Has anybody seen Jesus?

This is part one of a 9 to 10-week series on biblical illiteracy and its impact on America and within the Church.

My life’s ambition is to be a sponge.

While most will find that statement curious, I believe it is all by grace.  Sponges absorb liquids quickly.  They need no training or technological improvements to do their job.  My job is to know God’s Word.  Therefore, I long to absorb its contents like a sponge.  I want to cram its wisdom inside my head.  If I know nothing else, I want to know Scripture.

Many Americans, including evangelicals, do not hold this same view of the Bible.  With secularism on the rise and fewer people attending church, many simply have a Bible on the shelf just to have it on the shelf.  Some even share the view of atheist comedian Pat Condell, who once said, “If all you have is Scripture between your ears, then you’ve really got nothing between your ears.”  Unfortunately, American culture has turned the Word of God into another ancient book.  While some folks recognize the Word for its wisdom, I believe the majority of young American evangelicals, due to either ignorance or familiarity, fail to recognize its true quality.  In the Bible’s 66 books, you get to learn about the most important person of all time.  You meet the living Jesus of Nazareth.

What has astonished me most about growing number of biblical illiterates in this country is it is not for lack of access.  In any bookstore you can find an entire section dedicated to Bibles.  There are so many good translations: ESV, KJV, NIV, NASB, CSB, RSV, NKJV and many versions.  You can buy the big study Bibles in black leather or the flowery pink Bibles little girls carry with them in their youth group.  In fact, the Bible is just about everywhere.  Except in our heads.

In a March 2007 article called “The Case for Teaching the Bible,” Time magazine gave some eye-opening statistics about this country’s Biblical ignorance.  Though two-thirds of Americans believe the Bible has the answers to almost all of life’s problems, only half of U.S. adults know the title of one Gospel.  Only 44% of evangelical children could identify a quote from the Sermon on the Mount.   These statistics came from a book called Religious Literacy: What every American needs to know–and doesn’t which gave Americans an “F” in religion.  USA Today highlighted perhaps the most amusing–and telling–statistic of our Biblical illiteracy: 50% of Americans believe that Sodom and Gomorrah were married¹.

When I first became a Christian, I was well-aware of my lack of biblical knowledge.  To remedy this, I decided to take a Bible history class at my public high school.  Unlike many Christians, I started reading Scripture at the front.  I learned about the law of Moses, the conquest of Canaan, Samson’s anger issues, Saul’s failure, David’s quest for God’s own heart, Solomon’s cruel rule and just about everything else about the Old Testament.  But when it came time to learn about Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), my teacher taught us little.  We skipped over His life in about five minutes.  Instead of describing His significance and how He changed history, the most profound statement I heard was, “He had disciples.”  Never mind that Christianity was founded on His death and resurrection, about reconciling humankind to its Maker.  According to my teacher, the most significant thing about Jesus Christ was that He had disciples.

Our lack of biblical knowledge is a two-fold problem.  First, we do not know the basic teachings, historical events, doctrines and themes of the Bible.  An uniformed or lackluster reading of the Bible leaves us pretty much the same as we were before: ignorant of what this book teaches.  Second, and more important, we do not understand the person of Jesus Christ and why He is so significant.  Is it not telling that a plethora of people have built their theological convictions on that one verse in Matthew, “Judge not, lest ye not be judged?” Is it not even more telling that when people do base their thoughts on God off that verse it is out of context?  I believe that were you to give people a basic, comprehensive knowledge of the Bible, you could cut the number of people who claim to be Christians in half.  Why?  Because the Jesus they know is not the Jesus who actually lived sinlessly and died upon a cross.

Biblical literacy, therefore, has two dimensions to it.  Outside the Church, it simply means that people have a general knowledge of what the Bible is about. They know basic facts, the major characters and the core beliefs of Christianity.  For the Church, biblical literacy has a greater impact because the Bible is where Christianity gets its beliefs.  Christians need to have a comprehensive knowledge of the Bible as well as detailed knowledge of the main points.  As a Christian, you need to know the Bible so you can study it, meditate on it, understand it, apply it and share it.  No one will get this perfect.  However, Christians need to improve their biblical literacy constantly.  Otherwise, the line between Christian and non will become so blurry that eventually there will be no difference.

More than a guidebook

Christianity owes much of its doctrine and its formation to one man.  Outside of Jesus Himself, Saul of Tarsus otherwise known as the Apostle Paul, wrote more of the New Testament than anyone else.  His thirteen letters have survived for nearly 2,000 years and many of its common sayings have made their way into our culture’s common sayings.  At weddings, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is often the main Scripture reading, while 1 Timothy 6:10 has long taught us that money is the root of all evil.  If you don’t know the Bible, you may be more familiar with the Apostle Paul than you realize.

The last letter that the Apostle Paul ever wrote was 2 Timothy.  It is a short epistle, only four chapters on, and it is his most personal letter. The Apostle is facing execution in Rome and he has to entrust the gospel mission to someone else.  He effectively hands the torch over to his delegate Timothy in this letter, where he gives Timothy his final instructions.  We learn of what is important to Paul as he faces his impending death.  Timothy is to fan into flame his gift as a pastor, to hold fast to sound teaching and to the gospel, flee from youthful passions, to endure despite difficult times ahead to send greetings to specific people.  In chapter 3, the Apostle Paul gives this instruction to Timothy:

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing those from whom you learned, and that from childhood you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to instruct you for salvation in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (3:14-17).

Notice these words in verse 16: “inspired by God and is profitable for teaching.” In another translation, the verse reads, “all Scripture is God-breathed.” This is a monumental claim and it is not the only place that the Bible claims to be directly inspired by God.  The Apostle Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:20, “First of all, you should know this: no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, moved by the Holy Spirit, men spoke from God.” The Judahite prophet Isaiah recounts a conversation he has with God in a vision:

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Who should I send?  Who will go for Us?’ I said: ‘Here I am. Send me.’  And He replied: ‘Go! Say to these people: Keep listening, but do not understand; keep looking, but do not perceive.’” (Isaiah 10:8-9)

Even in Moses writings, God explains that He will send prophets (Deuteronomy 18:15-18) and Moses claims that He received the Law from God Himself (Exodus 20:1-17).  Indeed, all Scripture is inspired by God, the Bible claims.  It was never written as a guidebook on how to live life but as God’s self-revelation.  The wisdom, the poetry, the theology and the doctrine of the Bible all revolve around this one theme: God has revealed Himself and this is who He is.

That chief misunderstanding about the Bible’s purpose leads many to interpret it wrong or simply not interpret it at all.  I’ve had more than a few conversations where people have said to me, “That’s your interpretation.  I don’t agree with that reading of the Bible.”  Too often, people start with the misconception that the Bible is another book.  It isn’t.  It is either God’s Word or it is a record of delusions and it teaches us that God is not a deity who ran away when He finished making the universe.  He doesn’t sit in the heavens offering blessings if we obey Him.  He has not played a cruel joke on humanity by filling our hearts with a desire to know Him but giving us only vague clues.  As Hebrews 1:1-2 says, “Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways.  In these last days, he has spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things and through whom He made the universe.” The words of the prophets and His Son are written in the Bible.

Who’s your Jesus?

In a sermon called “Life,” author and pastor Kevin DeYoung comedically listed all of the different Jesuses we have invented in modern day America:

There’s a lot of popular Jesuses.  Everybody likes Jesus.  There’s Republican Jesus, who’s against taxes and activist judges and for family values and owning a gun.  There’s the Democrat Jesus, who’s against Wall Street and Wal-Mart and is for reducing our carbon footprint and borrowing money from China.  There’s the therapist Jesus.  He helps us cope with life’s problems and tells us how valuable we are, not to be so hard on ourselves.  There’s the Starbucks Jesus who drinks fair trade coffee and loves spiritual conversations and owns a Mac and goes to film festivals.  There is the open-minded Jesus who loves everyone all the time no matter what except for people who aren’t as open-minded.  There is touchdown Jesus who helps athletes run faster and jump higher than non-Christians, determines the outcome of Super Bowls.

There’s the martyr Jesus. He’s a good man. He died a cruel death so we can feel sorry for him.  There’s gentle Jesus who’s meek and mild and has high cheek bones and long, flowing blonde hair and walks around barefoot and wears a dress.  There’s nice guy Jesus who teaches everyone to give peace a chance and all you need is love.  There’s spirituality Jesus who hates religion and churches and pastors and doctrine and wants you to find the God within and listen to ambiguously spiritual music.  There is platitude Jesus who is good for Christmas specials and greeting cards and bad sermons and teaches us to walk on mountains.

There is the revolutionary Jesus who teaches us to rebel against the status quo and blame things on the system.  There is guru Jesus who is a wise, inspirational teacher who believes in you and helps you to find inner peace.  There is boyfriend Jesus who wraps his arms around us and talks about our love in the secret place.  There is good example Jesus who shows us how to be better people and change the better planet and become a better you.

And then there’s Jesus of Nazareth².

If you think any of these Jesuses have ever walked these earth, they did not do so on the road to the cross.  They come from bad doctrine, cultural misconceptions, distortions of Jesus and ignorance of Jesus.  None of these are Christianity.  They are manufactured to make us think we are all Christians.

To a certain extent, I agree with Isaac Asimov, who once said, “Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever invented.”  Many people who claim to be Christians sift through the Law or the hard sayings of Jesus and find that it does not fit into their commonly conceived Jesus.  To maintain their “Christian” faith, they have to be like Thomas Jefferson, who famously clipped passages out of the Gospels and made his own Bible.  Your Christianity and your religion is based upon nothing if you do not develop your convictions from Scripture.  Only because of the Bible do we even know the details and the purpose of Jesus’ life.  It is the most reliable source of information you can read on this mysterious yet wonderful man.  His claims and His deeds are to marvelous to ignore.

So who is this Jesus, this “son of God” that Hebrews 1:2 refers to?

The Word of God

Anyone who has read John’s account of Jesus’ life knows it is a bit different from the other three Gospels.  Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospels because they have much of the same material.  John, however, highlights different moments in the life of Christ and begins his Gospel not with Jesus’ birth or His baptism, but with an odd 18-verse prologue.  “In the beginning,” John writes,” was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).  This already confuses you and by the time you finish the prologue, it can make your head hurt.  Part of it may be John’s strange style.  He begins his first epistle in a similar fashion.  “What was from the beginning,” it reads, “what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed, have touched with our own hands, concerning the Word of life” (1 John 1:1). To a person new to the Bible, this may seem like John was on some serious substance or could use a few writing classes.

But, as New Testament scholar D.A. Carson notes, John is writing these prologues in “layers.”  You can pick up what John is generally trying to communicate reading His works just once.  Jesus is more than just a man.  However, he layers it in such a way that when you read through these a second time, you see all the little things that they are trying to pick up³.  So what is John trying to communicate in his prologue and in his first letter?

As Carson explains , John chooses a word that can summarize all the other terms for Jesus used in his Gospel, some of which include “living water,” (John 4:10) “the bread of life,” (6:35) “the way,” “the truth,” “life,” (14:6) “the Son of Man” (3:13) and many more⁴.  Furthermore, the Word of God holds many functions in the Old Testament.  It carries revelation, power, judgment, mercy and it gave strength, craftsmanship, prophecy, the power of healing, grace and instruction from God.  In identifying Jesus Christ as this Word, John makes a monumental claim.  The man who could walk on water and feed 5,000 is not just some earthly king or wise teacher.  He is, as Paul writes in Colossians 1:15, “the image of the invisible God.”

Specifically, this prologue not only appeals to the one who knew his Old Testament.  Jesus’ closest disciple makes specific claims in these 18 verses.  Jesus was not created, but was in the beginning with God and He was God (John 1:1).  Furthermore, God created the universe through Jesus and His life was the light of men (1:3-4).  John the Baptist testified about Him as He came into the world (1:6-9), into flesh (1:10, 14), but no one recognized Him (1:10-11).  Yet, there were some who did recognize Him as God and as this Word, and those who did were adopted as children of God (1:12-13).  Finally, Jesus Christ while in the flesh revealed the Father and gave grace and truth (1:17-18), whereas Moses, described as the meekest man on earth (Numbers 12:3), only gave the law (John 1:17).  In 1 John 1:1-4, John adds a bit to His claims about Jesus by saying that in Jesus, John has seen, heard, observed and touched the Word of God with his own hands.

The God-man of Scripture did more than just show us how to live.  According to John, Jesus Christ revealed God to mankind because God Himself came to mankind as a man.  Unlike the prophets who received messages from God in various times and in various ways, God spoke to man directly through His Son (Hebrews 1:1-2).

Resurrecting Jesus

It is a shame that this nation which claims to be a Christian nation has turned Jesus into nothing more than another religious figure who offers “one path” to God.  Jesus never claimed to be forming another path.  In Matthew 7:29, the crowds of people who hear Jesus preach His Sermon on the Mount are astonished because He speaks with authority.  Just three verses earlier, Jesus says that whoever does not follow Him will collapse like sand.  That means exclusivity.

In a poll released in December of 2008, the Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life found that 65% of respondents believed that other faiths could get people into heaven.  Around half even said that atheists or people of no faith could get into heaven.  That number dropped among white evangelicals, but an another statistic caught me off guard.  Only 39% of people who claim to be Christian believe that the Bible is the Word of God and 18% believe that it is written just by men⁵.

So what defines a Christian in the modern-day if not the Bible?  My theory is this: cultural Christianity convinces people that they are Christians even if they don’t hold to the most basic tenets of the faith.  They grew up praying, they know the hymns, know a little about Scripture and believe in one God.  But heaven is still a matter of works.  Good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell.  Christianity, in their view, claims that you are only good enough for heaven if you are Christian because only Jesus had the right teachings on how to be good.  Yet, what confuses these cultural Christians is that they see other people doing well, following American values, many of which come from the Bible, and yet they are not Christian.  They do not seem to be the vial heathen they were told about.  To reconcile this inconsistency, they say this: the Bible is wrong about the non-Christians being bad but does give good advice on how to be a good person.  Faith is only a matter of preference.  Since all men are children of God and most people are good, He will accept all men as long as they are nice and follow a general outline of what He does.

While these are some speculations of mine based on statistics and talks I’ve had with people, I believe that our culture has taken Christ out of Christianity.  American values, not biblical values, are the standard to which God holds man accountable.  If this is your disposition, you may be basing your faith on nothing.  Jesus never said anything about people being good enough to get into heaven.  Neither did the prophets, the law or the Apostles.  And if this is where Christianity begins, we must sift between culture and doctrine to find it.  We must go to the Bible, which offers a very un-American (not anti-American) picture of God and His Son.

1. Grossman, Cathy Lynn. “Americans get an ‘F’ in religion.’ USA Today Online. 14 Mar 2007. 1 June 2009 <http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2007-03-07-teaching-religion-cover_N.htm>. [↩]
2. DeYoung, Kevin. “Life.” Sermon.  Next 2009 Conference. Hall E. Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD. 24 May 2009 [↩]
3. Carson, D.A. “Incarnation.” Sermon.  Next 2009 Conference.  Hall E.  Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD. 24 May 2009 [↩]
4. Ibid [↩]
5. Blow, Charles M. “Heaven for the Godless?” New York Times on the Web. 26 Dec 2008. 2 June 2009 <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/27/opinion/27blow.html>. [↩]

Tagsanybody, Biblical, David, generation, illiteracy, Jesus, one, part, seen, Wells, young