He Gets Us--- But, do we get Him?
I haven’t made a blog post in many years. Life has moved in a different direction and I sort of left this blog in the corner collecting dust, but sometimes something comes into my heart that needs a longer more nuanced response than a social media post will allow. Just such a thing popped up this last Sunday for over 100 million people to witness and I have been wrestling with my response ever since.
During the most recent Super Bowl an ad aired for a group called “He Gets Us”. The ad is certainly provocative as it shows several images of people in various positions washing each other’s feet with a tagline that reads “Jesus Didn’t teach Hate. He Washed Feet.” See the ad below Foot Washing
There is a lot to unpack about this ad and a lot of people have already said a lot of things. There has been discussion of whether the images were AI-generated, whether the images present a progressive agenda, who is behind the group that sponsored the ad, and a myriad of other talking points, none of which I want to focus on. I want to look at the overall message of the ad, where it was good, and where it was lacking. I also want to look at whether the ad was an effective piece of evangelism and whether or not it depicts the authentic Biblical Jesus.
The Good
Let me start with the overall message of the ad. If we start with the most charitable view possible, the ad’s creators are trying to make a disruptive stance to reintroduce people to Jesus. The ad seems to attempt to push past many of the social and political issues that divide us and show us the representation of Jesus as the servant who did not come to be served, but to serve. I applaud the appeal to “unchurched” and non-believers to get them to see a Jesus who will come to them in their time of trouble and need and will comfort them regardless of who they are, or what they have done. I am eternally grateful for the truth in that. Jesus will absolutely meet us where we are, he will comfort us, and he will give us grace and mercy. There are elements of this message I will dig into deeper a little later.
In the aspect of painting a positive picture of Jesus, the ad would be considered a success. In terms of reach and impact, I would say the ad was a success as over 100 million people saw it live, and in the wake of the ad Jesus became one of the most searched terms on Google. Also, society has been forced to talk about him for several days now. This would seem to be an evangelistic success, however for evangelism to be truly successful there must be a means of follow-up and follow-through.
The Not So Good
Immediately when I saw the ad I went to the “He Gets Us” website and I began to look for some sort of place to follow up on what I had just seen. I spent several minutes on the site trying to find more information about who Jesus is, and what a person should do if they have seen the ad and are now curious. I was disappointed not to find anything other than a way to sign up to be added to an email list. I didn’t see any links to have a live pastor or counselor contact the seeker to help to answer any questions they may have. I will admit that when I went back to the website for this writing of this blog I did find a take action link (not easy to find) that links the seeker to bible studies and videos- so better than I initially thought- but with the captive huge audience there should have been an easy link or an obvious button to “learn more”.
More problematic to me was what I was able to find on the night the ad aired. I was able to find the Frequently Asked Questions Page and I was glad to see one of the FAQs was “Who do you believe Jesus is?” I was hopeful, until I clicked the link. There is simply no substance in the answer. It’s a very straightforward question that is answered incredibly ambiguous. If I were a non-believer I would know nothing more about Jesus than I did before I found the website or clicked the link
So, after reading this word salad full of nothingness, I still don’t know any more about the Jesus they are trying to introduce me to. While I applaud the ad for getting us talking about Jesus, I would strongly encourage the organization to provide a clearer plan of response and most certainly a clearer explanation of Who Jesus is.
Some have bemoaned the amount of money the organization spent to air the ad during the Super Bowl. Some have even suggested it was a waste and the money could have been spent more wisely. I completely disagree with this. There is no greater goal than to reach others for Jesus and if you have the money to reach such a large audience then I have no issue. I don’t know the financial condition of this organization but I have no issue with them spending whatever they want for an evangelistic message, that said, if you are going to invest that kind of money it’s that much more important that you have a clear easy path for those you impact to follow up.
Let me also add, if you are going to present a clear gospel message it is certainly money well spent, however, if you don’t present the true Jesus then at best you are wasting your resources.
If you have a goal to reach those who feel disenchanted, those who feel unloved, and looked down upon, and those who feel they live on the fringes of society then it is an admirable message that Jesus Gets Us. He came to earth for the lost, not the righteous. The Bible says “He came to seek and save that which was lost.” So, the message that he will meet us where we are, no matter who we are or what we have done is a compelling message.
Jesus Did Wash Feet
The ad presents over-and-over images of people washing other people’s feet with the strong implication that they are following the example of Jesus. I want to discuss this premise. There is one example in the Bible of Jesus washing feet. It is a very specific example.
Jesus didn’t just wander the streets looking for people and approach them to wash their feet. Instead, as he was preparing to receive the very significant Passover meal, a meal that would be his last, with those closest to him Jesus donned a towel and a basin of water and began to act in the manner of a servant.
It was customary in the first century to have a servant wash the feet of all dinner guests prior to dining. The people’s feet were dirty from walking in the sandy desert all day. This was both a symbolic and a physical act of cleansing. Designed to make sure all that were dining were clean and ready for their meal. The dinner guests didn’t have to take a full bath, but they did need to get the dust off their feet. While this act was usually handled by a house servant in this moment the Lord of all humbled himself to clean his disciples' feet.
Now, to be clear, these were sinful men, they were men who would betray him and deny they even knew him, but they were men who had also committed their lives to him. Jesus washing his disciples' feet was absolutely an act of humility and service. An act we should all want to emulate. Don’t misunderstand though, this act was not an affirmation or an acceptance of the disciples' sinful ways, but a representation of the cleansing of their hearts that was necessary to follow him. The Biblical narrative is not of men stuck in their sin, it is men who have already been purified by Jesus and just needed to be freshened- up. John 13: 5-10
5 Then He *poured water into the washbasin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel which He had tied around Himself. 6 So He *came to Simon Peter. He *said to Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not realize now, but you will understand afterwards.” 8 Peter *said to Him, “You will never wash my feet—ever!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” 9 Simon Peter *said to Him, “Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” 10 Jesus *said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean
These men were already clean, they just needed their “Feet cleaned” They had already accepted Jesus and changed their lives, like us, they would still occasionally get “dusty” and need their feet cleaned off.
My biggest critique is that the message stops there. Jesus will meet us where we are- but he will not leave us where we are!
In our society today and unfortunately in a lot of churches we have half of Jesus’ message correct. He is full of mercy and his grace is more than sufficient. He is loving, kind, and forgiving. The other half of the message isn’t as sweet and it often gets left on the cutting room floor. The heart of Jesus’ earthly ministry was on repentance.
Repentance is a word that has lost most of its meaning in our society. Repentance is not a hateful word, though it offends us. The word repentance simply means to turn around or change direction. When we use it in terms of Jesus, it means to turn from our sinful life and turn toward His standards. The word offends us because we want to believe we are good enough, we want to believe we have nothing to repent for. It is not hateful to say we all sin and fall short of God’s standards. It is not hateful to invite someone to leave their sins and turn toward Him.
I thank God daily that he allowed and still allows me to repent. I am glad that I am clean, and more grateful that he washes the dust from my feet when I fail.
In Luke 5:31-32 when Jesus says “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick” we see His missional heart reaching out to those who need him the most. Reaching out to the downtrodden, those who may not feel loved. He continues however that He did not “come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance”.
Jesus is absolutely here to love those who may feel forgotten, but He does not affirm our sins. He does not tell us to “just keep doing what we do”. In fact, he commands our repentance. When Jesus was confronted with the woman who was caught in adultery, he showed mercy “Neither do I condemn you” but he followed that up with a command to repentance “Now go, and sin no more”
Jesus does get us. He has walked in our shoes. He has been tempted. He has been hungry. He has been thirsty. Jesus has seen problems in his earthly family. He has had his best friends turn on Him.
Jesus Gets Us, but do we get Him? Do we realize that He is interested in bridging the gap separating us from God by overcoming the sin that causes the separation? Do we realize Jesus wants to draw us close to Him? Do we realize that drawing closer to Jesus requires us to repent and draw further from sin?
I want to be much clearer than our friends at He Gets Us. Jesus is God incarnate. He is our Savior. His death, burial and resurrection poured out the grace to atone for our sins. Jesus forgives us from our sins, but if we don’t acknowledge our sins and repent we are mocking His grace.
Jesus Gets Us! He Meets us where we are- But he doesn’t leave us there! He draws us closer to him and helps us turn from our sinful ways!
Jesus does make it clear that this act of service (foot washing) is an example for us to follow but it is imperative we understand what He is calling us to do. He is calling us to serve one another in a humble manner and He is calling us to make sure our fellow believers remain clean. We are called to serve the world and meet broken people where they are, just like he did. It is not enough for us to just meet them in their pain, in their grief, in their trouble, or in their sin; we must also be ready to point them toward repentance. That means away from their struggles and toward His love.
We do a disservice if we don't reach people where they are; we do a bigger disservice if we make the mistake of thinking we are loving them by leaving them where they are. It is not loving to mistakenly equate love with unconditional acceptance. If I know you are walking into danger it's not loving to pretend the danger isn't real.
As a believer, it is hateful to a non-believer to allow them to continue to be separated from God because we are too afraid to call sin out and lovingly point them to repentance
Want to learn more about the Biblical Jesus or talk about how He can impact your life? Reach out to me. You can send me a message here on this blog or you can email me at ewcollum@gmail.com. You can also reach me on facebook or you are always welcome to visit me on Sunday mornings at Gulfhaven Mennonite Church in Gulfport, Mississippi, service starts at 10:45am.
