Which Jesus ?

among the smorgasbord of saviours

We’ve just come through Easter, which is a kind of “ be nice to Jesus week” in our culture. Along with Christmas it is one of the last vestiges of Christendom’s calendar. If your church is like mine, you might have even added an extra service to accommodate the Chreasters or CEO’s (Christmas and Easter Only people). In the three services we had on Easter Sunday, there was definitely a different vibe in the room for each crowd. The 9am people were the usual 9am people, there to worship a Jesus they knew well and worshipped every Sunday. The 11am crowd were making their semi-occasional appearance, and were a little more reserved in their expression of faith. The 1pm crowd were those who sacrificed their usual time slot to make room for visitors, and were going to make the most of it. They were the anything for Jesus crowd, and the most expressive of the three. It seemed like each crowd came with their own intentions and expectations, and each left with their own outcomes. I left the building thinking about Jesus and crowds.

The crowd at the very first Easter had a choice of which Jesus they were interested in. Pontius Pilate, in a gesture of good will, was willing to release a prisoner to them, and gave them a choice between Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Barabbas. Crowds are fickle and easily swayed, and some of the same people who had shouted “Hosanna” just a few days before, were now shouting “ Crucify him!” about the first Jesus. Jesus was a very common name, and Jesus Barabbas was violent, notorious, an insurrectionist and an ieistes, or leader of a gang of robbers. He had blood on his hands, and darkness in his heart. His name Bar (son) Abba (father) meant “son of the father,” so in many ways the crowd was choosing a false picture of the Son of God over the true one. He represented the idea of liberation or freedom by means of power and politics, rather than personal sacrifice. It is a good reminder that there is often more than one version of Jesus before us, and we must choose the Jesus we want to follow wisely.

Just like the first Easter, there is more than one version of Jesus before us today. Several men around the world literally claim to be Jesus, including a Siberian traffic cop, a cross-dressing former British spy, a taxi driver in Zambia, and a waiter in Brazil. More common are theological variations of the historical Jesus. On my way to church I drive past another church that has chosen to display a permanent trans flag on the outside of their building. The Jesus they celebrate there is more of a rainbow warrior Jesus. He is decidedly more 21st than 1st century in his worldview, and would be right at home at the recent No Kings protests in the US or the NDP leadership convention in Canada. Then there is the Islamic Jesus or Isa, who is a prophet, but not the Son of God. He was born of a virgin, did many miracles, and is to be revered… but was not divine and only appeared to have been crucified. God actually deceived the people into thinking he was dead and then rescued him off the cross. ( “Allah is the best of deceivers.” Quran 3:54) And let’s not forget the right wing, Nationalist Jesus. He was recently compared to president Trump by Paula White-Cain, senior advisor to the White House Faith Office. This Jesus, not surprisingly, is worshipped by MAGA and appears to resemble a conservative American quite closely.

While the White House calls the president “ a fierce defender of the Christian faith,” “honoring the Biblical values and heritage that built our nations,” Trump is so comfortable with this version of Jesus that he can quote John 3:16 and post “ Open the f___in Strait you crazy b______s or you’ll be living in Hell!” on the same day. It doesn’t seem to bother anyone that praise and profanity are coming out of the same mouth. Cain and Franklin Graham both seem to give him a pass on dropping the f-bomb as well as the other bombs he is dropping. This kind of talk bothered James, the brother of the real Jesus, though: “Out of the same mouth come praising and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” (Js 3:10) In a culture that is more cruise ship than discipleship, this is what happens. Unfortunately, if we don’t let Jesus make us over in His image, we often make Him over in ours.

Call me old fashioned, but I want people to call me on my stuff, and I think Jesus would call people out whether they are presidents or prisoners, popes or prostitutes. Where do I get a crazy idea like that ? The Bible. The Jesus described in its pages did not bend in front of power or privilege or social pressure. He is at once decidedly human and very unlike us. While my American brothers and sisters have trouble drawing the line between faith and politics, we here in Canada have a very clear sense of separation. Our Prime Minister’s Easter message was as short and vague as possible:

This strikes me as more perfunctory than heartfelt, but at least he didn’t follow it with a string of expletives. Meanwhile, south of the border a church in Texas lit up the night sky with a full Easter drone show…

This Six Flags Over Jesus approach to faith is not my thing, but who am I to judge ? The Man Himself suggested that we judge a tree by its fruit (Mt 7:16) so I guess we’ll have to wait and see whether this leads to cultural amusement or biblical amazement. While Marshall McLuhan’s “ the medium is the message” statement needs to be taken into account, the truth is that mediums change. The message is what needs to remain consistent. Faithfulness to the original script is what is important. So in the smorgasbord of saviours we are faced with, it is not our personal preference but the word of God that should get the final say. How I feel or what I think is pretty flimsy when stacked up against the Bible and the recorded witness of those who were with Jesus. He is simply the most studied, written about, and influential figure in human history, and is unrivalled in terms of historical documentation. The Bible paints a picture of Jesus that is incredibly clear and challenging to our fallen human nature. This Jesus is the third person of the trinity, was there at creation, appeared throughout the Old Testament, became flesh and blood, lived a sinless human life, died on a cross for our sins, ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, and is coming again to judge the world. He took sin so seriously that He said: “ If your right eye cause yo to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” (Mt 5:29) Strong words because Jesus knows the cancerous, destructive power of sin let loose. We do not. We tend to consider sin a minor flaw that God will wink at. Mark Twain reportedly said: “ It ain’t those parts of the Bible I don’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.” As a former skeptic who made the mistake of reading the Bible so I could criticize it, I can affirm this statement: It is not so much that the Bible is full of contradictions, but that the Bible contradicts us.

The Jesus we believe in is the one we are going to become like, so it is essential we get this right. We live in polarizing times that would push us left towards Rainbow Jesus or right towards Republican Jesus, but I want the real Jesus and I’m thinking the Bible is the most reliable source we have to get there. The difference between the Bible and the spiritual buffet of our culture is the difference between going to Golden Coral and a five star Michelin restaurant. Sure you get to choose what you want at the buffet, and you’ll be full of something at the end, but you won’t leave satisfied. Better to go to the real deal and trust that the Chef knows more about real food than you do. The Bible has outlasted all of its critics, not because it is extra, but because it is essential. It gives because it has no give. The Jesus described in its pages proclaims the ultimate binary: “ I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” (Jn 14:6) Definitely not pliable, but alway reliable. I guess what I’m try to say is what CS Lewis said so much better in his famous trilemma:

There is obviously much much more I could say about Jesus. In fact, I have. I’ve written a whole book about Him. If you are interested, you can order it at the link below:

https://boldbooks-514998.square.site