I was watching Melissa Dougherty’s YouTube video on the “Jesus Gets Us” campaign. She was rather scathing in her analysis, and I have to admit I was a little uneasy about those ads shown during Super Bowl LVIII. I had the feeling that the ads were just off, but I hadn’t yet found the explanation as to why I felt that way. Melissa Dougherty gave a well thought out reason for my justifiable unease. I highly recommend viewing this video.

In it, Melissa Dougherty pointed out that too often we of the twenty-first century see Jesus as some kind of “social justice warrior” who spoke truth to power and authority. Yes, he did hold the scribes, the pharisees, and the priest to task for their hypocrisy and sins, but we forget that he did that to everyone. Such as when called out the people who wanted him to give them bread for the body rather than truth for the soul. More than once he told the common people such as the women caught in adultery, to go and sin no more. We forget that his mission wasn’t to bring love, peace, and social justice, it was to conquer sin. Love, peace, and justice were just serendipity. In that mission to conquer sin he never spoke truth to power, because he is the power.

As he said to Pilate, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.” Pilate and Chief Priest had no power or authority, but what was given to them by Jesus.

#Melissa Dougherty #Jesus Gets Us