Was Jesus Mellow?

This morning I wondered if Jesus could be thought of as mellow, perhaps a bit of a stoic; always in control of his passions and pleasant to be around with no emotional fireworks in the forecast. I suppose if one cherry-picked a few scriptures out of the four gospels, one might come up with a religion of peace that emphasized only the quiet times in our Lord's life. Jesus did leave us His peace (John 14:27), but it was in the midst of plenty of emotion. Anger at the obstinate unbelief of the Pharisees shows in many verses. Our Lord grew so angry at the abuse of His Father's house that He made a whip and chased the money changers out. Jesus marvelled at the faith of a Roman, wept at the grave of His friend Lazarus, and rebuked Peter, James and John. Isaiah foretold a man of sorrows, and it seems our Lord was indeed deeply moved by the hurts of the world. No, mellow does not seem accurate as a way to describe the Lord.

One of the most impressive things about our Lord was that He felt. Sorrow, anger, love, and the whole range of human emotions were present in our Lord. He was a man and He was God. Then, He rose again from the grave on the third day and we can say that He is a man and He is God. Sometimes we call Jesus our rock, but that isn't because we think Him hard and unfeeling. Strength and stability reside in that metaphor, but Jesus our Lord felt as we do without the doubt and worry, or the shame, guilt, and self-pity that give us so many problems in this life. Thank you, dear God, for sending Your Son to feel the good emotions You gave us to Your glory.

Bucky