{"id":1644,"date":"2017-04-12T18:50:46","date_gmt":"2017-04-12T22:50:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/?p=1644"},"modified":"2017-04-12T18:50:46","modified_gmt":"2017-04-12T22:50:46","slug":"the-real-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/2017\/04\/the-real-jesus.html","title":{"rendered":"The REAL Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a recent article<\/a>, I delineated the features of a figure to which I referred as \u201cJesus Now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesus Now is the Jesus, perhaps the only Jesus, with whom millions of contemporary American Christians are familiar.\u00a0 Churchgoers are no different in this respect, for it is from their clerics that they hear about Jesus Now week after week.<\/p>\n

Jesus Now is a man of our times, a liberal progressive whose Politically Correct moral and political sensibilities are unassailable. \u00a0He preaches \u201ctolerance,\u201d \u201cinclusivity,\u201d and, importantly, he is \u201cnon-judgmental.\u201d\u00a0 Moreover, Jesus Now is largely indifferent to whether people even believe in him<\/em>\u2014just so long as they are \u201cgood\u201d people.<\/p>\n

Of course, it is not quite correct to say of Jesus Now that he judges no one.\u00a0 <\/em>But his judgment is extremely selective.\u00a0 He adversely judges white, affluent, Western Christians.\u00a0 Everyone else is given a pass.<\/p>\n

In glaring contrast, the Real Jesus (who will be referred to from now on simply as \u201cJesus\u201d), being the Author of the Heavens and the Earth, the Sovereign Ruler of all creation, is the Judge <\/em>Incarnate.<\/p>\n

Jesus is hardly the meek and mild, the non-threatening (and wildly boring) fiction that is peddled in all too many churches.\u00a0 Actually, He spends quite a bit of time\u2014most, it seems\u2014expressing anger.\u00a0 <\/em>On at least one occasion, such was Jesus\u2019s indignation that He engaged in conduct that would land me or you in jail:<\/p>\n

When merchants were doing what they always did and engaged in commercial activities in the Temple, Jesus besieged them, knocking over their tables and displays and driving them out with a whip.<\/p>\n

Jesus was as scathing toward His disciples as He was toward His opponents. He continually castigated His friends and followers alike for their lack of faith and, during His Sermon on the Mount, referred to them as \u201cevil\u201d (Lk 11:13).\u00a0 Peter, on whom He would build His church, He called \u201cSatan\u201d when the former implored his master to avoid His impending death (Mt 16:23). This generation, Jesus remarked, was both \u201cevil and adulterous\u201d (Mt 16:4).<\/p>\n

He called His rivals, the scribes and Pharisees, \u201chypocrites,\u201d \u201cblind guides,\u201d \u201cblind fools,\u201d \u201cwhitewashed tombs,\u201d snakes,\u201d and a \u201cbrood of vipers.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cHow,\u201d the Real Jesus asked them, \u201ccan you escape being sentenced to hell?\u201d (Mt 23: 1-36; Mk 12:38-40; Lk 20-45-47).<\/p>\n

Nor was this the only time, or the scribes and Pharisees His only rivals, with whom Jesus threatened eternal<\/em> violence.<\/p>\n

During the Great Commission, He instructed His disciples to turn their backs on those who refused to welcome them, \u201cto shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.\u201d Jesus assured them: \u201cTruly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah [cities that God destroyed] on the day of the judgment than for that town\u201d (Mt 10:1-15; Mk 3:13-19; Lk 6:12-16).<\/p>\n

As for the residents of those cities in which Jesus performed \u201cdeeds of power\u201d but who refused to repent, He promises to visit destruction upon them.\u00a0 \u201cWoe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!\u00a0 For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon [more cities that had been destroyed by God], they would have repented long ago\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 But because there has been no repentance, the fate of these cities will be worse <\/em>than that of the cities of yesteryear that God eliminated.<\/p>\n

Capernaum, the city in which Jesus spent no small share of His time, is going to have it just as badly. \u201cAnd you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to Heaven?\u00a0 No, you will be brought down to Hades\u201d (Mt 11: 20-24; Lk 10:13-15).<\/p>\n

Jesus frequently spoke in parables invoking the imagery of slavery and war.<\/p>\n

To allude to just one parable, Jesus contrasts the faithful and wise slave with the unfaithful and wicked one.\u00a0 The former is dutiful and prepares for his master\u2019s return home.\u00a0 The latter is lazy and nasty to his fellow slaves.\u00a0 Of the wicked slave, Jesus tells us, his \u201cmaster\u2026will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth\u201d (Mt 24:45-51; Lk 12:41-48).<\/p>\n

Regarding the cost of discipleship, Jesus said: \u201cOr what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand?\u201d (Lk 14: 31).<\/p>\n

He encouraged\u2014commanded, in fact\u2014His disciples to arm themselves with swords (Lk 22:36).<\/p>\n

As for ecumenism, the Real Jesus was having none of it: There would be no half-measures when it came to belief in Him.\u00a0 Either one believed in Him or one did not.\u00a0 He promised to bring, not peace, but \u201cthe sword.\u201d\u00a0 He promised that He would divide human beings in a manner and to a degree that had never been seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one\u2019s foes will be members of one\u2019s own household.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesus is unequivocal: If anyone loves any of their family members more than they love Him, they are unworthy of Him. For such folks, there will be no eternal life (Mt 10: 34-39; Lk 12:51-53; 14: 26-27).<\/p>\n

Even those who are convinced of their own Christian discipleship and who perform good works may find themselves being denied eternity with God.\u00a0 \u201cNot everyone who says to me, \u2018Lord, Lord,\u2019 will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven,\u201d He tells us. \u201cOn that day [the Day of Judgment] many will say to me, \u2018Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Jesus gives us His answer: \u201cThen I will declare to them, \u2018I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers\u2019\u201d (Mt. 7:21-23; Lk 13: 26-27).<\/p>\n

Between the Real Jesus and Jesus Now, it should be obvious, there is an unbridgeable chasm.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a recent article, I delineated the features of a figure to which I referred as \u201cJesus Now.\u201d Jesus Now is the Jesus, perhaps the only Jesus, with whom millions of contemporary American Christians are familiar.\u00a0 Churchgoers are no different in this respect, for it is from their clerics that they hear about Jesus Now…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":399,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe REAL Jesus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/2017\/04\/the-real-jesus.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The REAL Jesus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a recent article, I delineated the features of a figure to which I referred as \u201cJesus Now.\u201d Jesus Now is the Jesus, perhaps the only Jesus, with whom millions of contemporary American Christians are familiar.\u00a0 Churchgoers are no different in this respect, for it is from their clerics that they hear about Jesus Now…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/2017\/04\/the-real-jesus.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"At the Intersection of Faith and Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-04-12T22:50:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jack Kerwick\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The REAL Jesus","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/2017\/04\/the-real-jesus.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The REAL Jesus","og_description":"In a recent article, I delineated the features of a figure to which I referred as \u201cJesus Now.\u201d Jesus Now is the Jesus, perhaps the only Jesus, with whom millions of contemporary American Christians are familiar.\u00a0 Churchgoers are no different in this respect, for it is from their clerics that they hear about Jesus Now…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/2017\/04\/the-real-jesus.html","og_site_name":"At the Intersection of Faith and Culture","article_published_time":"2017-04-12T22:50:46+00:00","author":"Jack Kerwick","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/2017\/04\/the-real-jesus.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/2017\/04\/the-real-jesus.html","name":"The REAL Jesus","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-04-12T22:50:46+00:00","dateModified":"2017-04-12T22:50:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/6832222998cc14717ded1849531201c5"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/2017\/04\/the-real-jesus.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/2017\/04\/the-real-jesus.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/2017\/04\/the-real-jesus.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The REAL Jesus"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/","name":"At the Intersection of Faith and Culture","description":"Beliefnet Voices - 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