There is a vital and important difference between knowing Jesus and knowing about Jesus. I have never met anyone who has not heard about Jesus, and more to the point, does not have an opinion about Him. There is knowledge about Jesus available at churches, study centers, Internet and many other available resources.
But knowing of Jesus, as in “second hand” sharing of information, is not what He spoke about. His entrance into this world was not to introduce a new religion that discusses principles of a system of belief. He came to bring hope to the hopeless, at a time when hopelessness was a national possession.
Jesus told us very little about Himself, and those mysteries still plague followers and scholars alike. He emerged from a virgin birth, which never is retold in any part of the Gospels except for the actual birth narratives), his family fled to Egypt to avoid a persecution of Hebrew male children that is not recorded in any historical writings of the day, He stayed mainly in smaller populated areas, and His earthly father, Joseph, seemingly vanishes off the map.
Jesus did not feel He needed to explain any of these “mysteries” about Himself. He focused His message on the connection between God and Himself, giving us the path to have that same kind of relationship with God that Jesus maintained. He was a Rabbi of the people, with His only obvious loyalty being to His Father.
Some 2,000 years later, Jesus is the recipient of the greatest hijacking in religious history. An unbelievable religious institution (or two, or three) has formed that gathers adherents, collects tithes, holds services and ceremonies, and details what the followers of Jesus do and do not do. The iconography assigned to Him is not even close to the actual picture of the Man from Galilee, and many of the teachings and sayings attributed to Him are not any words or thoughts He would have had as a First Century Jew.
From the millions of dollars in buildings and real estate named after Him, to the billion dollar enterprises known as “non-profits” all the way down to the book and music industry, raking millions in revenue while yielding very little return to the needy, disenfranchised and broken, Jesus has become a religious brand name. The good news is He is more popular than Diet Coke or the Beatles.
The bad news is this: That’s not Jesus.
I know there are many arguments dividing the Christian religion, but even with those arguments aside, we have created a legend about Jesus and not a reality. Our spiritual landscape is more concerned with awareness than consciousness. Christians are on the Path of Christianity, and in turn, missing the Path of Jesus.
The faith has become a lesson in missing the point. While Christianity is battling to keep itself as the “moral police” of this country (and any other country), millions suffer and die from disease that could be prevented, illiteracy that could be reversed, poverty that could be relieved, and a host of social challenges and problems that have led the United States to a new world record holder-we are the most medicated society in the history of the world.
God bless the churches that have re-invested their money into the needs of their communities rather than air-conditioning. God bless the study centers that operate with 80-85% volunteer staff so that more monies can go to meet needs.
What moral evils did Jesus battle? What was His hot button? A religious society that turned its nose at the poor and needy and continued to build temples with human hands, that God stated clearly He does not occupy. A brief reading of Matthew 25 should put the priorities of Jesus in clear view.
His path is no longer the Path of Christianity. While Christians often lament the “Jews of Jesus’” time for being religious hypocrites (a subject for another time) they miss the plain and obvious truth: We are the religious hypocrites of our day.
Here are a few simple road-signs to tell you if you might be on the wrong path:
1) When answers to your questions are responded to with “Because it is Written” or “I have a degree in systematic theology”, you are on the wrong path.
2) When the message of Paul outweighs the message of Jesus, you are on the wrong path.
3) When they need more money for a building fund and the missions fund has not grown in years, you are on the wrong path.
4) When you are told how and what to vote, you are on the wrong path.
5) If your church’s idea of social action is a pancake breakfast, you are on the wrong path.
6) If you paid $25.00 to hear your favorite Christian band play so you can be filled with the Spirit, you are on the wrong path.
7) If your faith-healing preacher were bald, wouldn’t he have the power from God to re-grow his hair? You are on the wrong path.