# Jesus Christ — A Day at a Time character guide

> Jesus Christ in A Day at a Time by Archibald Alexander.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Jesus, Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ, Master Jesus Christ, the Christ, Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth

**First appearance:** 0000-dedication

## Snapshot

The Lord whose gospel of God's Fatherhood and cheerfulness anchors every page, invoked less as doctrine than as the living pattern for ordinary days.

## Who they are

Alexander's book keeps returning to Jesus not as a distant dogma but as the Master whose teaching reframes sparrows, sunsets, and household chores as sites of divine care. The Jesus who emerges here is cheerful rather than severe, a physician for the whole person, and a friend who found rest in a Bethany home. His presence sets the standard against which the narrator measures wonder, duty, and love, making him the quiet center of the book's moral world.

## Relationships

### [Martha](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/characters/martha)

_friendship_

Jesus shares a close, hospitable friendship with Martha, who often serves and hosts him.

### [Mary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/characters/mary)

_friendship_

Jesus has a deep, devotional friendship with Mary, who listens to his teachings and anoints him.

### [the Doctor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/characters/the_doctor)

_professional_

Jesus interacts with the Doctor as a healer and spiritual authority, likely in a caregiving context.

### [Paul](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/characters/paul)

_friendship_

Jesus has a foundational relationship with Paul, who becomes a devoted apostle and missionary.

### [Joy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/characters/joy)

_friendship_

Jesus shares a warm, uplifting relationship with Joy, likely a follower or disciple.

### [King Arthur](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/characters/king_arthur)

_social_

Jesus and King Arthur share a symbolic or allegorical connection, possibly in a visionary context.

### [John Wesley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/characters/john_wesley)

_friendship_

Jesus inspires John Wesley, who follows his teachings as a spiritual leader and reformer.

### [Isaiah](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/characters/isaiah)

_psychological_

Isaiah prophetically foresees Jesus, creating a spiritual and prophetic bond across time.

### [The Lord](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/characters/the_lord)

_family_

Jesus and The Lord share a divine familial relationship, often described as Father and Son.

### [John Wesley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/characters/john_wesley)

_friendship_

Jesus inspires John Wesley, who follows his teachings as a spiritual leader and reformer.

### [the Doctor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/characters/the_doctor)

_professional_

Jesus interacts with the Doctor as a healer and spiritual authority, likely in a caregiving context.

### [Martha](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/characters/martha)

_friendship_

Jesus shares a close, hospitable friendship with Martha, who often serves and hosts him.

## In the story

### [A Day at a Time](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/a-day-at-a-time)

Referenced as the source of strength and example of trusting in God's daily care.

### [I: A Day at a Time](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/i-a-day-at-a-time)

Jesus taught trusting tomorrow to God and living fully today.

### [God in the Wheels](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/ii-god-in-the-wheels)

Cited as the supreme authority who reveals that the Ruler of all events is Eternal Love, and whose life and death refute the idea of soulless destiny.

### [III: A Triple Best](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/iii-a-triple-best)

Contrasted with Judas in the story of the ointment; cited as the one who finds good even in a dead dog; the basis for hope and faith.

### [IV: Finical Farming](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/iv-finical-farming)

Referenced as the standard for noble living: 'Do good and lend, hoping for nothing again.'

### [V: The Doctor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/v-the-doctor)

Portrayed as the Good Physician, compassionate and approachable, who heals the whole person.

### [VI: Well and Now](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/vi-well-and-now)

Mentioned as the personal living Master to whom all work is dedicated, and in the closing prayer.

### [VIII: The Real Martha](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/viii-the-real-martha)

Shown as a gentle, tactful guest who values both Martha's practical service and Mary's sympathetic listening, and who defends Mary's choice while affirming Martha's work.

### [Our Unearned Increment](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/ix-our-unearned-increment)

Referenced as the one for whom Christian workers serve and whose likeness is reflected in believers.

### [X: Smoking Wicks](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/x-smoking-wicks)

Presented as the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, who tenderly nurtures the faintest spark of goodness, as seen in His treatment of the sinful woman and Zaccheus.

### [XI: Culpable Goodness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/xi-culpable-goodness)

Implied as the model for forbearance and charity, and referenced in the phrase 'followers of Christ' and 'Christlike.'

### [A Khaki Virtue](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/xii-a-khaki-virtue)

Referenced as the one who brings near the faith in God's Fatherhood and Love, which underlies cheerfulness.

### [The Overcoming of Panic](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/xiii-the-overcoming-of-panic)

Referenced in the closing prayer as 'Lord of our life, and God of our salvation,' and as the one whose soldiers are called to endure hardness.

### [XIV: The Day’s Darg](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/xiv-the-day-s-darg)

Jesus is presented as the Carpenter of Nazareth who worked at His trade before His public ministry, sanctifying daily labor and serving as an example for believers.

### [XV: Gashmu the Gossip](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/xv-gashmu-the-gossip)

Referenced as the one to whom Christians have promised fealty, demanding love of neighbor and guarding against false witness.

### [God in Front](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/xvi-god-in-front)

Christ is referenced as the one who stands at the door and knocks, and who said 'I go to prepare a place for you,' emphasizing God's preparatory love.

### [XVII: “Unbelief Kept Quiet”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/xvii-unbelief-kept-quiet)

Referenced as the one through whom God's love, pity, and nearness are revealed, and as the mediator in the closing prayer.

### [XVIII: The Equipment of Joy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/xviii-the-equipment-of-joy)

Referenced as the one through whom knowledge of God is brought, and as the source of the religion's essential winsomeness.

### [Under the Juniper Tree](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/xx-under-the-juniper-tree)

Jesus is referenced as not allowing Peter, James, and John to remain on the Mount of Transfiguration, and as the one whose call overrides personal feelings.

### [Instructing the Cabin Boy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/xxi-instructing-the-cabin-boy)

Jesus is cited as the source of the principle that doing God's will leads to knowledge of the doctrine (John 7:17).

### [God's Door of Hope](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/xxii-god-s-door-of-hope)

Christ is presented as the one who not only forgives but enables believers to retrieve their past and turn defeat into victory, commanding them to 'Go back and try again.'

### [Now-a-Days](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/xxiii-now-a-days)

Jesus is referenced as preaching in Nazareth, where townspeople dismissed Him as the carpenter, illustrating how the present is often misread.

### [XXIV: Roundabout Roads](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/xxiv-roundabout-roads)

Jesus is cited as the source of true life, who taught that life is saved by losing it, and who welcomed the muddy St. Nicholas over the pristine St. Cassianus.

### [The Extravagance of Love](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/xxv-the-extravagance-of-love)

Defends Mary's extravagant offering of ointment, vindicating the value of beauty and love over mere utility.

### [The Art of "Doing Without"](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/xxvi-the-art-of-doing-without)

Christ is presented as the indwelling companion with whom Paul and believers can share their inner life, especially when human friendships fail.

### [Wonder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/xxvii-wonder)

Quoted as teaching that the ideal of religion is the childlike heart, which embodies wonder, humility, and responsiveness.

### [XXVIII: The Fatherhood of God](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/xxviii-the-fatherhood-of-god)

Quoted as teaching the Fatherhood of God and inviting trust in the heavenly Father's goodness.

### [XXIX: The Unreturning Brave](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/chapters/xxix-the-unreturning-brave)

Quoted as saying 'He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it'; central to the Easter message of resurrection and hope.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/characters/jesus_christ
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_day_at_a_time_se/characters