to each other: 'Who is this man?'" (Mk 4:41) The fear felt by them proves how Jesus' personality went beyond their ordinary experience.

— Some parents brought their children to Jesus. "Jesus took the children in His arms, placed His hands on each of them and blessed them". (Mk 10.16) People are normally shrewd observers and the fact that they want their children blessed by Jesus proves their trust in Him.

— While Jesus is attending an official dinner in the house of a Pharisee, a repentant sinner entered the house: "she stood behind Jesus, by His feet, crying, her tears falling, on His feet..." (Lk 7:38). No doubt, she had heard Jesus' preaching and now she wanted to live a better life. The confidence she had in Jesus, the affectionate way in which she washed His feet, show how much Jesus inspired people with trust in Himself.

— Perhaps, the greatest tribute to Jesus' intelligence and conviction is the following fact recorded by the evangelists: "No one was able to answer Jesus a single word, and from that day on no one dared ask Him any more questions". (Mt 22:46) The scribes thrived on their daily discussions. It was the thing they revealed in, the thing in which they had become thoroughly expert. Yet in Jesus they acknowledged their master.

— Pilate was deeply impressed by Jesus' personality. Prom his conversations with Jesus we can see that he recognized Jesus' moral integrity. That is why he, while consenting to put Jesus to death for political reasons, had the notice put on the cross: 'Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews'. (Jn 19:19-22) The priests objected but Pilate replied by saying that he really considered Jesus to be the King of the Jews: "What I have written, stays written".

The reactions of Jesus' contemporaries teach us much about Jesus' character. His disciples are drawn by His great love and by the beauty of His ideals. The crowds admire Him and follow Him wherever He goes. Sinners go to Him to obtain forgiveness. Parents bring their children, yes even non-Jews seek His help. The Scribes and Pharisees respect and fear Him in spite of their unbelief. In the reactions of all these people we see different aspects of Jesus' character reflected as in so many mirrors.

The "Psychological" Approach to Jesus

Jesus is the mediator between God and Man (1 Tim 2, 5). Jesus' humanity was in itself a revelation of God. Seeing Jesus' human personality the Apostles were actually "seeing" the Father: For a long time I have been with you all; yet you do not know Me, Philip? Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father". (Jn 14:9). Also in his humanity Jesus was the "exact likeness of God's own being". (Heb 1:3) This means that getting to know Jesus' human character is one way of understanding God's revelation. It is the way in which the Apostles first got to know Jesus as the revelation of the Father. By a "psychological" understanding of Jesus they slowly came to appreciate His true divine personality. We may call this the "psychological" approach to Jesus.

In the first part of this chapter we have followed this "psychological" approach by trying to show how we too can to some extent learn to know Jesus' character from the Gospels. We have tried to demonstrate that careful meditation on the Gospel passages will reveal various aspects of Jesus' character. Such meditations are to be highly recommended. We can never know Jesus' humanity well enough. However, this "psychological approach to Jesus" is not the only one, and not even the most important one.

The "Existential" Approach to Jesus

While admitting that the Gospel passages do reveal to us Jesus' character, we should at the same time recognize that they are far more concerned to teach us the "existential" function of Jesus' personality. Allow me to explain this by an example.

We know that Mahatma Gandhi did great things for India. When asked to give an evaluation of what Mahatma Gandhi meant for the country, I might say that he taught the doctrine of non-violence, that he defended the principle of equality for all castes, that he brought independence to India. In all these achievements I am enumerating Gandhi's existential role: what he actually achieved in his life. Of course many people will want to know more about Gandhi : how he used to live; what he used to wear what he used to eat; how he spent the day; how he reacted to certain incidents; etc. Studying these aspects of Gandhi's life, we will actually get to know his character. The first approach we would call the "existential" one; the second the "psychological" approach.

It is obvious that the two approaches will always be mixed to some extent. Yet there is a clear difference. Because, even if we were to have little exact knowledge of Gandhi's character, we could not ignore the existential role he played in the formation of modern India. In fact, knowing this existential role is far more important than having an exact knowledge of Gandhi's character.

The same distinction applies to Our Lord, even though there are important differences we have to keep in mind! The Gospels are first and foremost concerned with imparting knowledge about Jesus' existential role and only indirectly with Jesus' character.

This is clear from a reading of the Gospels themselves. If the Gospels were intending a description of Jesus' human character as their first purpose, they would surely have added a precise description of Jesus' physical appearance and would have given far more details about Jesus' daily manner of life. They would also have retained some psychological analyses of all Jesus said or thought at particular occasions. Instead of this we find that the greater part of the Gospels are made up of small incidents or teachings from Jesus' life, recorded in a very brief and succinct fashion.

The main purpose of the Gospels in all passages is to show that Jesus is the promised redeemer, that He is the Saviour, the Son of God, the Lord, the Way, the Life and the Truth. He is the Shepherd leading us to life, the source of living water, the light of the world, the one who will judge the living and the dead. All these truths express aspects of Jesus existential role, and the Gospels invite us to accept Jesus as having this role to play in our own existence. Accepting Jesus in this way, we approach Him in an existential manner.

How to study Jesus' Life

It may be useful to work out in some detail how we could meditate on the Gospels making use of both the "existential" and "psychological" approach. We will take the incident of Jesus' conflict with the merchants in the Temple:

"In the Temple Jesus found men selling cattle, sheep and pigeons and also the money changers sitting at their tables. He made a whip from cords and drove all the animals out of the Temple, both the sheep and the cattle; He overturned the tables of the money-changers and scattered their coins; and He ordered the men who sold the pigeons: 'Take them out of here! Do not make My Father's House a market place!' " (Jn 2:14).

First Question: What can we learn about Jesus' character from this passage?

— Let us consider Jesus' ATTITUDE. We see the indignation on His face, the determined anger with which he drives out the cattle and pushes over the tables: His kindness by not using the whip on the pigeons.

— Jesus' WORDS reveal the motives of His action. He speaks of the Temple as 'My Father's House'. It shows His respect for His Father, and for the place where He is worshipped. He objects to this house being made a market place. Jesus is inspired by zeal for God's things. He is also thinking of the non-Jews who have to pray in this outer-court.

— The energy displayed in Jesus' ACTION cannot be over estimated. All by Himself He cleared the large court of the Gentiles of the hundreds of merchants who were selling there The vastness of the task and the unusual strictness of His deed, make us marvel at the depth of His conviction He carried out what only a very strong will and a very decided personality could accomplish.

—The REACTIONS OF THE OTHERS confirm this last conclusion. Hundreds of cattle merchants and money-changers bend to His will. They must have recognized in Jesus a moral superiority which they could not resist. Even the Temple officials, who protest to Jesus later on, do not dare to readmit the merchants in Jesus, presence!

Second Question: What does this passage teach about Jesus' existential role in our life?

To answer this question well we have to scrutinize the text very carefully:

—Jesus' cleansing of the Temple is linked up with His claim that He will "build up the House of God in three days" (Jn 2:19), and St. John tells us that Jesus was speaking of the Temple of His body.
—To the Samaritan woman Jesus will explain that the old Temple has been abolished, and that people can henceforth worship the Father everywhere "in spirit and in truth". (Jn 4:21-24)

The incident of the cleansing of the Temple shows us therefore that a new era of worship has arrived. The old manner of worship, with its many external rites and forms is to be replaced by a more interior worship. Jesus Himself will bring about this change. His sacrifice will replace the sacrifices of the past. He will be the new high priest. He will mediate a new covenant His body will be the '`new temple" through which we will bring more perfect worship to the Father. This is the "existential role" of Jesus which the passage wants to teach.

"Knowing Jesus"

We cannot be Christians if we do not "know" Jesus It is especially in St John's Gospel that this is stressed (cf. Jn 14:4-9 14:20; 17:3; etc). But what does it mean to "know" Jesus?

When we speak of "knowing" someone else, we mean first of all that we know something about that person and mainly his character. In this sense we should "know" Jesus by having meditated on his character. The Gospels will help us in this. In fact, as St Jerome puts it: "He who does not know the Gospels does not know Christ." But "knowing" someone else also means: having made the acquaintance of that person, having a special relationship with him. This is the fullest sense of the word "knowing" when applied to Jesus "The world" (this is, unredeemed man) "did not know Jesus:(Jn.1-10). But the apostles came to "know" Jesus as the the Holy One of God.(Jn 6:69 ). as 'I AM Who I Am (Jn 8 :28)Their knowledge had made them Jesus' friends (Jn.15:13-15) They knew that the knowledge of Jesus would remain in them as long as his commandment of love would be their driving force (1 Jn 2:3; 3:24; 4:13).

Our "knowing" Jesus should be a similar kind of "existential" acquaintance. Jesus should mean everything to us. Through the sacraments, through the Church and through His inspired Gospel we should imbibe His Spirit and His commandment of love. Then we will truly "know" Jesus in the biblical sense of the word. Then we will experience that Jesus' character of love can be realised again in our lives.