'When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, "Who do people say that I, the Son of Man, am?" They said, "Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Matthew 16: 13-16

In this article, you will understand a little more about the personality of Jesus. There are many ideas that are spread around about him, but here you will see what he was really like. I will use as a basis the information contained in the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). These four evangelists wrote accounts of the life and work of Jesus. Textual criticism (the area of ​​Bibliology) discusses whether they themselves wrote these gospels, but this is a topic for other articles. For now, what matters is that these books summarize the teachings and life of the greatest man in history.

1- Jesus was loving: Jesus did not judge people by their past, but rather by what they did in the present. He gave them a new chance. Liking someone does not mean engaging in emotional acts that lead nowhere, but rather seeing the best in them and encouraging them on their spiritual journey. Jesus transformed the thief Zacchaeus into an honest man, the impulsive Peter into an apostle, and the false religious Nicodemus into a kind man.

2- Jesus was firm: Jesus was not some kind of Buddhist who lived a "zen" life, calm at all times. He was also not an unbalanced person who went around attacking everyone without a good reason. He was somewhere in between. When necessary, he would get angry and call people out. Examples of this are when he rebuked the money changers in the temple and when he called the attention of the disciples who were unable to pray with him on the mountain, close to his handover to the Romans.

3- Jesus was peaceful, but not a pacifist. In other words, Jesus did not seek conflicts, but he did not run away from those that were inevitable. After beginning his ministry, he lived in conflict with false religious people and especially with Satan (the true enemy). He prayed, kept watch (was attentive) and taught divine doctrines to combat evil.

4- Jesus did not attack other people's religions, but he was not a relativist either: if you read the gospels, you will never see Jesus attacking other people's religions, but he was not a relativist either. He made it very clear that he was the way to salvation. He respected people, but he did not fail to tell them the truth.

5- Jesus was considered an “outlaw”: today, after the spread of Christianity throughout the world, we see him as a good person and recognize him as God. In his time, he was seen by some as a criminal for breaking the Sabbath law and teaching the people. He was accused by the Pharisees of deceiving the population. Even so, he did not care what they thought of him and continued to do the will of the Father.

May we follow Jesus’ example. We must be loving and obedient to God. We must seek peace, whenever possible, as Jesus did. However, we must not stop proclaiming the reality of the gospel. Jesus loves you and wants your spiritual, physical and psychological well-being. Let us learn from Christ.