The gospel portrait of Jesus is that of a person who cherished life and especially other people as loving gifts from the Father’s hand. The peripheral figures whom Jesus encountered in His ministry reacted in various ways to His person and His message, but few responded with gloom or sadness. (And they were those, such as the rich young ruler, who rejected His message.) The living presence of Jesus awakened joy and set people free. Joy was in fact the most characteristic result of all His ministry to ragamuffins. John’s disciples and the Pharisees were keeping a fast, when some people came to
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