Mascot Jesus

People like to mold Jesus to fit their needs, their morality, their opinions, their goals, et cetera.  You are probably familiar with some of these different types of “Jesus” from which to choose:

• There is the Reclaim America Jesus on the right and the Liberation Jesus on the left.  And the Politically Correct Jesus hanging in mid-air.
• There is the Revivalistic Experience Jesus who makes you feel good now; and later if you need Him to.  And the Therapeutic Jesus who will heal you and make you feel good some day in the future.
• There is the Spiritual Example Jesus for the morally-minded and the Tolerant Jesus for the immorally-inclined.  And the Historically Bound Jesus for those who just don’t want Him to mess with their lives.
• There is the Spirit-of-Jesus Jesus for the extra spiritual and the Quotable Jesus for the spiritually quaint.  And the Managerial Jesus who gives us tips to run His Church like our business.

There are many more, of course, as the list goes on and on; it never seems to end.  Jesus makes a good mascot for the team to bring in God’s blessings.  Jesus gets co-opted for many a cause, appointed without His consent.

Often we are too quick to offer our opinion on what Jesus would say or do, because we want Him to say and do the things we would like said and done.  But Jesus Christ is the Lord, the one who wields authority over us, and is not submissive to us.  This is the Jesus we are confronted with in the Scriptures, the real Jesus, the one we must listen to and obey.  

During Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem before His crucifixion He was teaching the people daily, making His final Gospel appeal to them.  The religious leaders and many others were raising all sorts of controversies to shut Him down and eventually shut Him up.

Luke 19:47–48 ESV “And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.” 

Luke describes that “all the people were hanging upon His words.”  They were spellbound because this was the powerful teaching of God they were hearing, from the Son of God Himself!

Most of these people were still clueless and misguided, but interested nonetheless.  It is still the same today.  People sense the divine power of Jesus’ teaching, along with its truth, and its authority.  He is God’s teacher for all the world.  He would captivate millions around the world in the history to come! 

How often it is the case that people hang upon Jesus’ teachings and those of His Apostles, while others try to dissuade and distract with controversies.  Don’t let others move you away from Jesus’ teaching and its clarity and power, if you are being drawn to Him.  And don’t let it happen to others, either.

Be aware of this so you can be active in countering with Scripture and can help those interested in the truth.  Read the New Testament carefully so you can present the Real Jesus to counteract all the distracting things people will keep on making up about Jesus.  Simply re-speak and promote the powerful words of Jesus and let them hang on His words.