The Question
By Jack Wyman
It may have been at the end of a busy day.
People were coming from every direction.
Questions. Rumors. Charges. Confusion. Devotion and hate. Allegiance and plots. Criticism and fault-finding, mingled with loyalty and following. Awe and wonder, along with jealousy and cynicism.
He was divisive. Not because he tried to be—God knows he was kind, humble, and gentle—but because of what he said, where he went, who he saw, and what he did. Most of all, because of who he said he was—and because what he claimed about himself—amazing and mysterious—was true.
Those closest to him—his disciples—were often as confused and downright afraid as the curious crowds he drew. Who is this man? What is this man? He heals the sick, commands the weather, walks on water, and defies the established order of culture and religion. He raised one of his best friends from the dead and spoke in divine riddles and stories.
Yet he taught with such power and clarity—with authority tempered with a captivating winsomeness—that listeners were riveted.
There was no one like Jesus on earth. Not before he came or after he left. Astonishment and controversy followed him everywhere. He seemed almost cavalierly indifferent to position, politics, and popularity. When the people tried to make him a king, he made himself scarce.
He never joined the Zealots in their radical violence, yet he himself was the most radical of all. He changed the world, but first he transformed the individual heart and renewed the mind.
He had a purity of soul that mesmerized an audience yet rendered him incapable of ever being calculating or disingenuous. In spite of a transparency that to some bordered on naivete, Jesus was always quick to cleverly, yet simply, spring every trap of his enemies before he ever stepped in it (“Let him who is without sin cast the first stone”).
Jesus was unlike any other.
At the end of that busy day, gathered with his disciples around a flickering fire, as the winds gently caressed the hillside near Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked them a question:
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13).
It seems everyone had an opinion. Some said he was John the Baptist returned from the grave. Some were convinced he was the prophet Elijah. Others said Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets. Public sentiment ran the gamut. There was no agreement. No consensus.
There was just division.
If only Jesus had crafted a marketing campaign. If only he had found a way to harness public opinion in his favor. He could have united the Zealots and the Pharisees. He could have led a popular political movement to overthrow the cruel, capricious, and bloody Roman government and set up his own rule.
Instead, Jesus did and said increasingly unpopular things. The tide of public opinion turned against him. For all the adoring crowds at the beginning, even his own disciples, at the end, abandoned him in fear for their lives. Jesus died alone in ignominy, crucified on a cross between two criminals.
It turns out Jesus Christ would have been a hard sell. He still is.
What was true then is certainly true today. Is Jesus any less an offence and stumbling block, and a figure of controversy, now than when the religious and political establishments plotted his murder?
The $100 million advertising campaign—He Gets Us—culminating in two black and white television ads shown during the Super Bowl is well-intended but poorly understood. It’s designed to promote Jesus. Despite optimistic demographics and projections, it’s not likely to have been worth the $20 million wealthy Christians paid to run the ads during the most expensive television buy on earth.
The 30-second spot was over before a viewer could dip a tortilla chip in the salsa. The second commercial was longer but confusing. It seemed to portray Jesus as a street thug. Images of unfriendly-looking youth running the streets will do little to bring anyone to a better understanding of Jesus.
Sandwiched between light-hearted, full-color, well-done, and genuinely clever ads for a variety of products, the impact for Jesus may be slight. On the other hand, $20 million—or $100 million—could sure make a big difference in the lives of “the least of these.”
One may believe and pray for a significant and hopeful response to this ad campaign—and to the expensive commercials. Christians want all people to come to faith in Christ by the matchless grace of God, however he chooses to do it.
Marketing Christianity has always been controversial and much of it has been marginal in the end. When the Pharisees asked Jesus when God’s kingdom would come to earth, he told them:
“The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ (Luke 17:20).
No post-modern secular razzmatazz.
God’s kingdom would not be the result of a slick marketing campaign. It would not come in visual and dramatic splendor, spectacle, or splash. There would be no massive tectonic paradigm shifts in culture or politics. No charismatic figure to lead the revolution for societal change.
While entertainment has its proper place in life, Jesus warned against its anticipation in spiritual matters.
Don’t place your faith in expensive marketing techniques, Jesus said, or in billboards, ads, or clever slogans. They have no power to change hearts. We must be careful not to hand the devil a blank check when we seek to market the Savior.
“For behold,” Jesus said, “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21).
Forget public opinion. “Who do you say that I am?”
The disciples became suddenly quiet and pensive. Peter spoke for them all:
“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16).
Yes, He Gets Us. He made us. He loves us. He died for us. He’s coming back for us.
Here’s the question:
Do We Get Him?
To order Jack Wyman’s book, “Everything Else: Stories of Life, Faith and Our World”, go to amazon.com, Christian Book Distributors or barnesandnoble.com. It is also available on Kindle and eBooks.
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