Those Jesus Commercials
Bottom’s Up is a weekly publication looking at the upside-down nature of the Kingdom of God and the ways of Jesus. How can we live in the midst of the kingdoms of this world while being faithful to the ways of Jesus? I’m trying to figure it out and would love for you to join me
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If you’ve watched live TV1, especially a sporting event, over the last year or so you’ve likely seen one of the “Jesus commercials.” During the Super Bowl, three new ones ran. And, unsurprisingly, people have thoughts.
A friend quipped “I need Jesus to come back just so these commercials stop.”
Conservative culture warrior Samuel Sey seems to think rather than elevating Jesus, they elevate humanity to the place of being worshipped:
To this Justin Giboney, co-founder of the And Campaign2, responded
Justin goes on to say that the HeGetsUs campaign catches flack from some because they find it insulting to show Christians serving those with whom they disagree. They work from an assumption that to serve is to affirm. “Reread the Sermon the on Mount,” Giboney says. “The culture war taught you to focus on fighting them, not Jesus.”
In another corner of the Jesus commercial debate is the amount of money spent on them. In last week’s post on telling better stories, I didn’t use these words but I was essentially arguing that Jesus needs better PR. For better or worse, what the people behind the HeGetsUs commercials have decided to do is basically a PR campaign. Some have taken umbrage with this. Take, for one, author and advocate Kevin Nye. Kevin, author of Grace Can Lead Us Home: A Christian Call to End Homelessness3, invites any Christians with $7 million (he would later note that reports show the HeGetsUs campaign plans to spend $1 BILLLION) looking to show Jesus in a better light to give him a call, he’s got better ideas than commercials. “Spoiler alert, I would help you give it to the poor.”
I think the commercials are indicative of another issue. That commercials seem like a viable strategy to getting people interested in Jesus a sign of what Christianity in America has become. Amidst advertisements for Volkswagen, Kia, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin Donuts, an app called Temu, and countless other commodities making their pitch to be your choice, we get commercials about Jesus. In a capitalistic society, Jesus has become another option on the shelf. The commercials show that many Christians view Jesus the same way. Granted, they think he’s the best option. But he’s still just an option among a myriad of others. The way of Jesus isn’t something that you can bottle up and sell to others, though people have been trying for roughly 2,000 years. The way of Jesus is local, embodied, and experienced.
When Jesus called his first disciples in the Gospel of John, he invited them to “Come and see.” When Philip, one of these disciples, invited a friend to see the one who Moses promised he invited him to “Come and see.” When the imprisoned John the Baptist sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus if he was indeed the Messiah, Jesus sent those disciples back to tell John what they have seen and heard - he blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. When Peter and John are arrested and told to be quiet, they say “We cannot stop telling of what we have seen and heard.” Local. Embodied. Experienced.
Think about how different this is than, “well I saw a commercial.” And I know, the HeGetsUs commercials are simply intended to get conversations started and to pique interest. But they are doing this in a strictly commercialized (quite literally) way. The Way of Jesus has always worked by its own rules and existed within, but contrary to, the ways and patterns of this world. The HeGetsUs campaign assumes that Jesus is the best choice among many. Jesus is a part of the game and patterns of this world. Jesus is the best way to live within the systems of this world. But Jesus came to offer us a completely different way. An apparent Bottom’s Up way of living.
The reason why the HeGetsUs campaign doesn’t work is because it tries to conform Jesus to our ways of living and understanding. If we want people to fall in love with Jesus we will need something for them to “Come and see” that is more compelling than a commercial. We will need to be the hands and feet of Jesus so that the naked are clothed, the hungry are fed, the fatherless are made sons and daughters, the unhoused are given lodging, the vulnerable are protected, and the oppressed are set free.
Not a given considering the state of streaming these days
Hear more about Justin and the organization here: https://thesubstancepod.com/episodes/77-interview-justin-giboney-on-civic-engagement-and-moral-imagination
Hear more about Kevin, his book, and his work here: https://thesubstancepod.com/episodes/109-substance-reflects-homelessness-feat-kevin-m-nye
I've seen stances on how they are a waste of money; how they are "finger wagging" at Christians for not being good Christian's; and how they are the best commercials ever and so glad people are seeing them. I can understand all these points of view to an extent.