We have all sung the chorus, “Jesus is the answer for the world today…yadayadayada.” We have dawned the WWJD slogan by way of T-shirt, ball-cap, or bracelet. Most of us have used Jesus as a nifty slogan, a somewhat easy answer that solves all of life’s ills. That sad truth is this…we have reduced Jesus to a slogan when He really is the solution to culture. He is the solution to all the ills, injustice, pain, and perversion in society. The problem is not that Jesus is the answer…the problem is that the answer did not come cheap.
We are heading into Easter full steam, so we need to really think about some things. First, lets talk about the incarnation. I mentioned Sunday that this was a huge downgrade for Jesus to become man. I have to be admittadly careful here because God does everything for the maximization of his own glory, so Jesus was not forced into a bad situation. Scripture makes us clear that Jesus became man and went to the cross for, “the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). But, Paul makes it clear in Phillipians that this was a matter of humility. So the very idea of the incarnation is not a cheap, sloganish idea. I don’t think I can even come up with a incarnational type slogan. Jesus became man for us. Let us not forget that this is a huge part of his atoneing work for us…that, “the word became flesh and dwelt among us…AND WE SAW HIS GLORY”(John 1:14). WOW! God allowed man to see His glory in one like us…folks that is what love is. Love is not some syruppy infatuation with the human race. God’s love is not some risk takers adventure when a divine being decides to have “faith” in his creation. God’s love is that he became one of us, while retaining all of who He already was. If we really process this our brains will explode! God loves us this much. SO – the incarnation was not cheap. It was an amazing grace in action.
Think about this…Jesus obviously laid aside his rights as God. He demonstrated his divine attributes on more than one occasion, but get this – he never used his devine attributes to bail himself out of his humanity. What do I mean by this? When he was tempted by Satan he was asked to deny his humanity each time to bail himself out of the temptation. Satan said, “your hungry, turn the stone to bread.” Have you ever wondered what is the problem with Jesus doing that? It would have been using his divine nature to bail himself out of being 100% human. Human beings cannot turn rocks in a chicago style pizza, it just doesn’t work that way. Every time Jesus used his divne attribute it was to point to His message, His authority, the reality of why he came in the first place. This is cool stuff – it was not cheap for Jesus to lay aside his rights as God.
Now lets turn to the cross. Believe me, the disciples would really be amazed that we wear crosses around our necks as jewelry. The cross in the first century was not a pretty thing. It was a gruesome sight. I imagine that those who witnessed crucifixions had nightmares. It was not an easy image to get out of one’s head. We have turned so many things into mear symbols and we can lose the reality of what really happened. Now, the nails, the crown of thorns, the scourging, this is important because of the humanity of Christ and the nature of the atonement. “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin” (Hebrews 9:22). Christ was the final and perfect sacrifice for our sin….he did what Adam could not do and accomplished the exact opposite. Adam managed to plunge the world into a sinful state, while Jesus offers himself as a new representative head for all those who are born-again (Romans 5, John 3). So the physical, blood, sacrifice is important because Christ’s blood is what satisfied the demands of the Father. But, the spiritual aspect of this is what is really terrifying. God poured out his wrath on Jesus. Jesus paid the complete penalty for our sin in our place. Scripture states that he, “bore our sins in his body on the cross…” (I Peter 2:24). 2 Cor. 5:21 says that. “He who knew no sin became sin on OUR behalf.” “The Lord was pleased to crush him” (Isaiah 53:10)
Is the phrase Jesus is the Solution to Culture a cheap phrase? Absolutely Not!
March 29, 2007 at 9:05 pm
This post is something that is so convicting!
This past week, I’ve been working with Matt on his Cubbies verse, “The Lord is Risen!” He knew that the Lord was Jesus, but that term is more a “comfort” term that is recited at prayer time and at Sunday School, but he doesn’t realize truly what sin is and what that redemption means. He doesn’t understand what the punishment for sin should be. And that’s why who Jesus is is so much more than someone in the Bible or who we understand Him to be as a child.
Tom and I talked about it and decided to show him the end of the cruxifiction scene in the Passion, so that it wasn’t just a verse that he was memorizing.
When visibly “seeing” what Christ went through for us (and I’m sure what Christ went through was so much more gruesome and intense than anything that Hollywood could ever portray) is disturbing. It’s scary. It’s heartwrenching, but how many times do we exchange the truth for a lie? Way too often. But how much more powerful is seeing that Jesus and His purpose on earth was something that death could not grip and that death was something that He overcame triumphantly!
Teaching children is so often a great way to really “re”understand something – - because it’s so much different of a learning experience to try to TEACH something than to just “know” something about God and His character – and makes it a little more personal and a completely different understanding when you hear that God sent His ONE AND ONLY SON for us.
April 4, 2007 at 8:10 pm
When I read this I really wanted to respond, especially concerning how we have iconified (if that’s a word) Jesus. You make a great point how we wear, say, and market Jesus and the “icons” we identify with him. In this generation where “branding” and “slogans” and “trends” are used to sell products to people, I believe Christians have become numb to the symbols, motto and junk that is produced and slapped with Jesus name on it or a scripture reference that has no tie back to the product.
I recently read an article in Relevant magazine where seven key leaders in “big” churches were asked where the church is heading. One of the questions was what do you see as the greatest challenge for young Christians in the next 10 years? One pastor (whom I will leave nameless) responded that today’s young Christians are becoming more cultural than Christian. But he goes on to say that people view Jesus as a “limp-wrist hippie in a dress with a lot of product in His hair, who drank decaf and made pithy Zen statements.” And followed by saying, “In Revelation, Jesus is a pride fighter with a tattoo down His leg, a sword in His hand and the commitment to make someone bleed. That is a guy I can worship.” Jesus can not be identified by a culture phase like today. We have to identify Him for who he is – God incarnate.
I also read a blog about “Intra Christian Branding.” A great blog about how people view Christianity denominations as different brands and how the “product” that the church sells is God. But in most the product being sold is “epiphany.” He closes by saying “the bottom line is this. Christianity is not about branding, marketing, or packaging. We can produce a lot of “success” with those tools, but can we produce the product? I don’t think so. We don’t need new brands; we just need to remember the product. We just need to call on God.”
It seems Christians struggle with the fact who Jesus really is – perfect, holy and a sacrifice. You are right on target how we cheapen Jesus, His name, His identity, His sinless ness and His sacrifice for us. We need to continue to speak the truth of His love and grace.