Jesus loved everyone. He created each and every person in love. He loved and always will love everyone. His love, the love of God, keeps each person in existence every moment of their lives from now until forever.
His love was limitless, divine. It was the kind of love that could not be any greater: “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that respect for every person “. . . proceeds by way of respect for the principle that “everyone should look upon his neighbor (without any exception) as ‘another self,’ above all bearing in mind his life and the means necessary for living it with dignity (Paragraph 1931) and that charity “finds in every man a ‘neighbor’ a brother.”(Id.)
But Jesus Did Not Like Everyone
The command to love everyone is not a command to like everyone. There is no such admonition in Holy Scripture nor in the teachings of the Church.
To like someone is to feel attraction toward or take pleasure in their company, to fancy them, enjoy them, welcome them, delight in them, and to want to be with them.
Jesus chose twelve men whom he loved and liked. He was with them for most of the time He was engaged in the three years of His public life. They were men of all sorts, various occupations, various temperaments, and of a variety of ages.
We can only guess why he chose these particular men and no one else, but from how He was with them, how He treated them, and how He cared for them, we can conclude that He not only loved them, He liked them. There were others He liked and others He did not like, but He chose only these twelve to be with daily.
Jesus had relatives and friends. Holy Scripture reveals some of them and describes some of Jesus’s interactions with them and time spent with them. He chose to be with His apostles more than with these.
We know with certainty that there were persons Jesus did not like.
Moneychangers at the Temple
When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went to Jerusalem. In the temple outer areas he found people selling sheep, cattle, and doves, and exchanging money. He made a whip out of cords and drove them from the temple. He scattered the coins of the money changers and tole those selling things to leave, telling them “ Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” (John 2:13-16). He called these moneychangers “thieves.” (Matthew 21: 130.
To say Jesus disliked these men whom He scourged and called thieves is an understatement.
Herodians
The Herodians, a group of Jews, supported the dynasty of Herod and some of them believed that Herod might be the Messiah. They saw Jesus as a threat to their political goals. Jesus did not like them: “Be careful,” Jesus warned His disciples. “ ‘Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod’” (Mark 8:15). By “yeast” Jesus was referring to their false teachings.
Pharisees
To put it very mildly, Jesus did not like the Pharisees:
Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. (Matthew 12:33-37; emphasis added).
Not only did Jesus not like the Pharisees, He saw fit to publicly condemn them and to call them snakes.
A large part of the 23rd chapter of Matthew’s gospel recounts Jesus’s public denunciation of the Pharisees. Repeatedly He says to them, “Woe to you,” calling them hypocrites, blind guides, whitewashed tombs full of dead men’s bones and filth, evildoers, and serpents.
We Can Avoid Those We Do Not Like
We don’t, generally, spend time with people we don’t like. We avoid them. Holy Scripture, inspired by God, does not instruct us to like everyone. The Old Testament contains many warnings about people who are to be avoided; for example, fools (Proverbs 14:7); and those who are controlled by anger (Proverbs 22:24-25).
St. Paul teaches about people who should be avoided.
Know also this, that, in the last days, shall come dangerous times. Men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, haughty, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, wicked, Without affection, without peace, slanderers, incontinent, unmerciful, without kindness, Traitors, stubborn, puffed up, and lovers of pleasures more than of God: Having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof. Now these avoid. For of these sort are they who creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, who are led away with divers desires: Ever learning, and never attaining to the knowledge of the truth. (2 Timothy 3:3-7; emphasis added).
St. Paul tells us that “bad company corrupts good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33). He goes so far as to warn against having meals with such people:
But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.” (1 Corinthians 5:11; emphasis added).
He also warns us that bad teachers should be avoided:
I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. (Romans 16:17; emphasis added).
St. Mark in his gospels tell us to leave the presence of those who do not accept us:
And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you; going forth from thence, shake off the dust from your feet for a testimony to them. (Mark 6:11).
Do I like Jesus ? Does Jesus like me ?
“I like someone” means:
- I enjoy being with the someone
- I approve of the someone
- I have a favorable opinion about and positive feelings and affection towards the someone
- I find pleasure in their qualities
- I am fond of them and have a deep appreciation of them and their characteristics.
In short, to like someone you must know them.
Knowing what Jesus can do for us – i.e., everything – and wanting that is not liking Jesus. This may be liking the idea of Jesus, but this is not liking Jesus. Being at peace in believing in Jesus is not liking Jesus.
To say “I like Jesus” you must know Him and that requires that you have a relationship with Him, a personal relationship. This will not be based on first hand, real-world sense-experience knowledge of Him, unless He appears to you personally. He will do all that is divinely possible for you to come to know Him and to like Him. The rest is up to you – in prayer and in all you do, get to know Him and He will do the rest.
Does Jesus Like Me ?
There is no quick, profound, easy answer to this question. Perhaps, it would be good to ask Him the next time you receive Him in the Holy Eucharist.
