In a great Blog entry from 2009, Kevin DeYoung demonstrates our tendency to remake Jesus in our own image with a list of the different kinds of Jesus’ you can run into. Here’s a sampling of them:
- · There's the Republican Jesus—who is against tax increases and activist judges, for family values and owning firearms.
- · There's Democrat Jesus—who is against Wall Street and Wal-Mart, for reducing our carbon footprint and printing money.
- · There's Starbucks Jesus—who drinks fair trade coffee, loves spiritual conversations, drives a hybrid, and goes to film festivals.
- · There's Open-minded Jesus—who loves everyone all the time no matter what (except for people who are not as open-minded as you).
- · There's Touchdown Jesus—who helps athletes fun faster and jump higher than non-Christians and determines the outcomes of Super Bowls.
- · There's Hippie Jesus—who teaches everyone to give peace a chance, imagines a world without religion, and helps us remember that "all you need is love."
- · There's Yuppie Jesus—who encourages us to reach our full potential, reach for the stars, and buy a boat.
- · There's Platitude Jesus—good for Christmas specials, greeting cards, and bad sermons, inspiring people to believe in themselves.
- · There's Boyfriend Jesus—who wraps his arms around us as we sing about his intoxicating love.
I’m certainly guilty of editing out the parts of Jesus that make me uncomfortable and overemphasizing those characteristics that reinforce my view of the world. This Sunday, we’re going to see that people even did this to Jesus while he was still alive. They wanted a Jesus who would save them from the Romans and take the crown of Herod for himself, by any means necessary.
The cross of Christ, is an emphatic response to them and to us.