Yesterday I began what is admittedly a rant about this meme I saw on Facebook. I dealt with the first half of the meme in yesterday’s post and I will continue my point by point assessment below.
Silent in the face of oppression vs. liberates the oppressed
Okay first of all He was silent in the face of oppression. On the other hand, liberates the oppressed. One could argue the reason Jesus was on the cross from an earthly perspective was because He did not free the Israelites from the Romans. On the other hand if we’re oppressed by sin then of course He liberated them.
Condemns sinners versus critiques religious people
This one is interesting. When a woman caught in sin was brought to Jesus He said “Neither do I condemn you…” however, He followed that immediately with “Go and sin no more.” While He did not condemn sinners, we must realize that He did condemn sin, and in fact He laid down His life to save us from it. Surely He does not want us to continue in the behavior from which He died to save us. Did He critique religious people? Of course, mainly the Ones who persecuted Him for doing precisely what He came to do.
Silent in the face of oppression vs. liberates the oppressed
Okay first of all He was silent in the face of oppression. On the other hand, liberates the oppressed. One could argue the reason Jesus was on the cross from an earthly perspective was because He did not free the Israelites from the Romans. On the other hand if we’re oppressed by sin then of course He liberated them.
Condemns sinners versus critiques religious people
This one is interesting. When a woman caught in sin was brought to Jesus He said “Neither do I condemn you…” however, He followed that immediately with “Go and sin no more.” While He did not condemn sinners, we must realize that He did condemn sin, and in fact He laid down His life to save us from it. Surely He does not want us to continue in the behavior from which He died to save us. Did He critique religious people? Of course, mainly the Ones who persecuted Him for doing precisely what He came to do.
Endorses church and state versus subverts empire
Once again, the church did not exist and subverting the empire was the charge brought against Him by His enemies to get the Romans onboard with killing Him. As He was standing trial before Pontus Pilate and was asked if he was a King, Jesus said, “36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” His Kingdom is a Spiritual Kingdom and was not subverting Rome at all.
A King versus a homeless man and child refugee
He was both. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s His name Christ, literally means “The Lord’s anointed.” Why on earth would people feel the need to try to belittle the fact that He was and is a King. One day every knew will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christy is Lord. Why would anyone be surprised that the Lord would relate to people in humble circumstances.
Upholds traditional family unit verse had half siblings.
Oh my word, could this be any more disingenuous. Does He uphold the traditional family unit? Well let’s see the Bible tells us that Christian marriage between a husband and a wife as a type for His relationship with the Church, so I would say yes he upholds the traditional family unit, and had half siblings? Yes, He had half siblings, He was the Son of God, raised by his mother, Mary and his earthly father Joseph. After the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph like many married couples had other children.
Endorses Holy war versus Non-violent
Jesus was non-violent. He advocated turning the other cheek and going the extra mile. Yet He also turned the tables of the money changers who were ripping off the people in the temple. He was the Prince of Peace who said there would be wars and rumors of wars and then the end will come.
To be clear, I disagree with almost everything from the first column and most of the second column. The first column seems to want to vilify a lot of people by mischaracterizing their beliefs, while the second column fails to take His divinity into account. The thing is Jesus is God and as such, He is a very complex, three dimensional (at least) individual. The best way to get to know Jesus is to look past these types of things, and go right to the source. What does the Bible say about Him? He is Lord. He is eternal. He loves us so much that He laid down His life to pay the price for our sins, so that we could trust in Him, be forgiven and set free, living meaningful lives for His purposes in this world and entering heaven when this life is through. He is the Creator of all things, the lover of your soul. He is the savior of mankind and He is the risen Lord. Have Christians failed to represent Him well? At times, yes. Let’s make it personal, Have I failed to represent Him well? Yes, and yet, my prayer is that I grow more and more in Him each day and that I will repent when I fail and do better at representing Him.
My heart broke as I read this meme. That’s why I didn’t ignore it. The truth is, these memes accomplish only one purpose. They turn people against each other and against the Church, while misrepresenting the Lord. He is who we all need. Please check Jesus out for yourself. Even the best of Christians will fail you sooner of later, but Jesus never will.
AMOKArts 