Article April 1, 2013 Issue

The first Easter and Jesus' love

Mary Trammell

The Bible citations are all from The New Testament in Modern English, Revised Edition, by J.B. Phillips.

One time, thousands of children, men, and women followed Jesus into the lonely desert, hoping for a glimpse of him. They also hoped that he’d heal the many sick people among them. All day they hiked, only to find the Master deep in prayer. He wanted time alone to pray because he was sad about losing his cousin, John the Baptist, who’d been killed by enemies. (See Matthew 14.)

But when Jesus saw the tired crowd, he cared so much about their suffering that he healed every one who was sick. Not only that, as darkness fell and the crowds got hungry, Jesus took the only food his disciples could find nearby—a little bread and fish—and served supper to everyone!

That’s the way Jesus was. His love was so powerful and tied to God’s love that it naturally healed people and took care of them. Especially, Jesus loved kids. “The kingdom of Heaven belongs to little children like these!” he said (Matthew 19:14). Jesus even loved his worst enemies, and told his followers to do the same. “Do good to those who hate you,” he said (Luke 6:27).

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