With over 1.5 million infected and 87,000 fatalities as of today, I wonder, “If Jesus were living today, how would He view coronavirus?”

What Jesus Would Feel and Think

Thankfully, the Bible gives us some good evidence to help us see what Jesus would feel and think. In this first part of a video series, we will see that in the midst of coronavirus, Jesus would feel compassion towards those who suffer, anger towards death, and trust in God.

We see Jesus’s compassion in Luke 7, where he encounters a funeral procession as he enters a town. The funeral is for a young man, the only son of a widow. How will Jesus react to this horrible situation? I believe that the compassion he shows to the widow and her son is a clue to the compassion he has today for those who are suffering with coronavirus. Jesus cares.

I discuss this in part one of the video series.

How Jesus Would React

If Jesus were living now during the death and suffering caused by coronavirus, how would he react? We know how he would react by looking at biblical accounts where Jesus encountered death and suffering, such as when Lazarus died in John 11.

Jesus shows up after four days, and has to face Lazarus’s sisters, and they’re upset. Martha says, “Jesus, if you would have been here, my brother would not have died.” I’m sure millions are saying the same thing today in the face of suffering, mourning and death caused by coronavirus. Where is Jesus? Does he care? Does he know that I’m suffering?

But then Mary shows up, with the same complaint; “If you would have been here…”

In the face of mourning and death, John 11:33 says that “a deep anger well up within Jesus” (NLT). What caused that anger? Was he angry at Mary and Martha?

In part two of the video series, I show that Jesus understands the anger we might feel in the face of coronavirus.

Jesus’ Response to Suffering

In parts one and two of the video series, we saw that if Jesus were living now during coronavirus, he would react with compassion towards those who suffer, and anger towards death. But, when Jesus himself encountered death and suffering at the cross, how did he react? We need to remember that Jesus was scourged nearly to the point of death, made to carry his own cross, and agonizingly struggled to get each breath of air on the cross. The cross was a slow instrument of death, usually by asphyxiation, as the one hung on the cross cannot pull themselves up to get enough air to fill their lungs.

Doesn’t that struggle to get air in your lungs sound like what those who are suffering with coronavirus are experiencing? Jesus experienced that struggle to get breath in his lungs on the cross. It sounds similar to the experience of thousands today in intensive care units throughout the world—struggling to get enough air. Jesus understands.

How did Jesus react to this suffering? Did he turn his back on God? Did he renounce his Father? Did he feel like he was abandoned and ignored? I explain how Jesus responded in part three of the video series.