Dear Protesters,
Jesus Is Not Your Mascot.
From bashing celebrities who speak about Christ, to bursting through church doors to scream in the faces of followers, the name of Jesus has been a hot topic in the headlines lately.
While it is true that Jesus is for everyone (Galatians 3:28), it is very clear to me that most people using His name in the media are not for Him. They are using the name of the Son of Man for their own agendas. There is a strange belief today that Jesus is merely a concept that everyone gets to interpret for their own life and ideology.
But He is not a concept.
He was a real man who lived, died, and rose again.
When Don Lemon and a merry band of protesters went into Cities Church in St. Paul, they allegedly (and I say allegedly because of the criminal proceedings underway, even though it is on video) shouted at children that their parents are going to hell (Mark 10:14–16; Matthew 18:6). They allegedly broke a woman’s arm as they formed a wall blocking her from getting upstairs to where the children’s services are held. They allegedly got in the faces of people sitting in a house of worship and called them hypocrites for not standing for their “Somali brothers and sisters.”
I’ll start where I agree.
The Somali Muslim community are our brothers and sisters in the same sense that many of us have family members who deny Christ. We are called to love them (Matthew 5:44; 22:39). We as believers are called to be the body of Christ and to show Jesus to those in our communities who do not know Him.
How to do that can be confusing, especially to secular Christians like Don Lemon.
Lemon chose to harass Pastor David Easterwood, claiming that he himself is a Christian and insinuating that Jesus would support the protesters in the church.
The people screaming at children and hurting women.
“BUT JESUS FLIPPED TABLES!” (Matthew 21:12–13)
I do not believe drinking Starbucks and receiving the Word of the Lord, while choosing to pray for your community instead of agitating federal law enforcement, is equivalent to the desecration of the Father’s house that enraged Jesus in Jerusalem.
And how do Lemon and the protesters know how this congregation chooses to spend their Monday through Saturday?
It is hard to love a world that hates you (John 15:18–19). A Christian living for the Lord knows this.
And we as Christians need the Sabbath, a day to rest, a day to be with God, and a day to recharge (Mark 2:27).
Gathering in a house of worship and praying for your community when it is divided and distressed is not complacency.
“YOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS DO NOT SOLVE ANYTHING!”
I reply: open your Bible before you speak to me about prayer (Matthew 7:7–8; 18:19–20; Mark 11:24; Luke 18:1; John 14:13–14).
Nothing infuriates me more than people speaking confidently about things they are ignorant of, especially when it comes to God, the answer to life’s most important questions.
People repeat emotional rhetoric that has been spoon-fed to them instead of speaking from any knowledge gained through personal experience with Scripture.
On February 1st, the 68th Annual Grammy Awards took place.
In the days following, Jesus was again in the headlines.
Christian artist Jelly Roll had the audacity to use his platform to proclaim his love for Jesus instead of condemning ICE like his fellow award winner Billie Eilish.
“Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,” I read one critic say.
“How can he talk about Jesus and not say anything about what’s going on?”
“Jesus was pro-immigrant.”
“Rednecks see Jesus as their Klan leader.”
The irony.
Claiming that the people who disagree with your version of a law-breaking, sin-loving, social-justice-warrior Jesus are manipulating Scripture, while doing exactly that yourself.
The fact that Jesus is being dragged into this, and His disciples’ integrity is being attacked in the media, is not surprising. It is just another relentless and aggressive attack on the Christian faith, meant to paint it as something it is not, in order to stop seekers from truly following the Lord (Revelation 2:9).
“Jesus was pro-immigrant.”
“Jesus was a socialist.”
“Jesus would be a Democrat.”
“Jesus would be a Republican.”
These are some of the tamer claims I have seen recently. I want to explore them all.
Not through the headlines, but through Scripture.
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Immigration
We start at the story of Jesus’ birth.
Mary and Joseph traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Emperor Augustus called for a census to be taken throughout the Roman Empire. Joseph, a descendant of King David, had to leave the region of Galilee and return to the region of Judea, to his ancestral hometown, and bring his family with him (Luke 2:1–5).
His family followed the law.
Immigration is not immoral.
Breaking the law is.
“JESUS WAS AN IMMIGRANT!”
Jesus was a refugee (Matthew 2:13–15).
Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt until King Herod’s death. Herod wanted the child Jesus killed. They fled legitimate danger. And did so without breaking laws.
Egypt at the time was a Roman province. They moved within Roman-controlled territory. They did not cross between sovereign nation-states or hostile foreign powers in any modern sense.
Jesus’ life never demonstrates lawbreaking, open-border ideology, or political activism, especially regarding immigration.
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Economics
Jesus was neither capitalist nor socialist.
Jesus openly spoke about the dangers of greed (Luke 12:15). He warned against storing up earthly riches and chasing possessions (Matthew 6:19–21). He condemned exploiting others for financial gain (James 5:1–4).
While capitalism itself does not automatically equal greed, any system run by sinful humans will eventually be corrupted. This includes free-market systems without moral restraint.
In that sense, Jesus’ teachings do stand in opposition to modern materialistic culture (Matthew 6:24).
“SEE, JESUS PROMOTED SOCIALISM!”
No.
Jesus promoted people caring for people while also taking responsibility for their own lives. That is exactly what His followers did (Acts 2:44–45).
Socialism is government providing for citizens. Christianity is neighbors providing for neighbors. Jesus never calls for government control over daily life. The apostle Paul wrote that everyone should do their own share (2 Thessalonians 3:10). As long as you are of able body and mind. No one is told to wait for others to do for you what you could do for yourself.
Jesus calls us to love one another, and we must answer that call by helping the homeless and the hungry (Matthew 25:35).
Where we often fail as Christians is trying to feed a starving man a Bible instead of feeding him food. We need to start showing Jesus through our compassion and action, not words alone (James 2:15–16).
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Politics
It is obvious to Jesus’ followers He was neither Democrat nor Republican. That’s not just because those political parties didn’t exist, but because of the things He said.
Jesus had no interest in politics or sitting on an earthly throne. He teaches allegiance to God above all. Paul, writing to the church, instructs believers to respect earthly authorities (Romans 13:1). Stating that they sit where they do only by God’s will.
Who is in power should mean nothing to us, because it means nothing compared to the Father (Matthew 20:16; Luke 13:30).
While we could go down the aisle on the issues separating both American Political parties. I want to focus on one claim I see being repeated. And I’ll leave out my opinion that wishes for a true Christian society.
It’s a claim that is contradictory on many levels. People want separation of church and state. Then they want God out of politics, then they say why aren’t the Christians doing anything when it comes to their political preferences.
The claim that Jesus WAS political, and so much so that it was what led to the Romans killing Him. This is one of the most frustrating misconceptions of all, due to it involving Christ’s sacrifice, the most important event of the universe next to creation itself.
I want to paint a logical picture of why the “establishment” of the time, the Roman Empire, did not and would not want Jesus killed.
First, because he was NOT a political figure.
And second, He broke no laws.
Jesus was not arrested by the Romans. He was arrested by the Jews that rejected Him (John 18:31). The same ones today that never joined the church and decided to follow Satan instead.
The Jews handed him over asking them to kill Him, because only the Romans could authorize someone be put to death.
The Romans would fear destabilization among their Jewish subjects, which Jesus did bring. But the Romans were smart.
They followed Jesus.
They spoke with Jesus (John 18:36).
They saw no threat to their earthly empire.
The Romans saw that what Jesus was doing weakened the leaders of the Jewish Temple, the people who were waiting for a Messiah to lead them to overthrow Rome.
So if you were Rome, would you be more afraid of rebellion, or destabilization that weakened those who sought to rebel against you?
Obviously, the former.
But ultimately Jesus was crucified, and not without great effort from Romans trying to avoid it. Afterwards, those same people who crucified Him and denied Him attempted to overthrow Rome on their own anyway.
Now I plead with you to learn the rest of this for yourself. Go read the Gospel of John.
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So to the protesters, the media, the social activists, and everyone else using Jesus’ name:
He is not your mascot.
But He is your Savior.
I suggest you start getting to know the man you’ve been speaking so much about.
Great Peace Books 