The Whole Truth about Jesus

Every now and then you run into people who like Jesus but don’t like the church.  They tend to say something like, “Jesus was loving and forgiving, he cared for the poor and disadvantaged, and he was an advocate of social justice.  But the church has lost touch with him and has become shrill, judgmental, and mean-spirited.”

Before I note the serious problem with this viewpoint, let me quickly agree that Jesus definitely was and is loving and forgiving, etc.—yes.  And let me concede that, sadly, professing Christians some­times have been un-Christlike and harsh and even hateful toward nonbelievers, contradicting Jesus’ command to love neighbor and enemy.

But the glaring problem with this stock depiction of Jesus is that it’s radically incomplete, and thus misleading and harmful.  The real Jesus has a lot of stern, even frightful, words to say.  And very frequently he warns of the wrath of God, and of judgment and hell.

Consider the Sermon on the Mount.  In Matthew 7:13-27 Jesus repeatedly pours on the (politi­cally incorrect) rhetoric of wrath and rejection and destruction:

• Jesus himself is like a fork in the road:  take the narrow way that leads to life.  The masses of humanity on the wide road are en route to final devastation.
• Not all beliefs will be tolerated in the end.  “False prophets” and their followers are like diseased trees that will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
• Even religious people with striking spiritual accomplishments will be turned away by the Lord Jesus and refused entry to the kingdom of heaven:  “Depart from me, I never knew you.”
• Hearing but failing to obey Jesus’ teaching is like building your life on sand:  it will be swept away in the flood of final judgment.

And it’s loving for Jesus to say these things!  Hell is an unimaginably awful ultimate “destination,” so Jesus says striking, shock­ing things to jar us wide awake to the dreadful threat of damnation.  Let’s make sure we’re hearing, and sharing, the whole truth of Jesus Christ.