The world’s most compassionate Person was our Lord Jesus Christ, for He had divine love for everyone, regardless of their race, gender, or social standing. His example, His words and deeds proved Him to be not only holy, but perfectly just.

Every man, woman, boy or girl, is equally important, extremely valuable, and precious in God’s sight. We are all created in His image (Genesis 1:26-27).  We are the crown of all creation. We are the object of His care and love, that was expressed in the greatest way through His wonderful plan of redemption - when Jesus came into the world, lived among us, died as a sacrifice for our sins, in order to bring us into the right relationship with God - the relationship that sin had destroyed, but "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself..." (2 Corinthians 6:19).

Jesus Met Individual Needs
God, our Creator, knows what we need and Jesus came to be the answer for our needs. When it comes to the essential needs, all humankind is alike. We all have physical needs, social needs, emotional needs, and the most important need that is often overlooked is our spiritual need. Our ultimate purpose in life is to be in the right relationship with God, to praise Him, honour Him, and please Him, and as such, God takes delight and pleasure in us.

From studying the life of Jesus we can clearly see the divine love He had for everyone.  It is also evident that Jesus moved about with a divine plan and wherever He went, He met the people’s needs, be it, physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. Jesus "went about doing good" (Acts 10:38; Luke 4:18). On two different occasions Jesus saw the need, had compassion, and fed thousands of people (John 6). He had the solution to His and Peter’s need to pay their taxes by providing the necessary coin from the mouth of a fish (ref). He saved the wedding hosts from great social embarrassment by providing them with more wine (John 2:1-11). He turned funerals into occasions for joy, for He came to give joy and life in abundance (John 10:10).

Every Individual is of Equal Importance
Each individual is extremely important to Jesus and from Scripture we learn that He treated everyone alike. In His society, not all people were considered equal, but Jesus elevated everyone to an equal position of respect. He broke down the barriers between man and woman, slave and free, Jew and Gentile (Ephesians 2:14, 18; Galatians 3:26-28).  In Christ, we are all one. His disciple Peter, after spending three years under his teachings, could confidently proclaim: "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.... He is Lord of all..." (Acts 10:34-36).

The Lord Jesus was a great champion of human rights and of this there are many examples in the Gospel records.

• Jesus championed the rights of children.
• the rights of women
• and the rights of foreigners.  He cleared the merchants out of the temple court which was the area where the Gentiles could gather to pray.
• He championed the rights of slaves and prisoners
• and the rights of the oppressed and persecuted, such as the woman caught in adultery who could not defend herself (John 8:1-11).

Jesus, however, treated all people with dignity.  He welcomed everyone, even little children, to come to Him, just as He still does today. Jesus stressed the need to care for prisoners, knowing that many had been mistreated and many had been unjustly condemned. He took special care of orphans and widows.  He saw the need of the widow in Nain, and raised to life her only son who would have been her sole source of income. He cared for the downtrodden and outcasts, like the woman at the well in Samaria (John 4). He cared for the unwanted and untouchables of society, such as the lepers. He cared for the poor.  He ignored the prejudice of His day, and associated with tax collectors and "other sinners" (Matthew 9:10; 11:19).  Even on His way to Jerusalem, where He knew He would suffer and die on the cross, He took the time to stop in Jericho to bring salvation to Zacchaeus, who was among the most despised of society - the tax collectors who were considered collaborators with the Romans (Luke 19:1-10).  Jesus also took the time to heal the poor beggar’s blinded eyes, and thus gave him the chance to work and live a normal life (Luke 18:35-43).  While in Jerusalem, He saw and commended the poor widow who gave all she had to God. Even though it was a very small amount, He said it was more than all the gold that the others gave (Luke 21:1-4).

Clearly Jesus was a radical.  He was not content to go although with His societies ideas or prejudices, or with their social or racial profiling to use words we hear a lot in the news these days.

Not a Political Agenda
Jesus did not come for a political purpose or to destroy the Roman oppressors. He was wise and did not fall into His enemies’ traps of breaking the Roman Law or speaking against them. He did not consent to the people’s desire to make Him king, and since He did not have a political agenda, many of His early followers left Him. His intent was not to change the political situation or bring reformation, but rather to show the love of God and bring transformation by changing the hearts of individuals and turning them to God.

So many Christians today and throughout history have lost the proper focus. Christians are to be like Jesus, so our focus should be like that of Jesus. We are to be merciful, we are to be peacemakers.  Jesus said: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:7-10).

We must not loose our sense of purpose. We must not compromise moral principles to be "politically correct."  It is not the Christian’s role to become so political that we loose focus on the needs of individuals, or to blindly take sides which results in lack of sensitivity to the other side, and which can cause hurt and deep wounds.  I know of wonderful Christian, Palestinian people who are suffering, but they have been ignored and even hurt by other Christians, simply because they are Palestinian. I am going to be so bold as to say that there are many Christians who blindly support the State of Israel, ignoring and overlooking the many injustices committed against the Palestinians, even against Christians who live alongside and suffer with the Muslim Palestinians. Standing on the side of justice is more important than anyone’s political or even theological ideologies. Let us show the love of Jesus by praying for the persecuted, caring for the needy, opposing racism, and upholding the dignity of all humankind. In my study of Scripture, I have seen repeatedly, the exhortation for Christians to care for the needs of their fellow Christians, for just as you would help your brother, so too we are obliged, as members of the family of God, to help our brothers and sisters in the Lord (refs).

Jesus, our Role Model
The motto for the Christian should be as the Apostle Paul expressed: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me..." (Galatians 2:20).  And John, Jesus’ beloved disciple admonished the believer saying: "He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked" (1 John 2:8; Romans 8:29).  Speaking of rights, I must add that because of who Jesus is and because of what He has accomplished on the cross, He has the right to be our Lord and to be our model.

Sadly, many so called Christian countries have done just the opposite of what Jesus would have done, such as the many evils of colonialism and slavery, the evils of the Holocaust in Europe, and farther back to the evils of the Crusades - things which brought damage and shame.

There is no such thing as a "Christian country," there is only the kingdom of God which has no geographical boundaries, and which consists of individuals from all backgrounds, languages, and ethnic groups - people who have enthroned Jesus as Lord over their lives and who abide by His teaching and strive to live up to His example. You will find that even in countries that adhere to atheism, and in countries that are closed to Christianity and hostile to the Gospel  message, there are still many Christians living there. Their true citizenship is in heaven and their true nation is the kingdom of God and their true family is the family of God for they are among the people of God, the true children of Abraham.  Jesus showed this distinction when He said of Nathaniel, "here is a true Israelite." Now Nathaniel was already an Israelite, but Jesus made the distinction that because of His pure heart and Jesus knew that Nathaniel was a believer in Him, this is what made him a "true Israelite" and a member in God’s kingdom.

Jesus declared many times that the Kingdom of God is for the poor and oppressed, the weak and down-trodden, the sick, and for those who cannot support themselves or defend themselves. These people have a special place in God’s heart and these are the people for whom Jesus came. 

In the next Unique Christ teaching, part 2 of this topic, we will look more specifically about how Jesus was a champion of people’s rights.