“‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'” Matthew 25:35-40

The King described in these verses is trustworthy, gracious, insightful, and an inspiring leader. ENFJs are all of these things…

First, a preface: I was recently reading a chapter in Knowing God by J.I. Packer that said one of the common mistakes we make is drawing comparisons between who Jesus is and who are as humans. We shouldn’t do that; Christianity is fundamentally about how God sent his one and only son to Earth to live among us; that in his sinless life here he would become an atoning sacrifice for us. (Hallelujah! 1 John 4:10) So I should start by saying that Myers Briggs is a personality assessment to help us understand others. But Jesus was more than a human, He is Christ in the flesh. When he came down to live among us, he did all the things we humans do – ate, slept, interacted, felt joy, pain and sorrow. The gospels (Mark, John, Luke, and Matthew) help us to understand and know Him more through his life here on earth. At the same time, the typical sinful nature that comes with being a human Jesus clearly did not have. Usually when I talk to ENFJs, my go-to line to describe them is – “you think you’re always right and you usually are.” Obviously for Jesus, that line can be simplified to “You’re always right! (And help me with my unbelief!)”

Secondly, what is the point of trying to type Jesus? Because while I’m having these conversations, I learn a LOT about Jesus’ life that I may not have studied before in scriptures (and hopefully you can, too, by reading this). Having conversations about Jesus’ Myers Briggs with friends who have studied different parts of scripture (and MBTI) causes them to point out things to me I didn’t see before, thereby helping me learn more about Him. Plus, coming to all these conclusions and arguing with myself and friends about his Myers Briggs was fun.

So here’s my theory explained on Jesus being an ENFJ:

Jesus was an extrovert…

…A good friend and I argue about this; introverted/extroverted conversations are too complex to delve into within this post. My thought about this is that he had 12 disciples. They were with him a good deal of time. No introvert I know has a crew that big. My friend would argue, yes but he had a smaller circle of three of whom he spent more time with, indicating he does have a smaller circle. I still think most Extroverts would say they have a larger circle, yet still a smaller circle within that. ENFJs also have a need for intimate, authentic friendships, which he certainly had with the disciples. Plus, the last thing he uttered before dying was an extremely expressive move: ”And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? That is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46. Though He has facets of introversion, I believe he is an Extrovert. (See also Matthew 12:48, 26:38)

Jesus was DEFINITELY an Intuitive…

He tells parables all the time, and most of us and the people listening in the stories are dumbfounded. What do these conceptual and abstract metaphors he’s using mean??? He understood things beyond what he had experienced in his own life, which is pretty obvious since he was Christ in the flesh. This is the letter I believe there is little evidence for him being the other (an S). (See Mark 4:11-13, Matthew 13, 21, and 22)

Jesus was a Feeler…

… though the evidence on both sides of this dichotomy is compelling.”If a man owns 100 sheep and one wanders away, will he not leave the 99 on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?”Matthew 18:12. That’s not, on its face, a logical, reasonable move. It’s compassionate, gentle, and tolerant. While yes, Jesus is critical and tough (Thinking qualities), he is above all else accepting and compassionate (Feeling qualities). Jesus is an amazing example of how to balance developing really strong T qualities while still being an F. (See also Exodus 34:6-7, Matthew 20:32-34, 26:38)

Jesus was a Judger…

Now, if you don’t know anything about Myers Briggs, you might think I just said Jesus is Judge. He is. But in MBTI world, judging means something different. It means being methodical, future-focused, and self-disciplined.”Who touched my clothes?”Mark 5:30. Jesus knew who touched him, he knew they were going to touch them before they went into the crowd, and he knew when he got up that day that this would be a lesson for the crowd that day. Jesus plans things out, even when they appeared flawlessly unplanned on the surface. (See also Matthew 27:13-14, Mark 3:12)

Did you notice all the scripture above are in the form of questions?

Over the past several months a friend and I are reading a book called What Did Jesus Ask? Each short chapter features one question Jesus asked. You may have noticed I pulled only questions above to explain Jesus’ personality.

The questions Jesus asked are SO convicting and worth studying.With each question, an in-depth study of that verse and the verses around it help me to understand why Jesus asked it and what it means for us. For example,”My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” shows me just how human Jesus became when he came down to earth, and that crying out to Jesus is worshiping Him. A quote from the book [ad sic]: “What do you do when praises go up but depression or cancer comes down?” The answer is in the question: Cry out to Him. Lament. He will be there with you in your suffering. To share in His glory we must share in His suffering (Romans 8:17). By changing my mental model on how I approach and respond to things not going my way — however difficult — provides an opportunity to not only draw closer to Him, but also to witness to others.

If you’re new to your walk with Christ, or looking to reinvigorate your walk with Him, I encourage you to go through the gospels and study the questions Jesus asked. My hope is that through trying an in-depth study, He will teach you all sorts of biblical Truths that you might otherwise overlook. Every scripture is “inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” (1 Timothy 3:16).