Were one of my Methodist friends to write an article with the same title as this one, I might expect he or she would say something about how Jesus sees a cherished friend, even his dearly beloved, when he looks at you. On the other hand, if one of my fundamentalist friends wrote such an article, it wouldn’t surprise me if he or she said that Jesus sees a sinner when he looks at you—a sinner whom he loves, of course, but a “sinner” nonetheless.
The first response could be maudlin, even sappy, and the second could be manipulative and is certainly incomplete. (I hope my Methodist and fundamentalist friends and readers will forgive me for the reductive stereotyping in the paragraph above. All Methodists are not alike, and neither are all fundamentalists, and none that I know is exactly as I have misrepresented them above.) I am painting with an intentionally broad brush, hoping to block in a background that will prepare us for what I hope is an authentically biblical answer to the question raised by the title. It is a question, I have no doubt, that some of my Methodist and fundamentalist friends could answer more insightfully and eloquently than I.
Fortunately, I needn’t depend on my own intuition to suggest an answer to the title’s question about what Jesus sees when he looks at you. We have sufficient information in the Gospels themselves to formulate an authentic biblical answer. There are fifteen verses in the Gospels that either mention Jesus’s eyes or explicitly state that he looked at someone or something, and two additional verses that imply that he made eye contact with someone.
There is, for example, the account of the rich ruler to whom Jesus extended the offer/challenge to become his disciple. When Jesus looked at this man, St. Mark says that he “loved him.” So, what did Jesus see when he looked at the rich young ruler? He saw someone he loved. (Chalk one up for the Methodists!)
But he also saw a sinner who would reject the priceless offer to be discipled by Jesus himself. The ruler turned Jesus down. We are not told that he said anything, only that he “went away.” (Chalk one up for the fundamentalists!) Nevertheless, Jesus is explicitly said to love this troubled man.
In the numerous verses in which Jesus looks at a person or a group, he is described as seeing people with compassion, love, and discernment. He might, after looking at someone, make a generous offer (as in the case of the young ruler) or issue a stern rebuke (as in the case of St. Peter). But whether a rebuke or an offer, Jesus actually saw the individuals. He did not look past them to the next big event on his calendar. He looked at people, saw them, and knew them (John 2:24-25).
St. Peter is a case in point. More often than with any other person, Jesus is said to look at Peter. When he first met the Galilean fisherman, the text says that Jesus “looked at him” (John 1:42). How long this lasted, we do not know, but he apparently did more than look at him; he looked into him and saw his character, his strengths, and weaknesses. Only then did Jesus speak to him: “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas,” which means “Rock” (as in “Rock Hudson” or “Duane-the Rock-Johnson”).
Jesus was neither maudlin nor manipulative. When he looked at people, he saw them for who they really were and responded appropriately. Even when that response was stern, it was loving. This was true, for example, when “Jesus turned and looked at his disciples” and “rebuked Peter.” He saw the disciples, who they were and what they needed, and he responded accordingly.
On the night preceding his execution, Jesus was interrogated by a hostile government official. After the first stage of the interrogation was completed, “The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter,” who had only minutes before denied even knowing Jesus. I do not think that look conveyed anger or even disappointment. Perhaps I am becoming maudlin myself (which sometimes happens), but from what I know of Jesus, I expect it conveyed compassion and genuine love. Even after Peter had disavowed the Lord, Jesus could still see Peter for who he was—and who he would become.
So, I think an authentically biblical answer to the question posed in the title of this article, “When Jesus looks at you, what does he see?” would be: “He sees you.” He sees you, with your past failures and present flaws. He sees you with your present strengths and future successes. He sees everything you are – the good, the bad, and the shameful – and seeing all, he does not turn away.
Few people actually “see us.” Most don’t even try, and some who do are only looking for faults and weaknesses to ridicule or exploit. Some people go through life without ever being seen. It is an injury that inflicts lasting damage.
But Jesus sees us, and he does not look away when he finds ugliness inside. And his look heals and beautifies. It is capable of reversing the injury and healing the wound left by our long invisibility.
Just one look sets angels singing, trembling with delight. Just one word sets our hearts burning, shining with his light.
The Way Home 
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