Why the "He Gets Us" Campaign Shows We Are Not Getting Jesus

I'm sure you've seen them. The Jesus ads. Okay to be humbly honest, my husband and I went back and forth on this campaign. It's confusing right? When was the last time Jesus was name dropped on a near global scale? Some Christians seem to be cheering. Finally, Jesus is getting some good coverage! Other Christians are pointing out: We aren't reading our Bibles! While that does appear to be more and more statistically true ... I can attest that my husband actually is reading the Bible. And he has shown good discernment. He initially did not see why the ads were problematic and I did not either until we did some thinking and a little digging. All this to say, no one should be feeling bad if you originally thought this campaign was a good idea.  

But allow me to graciously point out it's not a good idea. And here's why. If we are going to portray Jesus of Nazareth we must portray His character fully and accurately. Jesus claimed to be the truth Himself. And it is the little, yet appealing whisper of a lie that can be dangerous and difficult to discern. A la the sad predicament of humanity...Surely God does not want the best for you. Surely you will not die. (See Genesis 3). This seemingly harmless choice to grasp the little lie is what led us away from our loving Creator.

So why is it essential to think rightly about the character of Jesus? Because it impacts our souls. Misconstruing Jesus could in actuality be steering people away from Him. And Jesus sure isn't too keen on that. (See Matthew 15:14) 

I agree it is comforting that He does get us. When I was facing imminent grief in my own life, what was balm to my soul was the shortest verse in the Bible: Jesus wept. This is the account of Jesus' friend Lazarus' death. This bears witness to Jesus mourning. It conveys that this world is deeply broken and not how He intended it to be. It shows that Jesus himself recognizes death as incredibly painful. But we can't stop there. 

 Allow me to stress this: I would find no real comfort if I only read that He wept. Because who doesn't weep when a loved one is gone? It's what Jesus does after weeping that offers real hope. He displays that He is Lord. He brings Lazarus back to life. So we then see a God that is powerful yet heartbroken over humanity. We can grasp a God that just doesn't leave us in our state of sinful separation from Him. He does something about it. 

So we must not approach the character of Jesus with a modern lens. (Despite what the He gets us campaign wants.) CS Lewis called this chronological snobbery. The Bible was not written to a modern, Western audience.  It is written for us but not to us. And I find it frustrating (maybe I shouldn't) that there's all this talk about understanding people from different cultures and ethnicities but we don't set a precedence of that with God incarnate?  

Christian or not, it is imperative to intentionally understand the truth of the Bible that Jesus affirms as God's Word (See John 15:26-27). This means not only reading one verse. It means we recognize where we may have presuppositions and biases. We read it thoroughly and contextually. And we remember that it's the Bible that accurately divides truth from a lie. So we carefully consider what we are possibly highlighting about Jesus...especially if it is not the whole truth. Especially for those of us who are called to be His representatives to a watching world.

What these ads reveal about Jesus: He went all in. He welcomed the poor. He loved the refugee. All true.  All amazing. But what makes this amazing is that He. Is. Lord. There is absolutely no mentioning of the S Word.  Multi-million dollar advertisements but we leave out the truth of Him as the Savior to all of humanity? (Arghh. Hobby Lobby!!)

Going all in, taking care of the refugee and the poor, well I would say those things about LeBron James too. Hashtag not my savior.

We cannot piece apart the identity of Jesus. Because it is crucial for salvation. 

Yes of course, Jesus was often very tender, incredibly wise and caring. But we can't just play up what is popular and easy. Otherwise (like Dr. Frank Turek says), we could be conveying Jesus Christ as a sixties flower child. We tend to also begin to forget that while Jesus does love everyone, He did not agree with all. The Bible makes that evident...He did not approve of everyone's choices.

The ads underline the need for social justice, and while each Christian is called to care deeply for the marginalized, we must be discerning when there is a hyper-focus on humanity making all things right. Jesus' very words relay to us are that we should expect a life full of struggle but it is in knowing Him and trusting in what He has done, that alone is where we can and will find peace.(John 16:33)

The whole Bible points to Jesus so let us recognize His character as revealed by Himself, in the very Word of God. What Jesus does point out...

 He says it is more important to worship Him than to care for the poor. (John 12:8)

Jesus says it is better to drown than to lead kids away from Him. (Matthew 18:6) 

It is only through His power that we live a fruitful life for Him. (John 15)

He will drink wine with us in Heaven. ( Matthew 26:29)

He loves those who don't choose to follow Him. (Mark 10:21)

He asked God to forgive men who jeered at Him on the cross. (Luke 23:34)

He is with us always. (Matthew 28)

He calls us to teach others his teachings.(Matthew 28)

He goes for the one. (Luke 15)

He welcomes and loves the lowly and the outcast. (Matthew 8)

There's more to say but notice that a lot of His words are not simple niceties.

And again, it bears repeating: He is the one and only God atoning for the wrongdoing of all of humanity. In Him alone we find peace. Jesus is one who can justify us to a right standing with a Holy God.  And we can certainly take true comfort from knowing that one day, He will do justice and make all wrongs right.  He does get us. But do we get Him? Possibly never fully - for we are finite. But we can absolutely get that God is a God that loves His people and wants to be among them.  And that is something we must must must be highlighting. Jesus is not just an example for us to follow, He is the manifestation of a God who loves people who have wronged Him.

It's the most beautiful, true story ever revealed and these ads are just not doing Jesus justice.

I  don't know guys, I just feel like it's a good idea to make it a personal policy to go with the man who was also fully God and demonstrated this by raising from the dead. Without Jesus, I am truly unworthy of anything and everything. One day, every knee will bow and tongue confess that He is Lord.  May He become greater and I become less.