Articles
Jesus, Free From Prejudice
Jesus was entirely free from prejudice and unfairness. Only the God of this world, the Almighty, and the Creator could have maintained such an even distribution of His love. In spite of the fact that He was surrounded by the common prejudices of the day, He consistently treated all people with love and kindness, offering the truth (and its attendant blessings) to all who would listen. He had no aversion to openly discussing concepts with women, even those of the most despised race of the Samaritans (John 4). He often lauded the repentance of the dregs of society, like harlots and tax collectors. He freely taught the Gospel to Gentiles, and even healed many of them miraculously. He commanded His disciples to preach salvation to all people (Matthew 28:18-20), without reference to race, gender, language, or nationality. In Christ, all people become equal, and there is no hatred in the walls of the Lord’s church. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).
In light of Christ’s fair and open manner, how are we to treat other people? Consider the story of Cornelius in Acts 10, in which Peter comes to the realization that salvation is open to the Gentiles, just as it was to the Jews. He concludes, “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right, is welcome to Him” (Acts 10:34-35). When he recounts the story on a later occasion, he notes, “Who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” (Acts 11:17) Similarly, who are we to stand in God’s way when it comes to the fair and just treatment of one another, or even an outsider desiring salvation?
Christ is our Savior, and He calls to all people. He asks for the faithful obedience of each individual soul, never requiring more than we are capable of accomplishing. In fact, in all the ways that we are helpless (such as facing the enormity of our spiritual debt due to sin), He abundantly aids us.
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).
