The Jesus of the Bible

Acquaint thyself with God.” – AW Tozer There is no difference between an idol of gold and an idol of religion; they are both dumb and of no good. Aaron had his idol of gold installed at the foot of Mount Sanai, but Saul had placed an idol in His heart in the place the living God. This idol finally showed up at Gilgal when he ignored the will of God and performed a sacrifice that he was not permitted to. This is the idol of religion: it performs duties to God, but cares little for His word or His will. The idol of the Christian religion is one of the more stealthy of idols; it is worshiped dutifully and weekly in the name of God across the world. It looks and feels real enough that those who pay their obeisance have no clue they may as well be bowing before a rock. However, no matter how personally convicted we feel, and how much our current faith works for us, if the centerpiece of our relationship with God is not a life of obedience, we are still dead in our sins.

Jesus once said to Peter, “Who do you say that I am?” It is important to know the Lord as He presents Himself, not as we would have Him be. As preachers we project the Lord in different ways to the people. At different times we project Him as Lord, savior, healer, friend or judge. The Lord is often presented as a mild mannered teacher, but He was also passionate and fierce in His defense of His Kingdom. The Lord was angry at the abuses that He observed in the house of prayer in Jerusalem (Matthew 21:12), and frequently frustrated at the silly inquests of smirking Sadducees and Pharisees (Matthew 23:23). He was a rabbi with a whip and a bullhorn when the circumstances called for it. We risk projecting our Lord as an idol to if we do not take care to present Him in His fulness. It cannot be, that in the face of the spiritual decline today, the only thing that gets us mad in Church is the size of the tithes and offerings. Peter, the disciple of Jesus also, once upon a time, tried to redefine Jesus in his own image. As the Lord began to share some of the things that He was to suffer in the hands of His enemies, Peter would have none of it! His view of religion was a life without hardship. His view of a messiah did not include one that would die on a cross. Peter had the same view that some of us carry about today. For this view, Peter was called “Satan” by his Lord. When you go to a Christian body and there is more focus on what God can do for you, than what you can do for God because of all He has done for you in the person of Jesus Christ, that body is projecting the view of Satan. The Christian faith prospered when the Church was populated by Saints who were in Christ for the love of the Master, rather than the love of self. True Christianity is not a means to an earthly end, it is an end in of itself, filled with joy and the service and blessings of the living God. I doubt the Lord Jesus will enjoy most of our gatherings today. His kind of folks would likely be on the streets on Sunday anyway. The Lord was a giver, He gave the poor an unhindered access, and treated them with charity and grace. In Him the they found a friend and a savior. His companions were often fishermen, tax collectors and publicans. His clothing was so simple they could not tell Him apart from His common friends. The Jesus of the bible spoke at all times of heavenly things, and was focused on the singular mission of reconciling man to God.

Jesus made no apologies about what He came to do. He warned from the beginning that he had not come to champion a popular religion (Matthew 7:13). He had no use for publicity, His voice was not to be heard on the streets. Unfortunately the popular Christian culture's view of the Lord is flawed. To say the least we have invented a genie-god who reasons like us, indulges our every whim, works on our schedule and appears to have no higher purpose than to serve us. This flawed god gives us everything and expects nothing in return. It forgives our sins willingly and never bothers about the power it yet has over us. Satan should have absolutely no problems with this kind of god; it is a small, weak and purposeless moralist - an idol at best. We yell at it because it is deaf and can hardly command our reference. We sin at will because it is blind and we know it can hardly see. If we indeed were serving the living God, we would act different. I will argue that the god of the popular culture is wholly incapable of dealing with dynamic and inventive sinners as we are.

Unfortunately we have also made a mess of the word of God and misrepresented His will. Contrary to popular belief, the Jesus of the Bible put no special premium on money. He did not consider it an essential tool for ministry. To Him neither poverty nor riches are spiritual gifts. Hell will have its full measure of both. When the Lord spoke about money, for the most part He spoke about it in a dismissive manner. To the rich ruler, He said, "go sell all of your possession and follow me." To the one who wanted a share of his father's inheritance, Jesus said, "beware of covetousness...". Regarding taxes, the Lord essentially said, "give to Cesar, what is Cesar's". The nicest thing The lord had to say about riches is that it is a major hindrance to eternal life (Matthew 19:23). Jesus could have owned a platinum plated chariot with gold trimmings, same as Herod's, rather, he was loaned a trim donkey with cotton saddles. He rode into Jerusalem in the antithesis of style – on the foal of an ass. Jesus could have easily arranged for a loft by the Eastern Gate of Jerusalem with a wonderful view of the Mount of Olive and the rolling country pasture, but He bunked with believers everywhere He went. Our Lord was a giver, not a taker. At birth, being the King of creation, He could have had an advance team of angels make sure His mother had guaranteed reservation in the same inn where Herod’s sons were being born. Instead, the King of creation was born in a Manger. We call Jesus by His First Name, yet His servants today glory in multiple titles.

We must get reacquainted with the Jesus of the Bible. May we be constrained by His love and moved by His tears. Christianity is not a game. God has entrusted us with the truth which the whole of mankind seeks. This truth is Jesus Christ. The way we present Him may well determine the eternal destiny of a host of souls.