What Thankfulness Looks Like in the Life of Jesus

You probably recently enjoyed a Thanksgiving gathering with family and maybe some friends. It might have been a small group or one that nearly burst the seams of the house. Maybe you feasted on home-cooked selections or visited a restaurant. Regardless of the specifics, there no doubt was a heightened element of thankfulness connected to the day.

Your family may have a special way of sharing thankful sentiments on this holiday. Or, if you come from a reserved background, you may just thoroughly enjoy the time together as you silently appreciate your blessings. Those often include the people in our lives, our job (or retirement!), and our health.

Did you ever wonder what Jesus was thankful for? I knew of a couple places in the Bible where we’re told Jesus gave thanks, but I wanted to know more about thankfulness in his life.

First, though, I looked into exactly what thanksgiving is. Of course, it is giving thanks, but was there more? I followed a word trail. Thanksgiving is the expression of gratitude. Gratitude is “a feeling of appreciation.” Appreciate means “to grasp the nature, worth, quality, or significance of” or “to value or admire highly” (Merriam-Webster). So when I thank my husband for refilling my water bottle every morning, I am acknowledging that I understand he is doing me a kindness out of love for me to help start my day out great, and I am recognizing his value. (That’s the value of his love, not of saving me from having to fill my own bottle.)

I couldn’t find anywhere in the Bible where it was recorded that Jesus thanked a human being for something, but that certainly doesn’t mean he didn’t. I did find some other helpful insights, though.

Paul wrote, Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Thankfulness in some form is mentioned 70 more times in the New Testament. It is obviously an important character trait to develop.

We are supposed to be like Jesus. John said, “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did” (1 John 2:6). And Jesus himself taught, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). We won’t be perfect this side of eternity, but we should always be aspiring to be more like Jesus. One way is in our character. Since the Bible speaks so often of thanksgiving and we are told to be like Jesus, it follows that Jesus’ character is one of thankfulness.

The Bible does record several instances of Jesus expressing gratitude.

He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and they did so (Mark 8:6).

When feeding the crowds of thousands, Jesus thanked his Father for the provision.

Jesus is God. He could have easily spoken as much food into existence as was needed to feed the entire crowd. But as man, he gave thanks, recognizing that all things come from the Father. Not only the food they would soon be eating, but also “the Divine power to enable him to work the miracle” (Pulpit Commentary).

⁴¹So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴²I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴The dead man came out (John 11:41-44).

Outside Lazarus’ tomb, Jesus thanked his Father that He heard him.

The simple definition of the Greek work eucharisteó is to be thankful, but it also acknowledges that “God’s grace works well, i.e. for our eternal gain and His glory” (HELPS Word-studies). In thanking his Father in the presence of the people for the miracle that was taking place, Jesus acknowledged he could do nothing without his Father and he expressed gratitude for his union with Him. He was also thanking his Father that the Divine work that was being done would reveal God’s glory to the people.

In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight” (Luke 10:21, NKJV).

Luke records a time when Jesus thanked his Father for hiding spiritual truths from people wise in their own eyes and revealing them to those with childlike trust.

The Greek word for thank here is exomologeó and means to “fully agree and to acknowledge that agreement openly” (HELPS Word-studies). Jesus acknowledged that it was the way of his Father to make Himself known to the ordinary and simple-hearted, to people of all abilities and positions, to anyone who searches for the truths of His kingdom with a pure heart. He was agreeing that this was God’s will, and that it was right and good. Like our earlier definition of appreciate, Jesus grasped the nature of his Father and highly admired Him.

²⁶While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying. “Take and eat; this is my body.” ²⁷Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you” (Matthew 26:26-27).

At the last supper with his disciples before his crucifixion, Jesus gave thanks for the bread and the cup.

This was different from when he blessed the food to feed the multitudes, though both situations involved provision. The cup represented his blood that would soon be spilled out on the cross and the bread, his body that would endure suffering and death for all humanity. Jesus would now be the provision for us to be reconciled to God. He was thanking his Father that His will would be done, even at such a cost to Jesus himself.

I found it enlightening that in every recorded instance of Jesus giving thanks, he was expressing gratitude to his Father.

• Gratitude for provision, acknowledging that all things come from Him
• Gratitude for their close communion, acknowledging he could do nothing without his Father
• Gratitude for the way his Father worked, recognizing it was always the right way
• Gratitude for his Father accomplishing His perfect will, and using him in the process

Jesus has shown us how to live a life of thankfulness.

Scripture quotations are from NIV unless otherwise noted.

Greek definitions and commentary notes are from Bible Hub. See Resources.

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