Afterwards: The Fourth Jesus

Afterwards:

The Fourth Jesus

When it comes to Jesus we tend to be very selective about the Jesus that we want.  We want a safe and domesticated Jesus.  We wanted Jesus we can have on our terms and that will allow us to call the shots.  What we do is to select certain bits of the Jesus of the Bible and we make a Jesus of our own design that we know we will like.  There are a lot of Jesus models that people have made over the years.  But we tend to avoid the fourth Jesus.  Three of the most popular Jesus models (and there are many) are presented here along with the fourth Jesus.

The first Jesus, and this one is especially popular once a year, is baby Jesus. In the terrible movie “Talladega Nights” the main character is offering a prayer before meal and is praying to baby Jesus. When challenged about praying to baby Jesus he says, "I like the Christmas Jesus best and I'm saying grace." He goes on to glow about the sweet little baby Jesus with his golden hair and little smile and all the nice ambiance there in the little manger scene.  What is there not to like about with Christmas Jesus? We may not pray to baby Jesus but everybody loves the scene.   We have colored the panorama with pastels and soft lights; the background is baby blue and the air around Jesus glows golden.   We romanticize it and have the nostalgic myths of baby Jesus based on the legend we create and love.  “The little Lord Jesus no Crying he makes.”  It may have nothing to do with the truth but everyone loves the Jesus baby.

The second Jesus, also a very popular model, is Jesus the teacher. Everyone likes this cool, hippie, guru Jesus. He seems to be on a perpetual camping trip, hanging out with his disciples or should I say his posse. He wears sandals, has long hair and a cool robe, which is probably made of only organic fibers.  Speaking of organic that is all they eat, organic barley and organic fish, gluten free most likely.  As they travel around Jesus is dropping heavy and profound bits of advice for them.  They walk here and there and they have really cool encounters.  Sometimes it is like group counseling and sometimes it is like Woodstock with big crowds but no music.  They are gathering a company of cool misfits, ex-hookers, blue-collar workers, bureaucrats, and some people who ditched their middle class bourgeoisie home life to wander about with cool hippie Jesus.  They are cultural rebels and always have a cool time.   To enjoy this second Jesus it is important not to pay too close attention to what He actually teaches.  It is better to focus on the image we create and not on what actually happened.  This second Jesus could be just what you are looking for as long as you ignore or distort what He says about discipleship, the cross, and dying to self.  Who wouldn't want to go on a cool guy camping trip with hippie Jesus the really good, moral teacher?

The third Jesus is sad and beat up Jesus. This is Jesus on the cross. This is not a pretty picture so we didn't want to get too close. He's so pathetic and hurting that we feel sorry for him.  He is the victim of cosmic circumstances.  This Jesus is best left on jewelry as a crucifix where he can be sort of a good luck charm. This Jesus is not one we want to be with but the third Jesus can be a very useful Jesus when we want to have a Jesus to apply to our political agenda.  If you are liberal you can use the third Jesus as an expression of the need for social justice.  He can be your poster child for liberation theology.  If you are a conservative you can also use this Jesus as a warning of the evil and dangers of big government.  The third Jesus, Jesus the victim on the cross, can be a useful martyr for either the left or the right.  But if you are not politically inclined the third Jesus can be good for a sentimental, sensational, melancholy moment.  You can have a gut straining of emotion that allows you to feel like you have had a religious experience.  Then you, having gotten that out of the way, get back to doing what you want to do with your life.    We don't want to get too close to third Jesus, but as long as we keep Him in His place He can be pretty useful.

The fourth Jesus is the one that we do not like. He is not a baby we can cuddle and then place in a crib. He's not a cool friend with whom we might go camping. He's not a sad, pitiable, helpless victim on a cross. This Jesus is the Warrior King and Judge. He is the One who defeats all opposition and enemies, the One who will demand from us an accounting of the days we have lived. You will neither leave him in a manger, decline or accept at your discretion his invitation to hang out nor will you look the other way when the crucifixion gets too bothersome. This judge stands opposite of us and we will face Him.  Gone forever is any false sense of superiority.  We will not patronize Him, pigeon hole Him or turn Him into a good luck charm or talisman.  He comes to destroy evil and to vindicate His oppressed people.  He is the hero of the eternal story and when He comes as the warrior King and Judge the story is at it end.  There is but one question when He comes, a simple “yes” or “no” answer is all we can give.  Are we those who have died to self and taken up our cross, who have followed Him as His disciples, who have recognized that He is God in flesh and have lived with Him incarnate in us by faith?  When He comes He will reject all patronization and all boxes into which we wish to squeeze Him will be revealed as nothing.

There are not four Jesus’ there is only one.  But in the fourth Jesus we see that our parodies, which we built in the first three, are only our attempts to avoid our complete surrender to Him. 

Epilogue: Why are our churches ineffective at reaching the lost?

Epilogue:

Why are our churches ineffective at reaching the lost?

Could it be that we are not growing because we have such poor eschatology?  I am not suggesting that we should begin to schedule prophecy conferences.  I am not a big fan of prophecy conferences, some of which are little more than commercials to sell books that sensationalize current affairs and take Scripture out of context.  Our poor eschatology is of a more profound nature than the simple folly of setting dates for the second coming.  It tends to be selfishly focused.  It is about how you can have some sort of advantage in the last days, inside knowledge, first in line in the Rapture, or stock pile food for the Tribulation all depending on your convictions or audience. 

In the movie Twelve Strong the Afghani General Dostrium (Dostum) is quoted as saying to the American Army officer:

“Your anger comes from your fear.  Because you live in a place where life looks better than the after life.  That is not this place…. You will fail because you fear death.  Taliban welcome it.” 

In the west, and in the American church in particular, our lives are so good we can’t fathom any radical improvement to life.  We would all agree that our lives need some minor adjustments.  A small alteration here, a little modification there would make things a little better, but by and large, life is pretty good.  We have luxury unmatched in human history, medical care that is accessible and effective, we have entertainments and distractions and wealth and pleasure.  We have begun to think of heaven as an improvement on all that we have.  We joke that Heaven is where ice cream will not make us fat.  It is a joke but it reflects a deeper and more fundamental understanding, or misunderstanding, of the afterlife.  We have begun to see Heaven as better rather than different.  Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the authors of scripture were stretched to find symbols and metaphors for Heaven.  These symbols and metaphors were highly cultural and contextual so without that culture and context it is easy for us to lack understanding of Heaven.

We all want a little improvement in our lives, but we are incapable of imagining the fundamental changes that heaven will bring. So the church has made the mistake of preaching a gospel of improved life and self help rather that quantum change.  “How to” sermons have replaced the “Kingdom of God is at hand” as our theme.  Our appeal is having a better marriage, family, financial standing, community, physical condition and the list can be endless. 

Our failure in eschatology is the same failure we face in our worship, evangelism, community service, prayers, again the list could be endless.  So, how do we preach good eschatology (and everything else)?  By focusing on Christ.  In my role I have the privilege and sometimes the distress of worshiping with a great many different churches.  The pattern I see too often is that church and all of our theologies have begun to orbit around us.  From the description of the incarnation as, “It is like God became a dude and hung out with us,” to, “What God wants is for you to receive what you want.” Jesus is presented as someone whose role is to solve our problems, answer our requests and make life here and now better for us.   We have mistaken God’s love for us with a narcissistic expectation that God will spoil us. 

As long as Jesus is presented as a means to an end we cannot expect God’s blessings on our ministry, His power at work in our lives or His Spirit calling fallen humanity to repentance.  In terms of therapy, Jesus may not be the best option.  In terms of feeling good about myself, Jesus is not the first choice.  In terms of better, economic performance, family relationships, sex, political power and social stability Jesus is likely never going to be the top ranked option.  As long as these among others are our teaching and preaching themes we can expect the church to grow more and more inconsequential.

When we turn the conversation to the greatness and glory of the second person of the Trinity and the Biblical and apostolic preaching of the cross we will see people drawn to Christ, not the temporary trinkets they think they want.  When we want Jesus so much we do not care if anyone else wants Him, then we will be compelled to tell the world what a great Savior He is.  Then if He wills, our churches may grow!