It's Easter Sunday, the highest of holy holidays for the believing Christian. One might think the leftist political class would give Jesus a break today. But in this divisive and corrosive culture in which we now abide, it’s no surprise that the left has come after followers of Jesus with more vehemence and, yes, it can be said, vengeance, than ever. Why? Because of a well-funded and even more well-executed ad campaign promoting Jesus as a man of love.
"Horror of horrors," one might say with pronounced sarcasm. What could be the problem? At issue is the "He Gets Us" ad series, which is taking hits from all sides – including Christians.
Jesus on the Air
On Super Bowl Sunday, "He gets Us" ads ran on the national telecast, and they are popping up everywhere these days, whether behind home plate at Major League Baseball games or during NBA play. The organizers of the ads say their purpose is meant to reshape public opinion of Jesus as one of "unconditional love, peace, and kindness," according to their website.
(Photo by Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images)
The advertising blitz and latest pro-Christian movement is the brainchild of Bill McKendry, a marketing guru and self-identified devout Christian. According to Baptist News Global, "McKendry was approached by members of the Servant Foundation who said they were concerned that the Southern Poverty Law Center was 'labeling Christian groups' like Focus on the Family and Alliance Defending Freedom as 'hate groups because of their stances on same-sex marriage.'" In other words, Jesus is getting a bad rap from the left, and Christians are being persecuted because of it.
Christian persecution is as old as the faith itself, and McKendry believes there is something he can do to change that. Far from simply hollering "amen" from the rooftops, his message is labeled a far-right wing conspiracy. Any campaign – political or cultural – funded by conservatives is labeled "dark money" these days, so the cultural left has come after these relatively simple and harmless messages with a vengeance. Who are the conspiracy theorists now?
The Baptist Global Times is one such publication that is sounding off against the new pro-Jesus campaign. "Rather than examine their actions and beliefs and how these may have hurt others and negatively influenced Americans' opinion of Christianity, the donors behind He Gets Us want to change how evangelical conservatives, such as themselves, are perceived. Thus, the campaign appears to be more about rebranding than repentance," opined the Times.
However, campaign spokesman Jason Vanderground told Scripps News, "We're just looking for some kind of connection some kind of commonality that would create a spark, that would create a little step toward what it means to follow Jesus."
Expiation and Propitiation
Christians will rightly argue that Jesus does not need to be made relevant again because he has always been relevant. But there is good reason to make Jesus germane to people today – just look around. A couple of 10-dollar theological terms get to the essence of who Jesus is and why Christians worldwide are celebrating Easter today.
The late great theologian R.C. Sproul explains:
“Expiation … it has to do with taking away guilt through the payment of a penalty or the offering of an atonement. By contrast, propitiation has to do with the object of the expiation. The prefix pro means ‘for,’ so propitiation brings about a change in God's attitude, so that He moves from being at enmity [hostile] with us to being for us. Through the process of propitiation, we are restored into fellowship and favor with Him."
For the believing Christian, Jesus accomplished both things for us when He died and rose again. Obviously, the Savior of the world doesn't need an ad campaign to promote his significance, but surely it can do no harm.
