Jesus was not nice

Yes, that is the title of today’s devotion, it is not a typo. I indeed said what I said and I’ll say it again, “Jesus was not nice”. I know you like to believe He was, but He wasn’t nice.

Okay, before you start stoning me via cyberspace, or slamming your laptop shut or throwing aside your phone, hear me out.

The word “nice” isn’t an adjective used any where in the biblical text. I dare you to look for it. Nice is not descriptive of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Nice is generally defined as polite, agreeable, appropriate, pleasing, and socially acceptable. So now, think about these adjectives while you read the following verses.

John 2:13-16 (NIV)

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”

Matthew 9:23-24 (GNT)

Then Jesus went into the official's house. When he saw the musicians for the funeral and the people all stirred up, he said, “Get out, everybody!

In Matthew 23: 24-26, Jesus calls the church leaders, “Hypocrites!”, “Blind guides!”, and in verses 27-28 (MSG), He tells them,

“You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You’re like manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it’s all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh. People look at you and think you’re saints, but beneath the skin you’re total frauds.”

These are just a few examples of Jesus’ actions which cannot be described as nice. Jesus did not, as the colloquial idiom says, put water in His mouth to talk, no He said whatever He felt was necessary.

First-century Israel was not accustomed to this radical temperament of Jesus, who was a non-conformist in His day.

Jesus was not afraid to speak the truth, unlike most church goers, who prefer to sugar coat everything, not wanting to offend or to be in contention or to be seen as a not-nice-Christian. Instead, they pretend and feign being aghast if anyone dares to speak up and speak out.

If you think that being nice falls under the banner of “WWJD” (What Would Jesus Do), then think again because Jesus was not nice.

There are many other adjectives used throughout the Word to describe Jesus but nice is not one of them.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:29 NIV)

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. (Mark 6:34 NIV)

Search for yourself and you will see that Jesus was honest, kind, gentle, humble, compassionate, loving, blameless, righteous, just, fair, non-judgmental and so much more and at the same time, He was severely harsh towards sin and spoke hard truths without fear of contradiction.

Jesus Himself says, in John 10:11 & 14, that He is the Good Shepherd and in Mark 10:18 (AMP), after a man addresses Him as “Good Teacher”,

Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is [essentially] good [by nature] except God alone.

Jesus was in fact expressing His divinity, in that, as God, He alone is good. Goodness is intrinsic to God. He is the Source of all goodness and there is no good apart from Him. Jesus is God incarnate therefore, all the attributes of God are the attributes of Him; Jesus is the good and all He does is good.

As you can see, Jesus was never described as nice, but He was described as good and there’s a difference.

Good, at times, disrupts, calls things out and sometimes makes people feel uncomfortable.

Nice gives wrong doing a pass by turning a blind eye or sweeping things under the carpet because nice prefers to not rock the boat.

Good overturns tables, makes cords and drives people out in the face of exploitation and injustice.

Nice remains silent in the face of exploitation and injustice, allowing both to thrive in God’s house, so as to not interfere with the traditions of the church or challenge the status quo.

Good speaks up when people are hurting and being treated unfairly.

Nice avoids conflict while good fights for what is right and just.

Jesus was not nice when He took a stand against religious hypocrisy. Jesus was not nice when He healed on the Sabbath. Jesus was not nice when He fed the five thousand. Jesus was simply being who He was and still is – good.

Beloved, you cannot know the good unless you are in right relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper (Psalm 37:3 NLT).

Be good every chance you get, don’t get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time [you] will reap a harvest of blessing if [you] don’t give up (Galatians 6:9 NLT).

Amen †

Shelley Johnson “Jesus was not nice” ©2026 May 11, 2026