God had promised a messiah to the oppressed Jews. This messiah would be the savior of the .
world and bring prestige back to the Jews by conquering their enemies, and letting them reclaim their .
land, the land that God gave them. There were two ideas of what this messiah would be, a "suffering .
servant" or a strong military leader who would rule the Jews. The Jews favored the latter because they .
wanted to conquer their enemies and gain their land back, proving their dominance over other nations. .
Well, it didn't quite work out as they hoped. The prophesy of the messiah was true, but instead of a strong .
military leader, they received the suffering servant as their savior, Jesus Christ.
Jesus was a peaceful man. He avoided confrontations and physical altercations---the exact .
opposite of what the Jews were hoping for. Jesus was very fond of children. He believed that they were the .
key to the kingdom of God. Often, he would speak to groups of children, and tell them stories while at the .
same time preaching to them. In one instance, Jesus" apostles were holding back a group of children who .
wanted to see Jesus, but they sent them away. Jesus scorned the apostles, and told them to let the children .
come through. This shows a loving, caring Jesus. .
While he was loving and caring, He was also forgiving. The apostles, who many times were short-.
sighted in what Jesus was preaching, tested his forgiving spirit. Often when Jesus told a parable, or talked .
about prayer, the apostles were quick to question Him on the meaning of his parables, which told His .
stories. They could not comprehend the message that Jesus was conveying to them and to the crowds, and .
often did not follow Jesus" examples. However, Jesus forgave them. Jesus was also forgiving to sinners as .
well. One such example is his recruiting of Levi, later known as the apostle Matthew. Levi was a tax .
collector who often stole or kept money for himself.
