With apologies to Andrew Lloyd Webber…
Who, exactly, is this Jesus Christ of American politics? The Right invokes Jesus in the name of pro-life causes, marriage, and “Judeo-Christian ethics.” The Left invokes Jesus in the name of feeding the poor, helping immigrants, and taxing billionaires to the moon.
Those Christians who typically emphasize conversion, spiritual purity, and the saviorhood of Jesus, make up a chunk of the political Right. Other Christians, who emphasize societal justice, spiritual authenticity, and the ministry of Jesus, make up a chunk of the political Left.
Some Christians seem afraid to acknowledge Jesus as Messiah in whom the entire world must believe, while other Christians seem to invoke a Jesus who had a body solely that it could be killed, and not so he could share in the life of humanity. Some Christians who lean Left invoke a Jesus who rages against the über-rich, but struggle with a Jesus to whom all judgment has been committed. Others on the Right invoke a Jesus who rages against “cultural Marxism,” DEI, and CRT, but would struggle with a Jesus today who allowed a woman of ill-reputation to wash and kiss his feet at the diner.
The same Jesus who said it is possible for a rich person to enter heaven, preached repentance to the poor. The same Jesus who said the poor hearing the gospel was a sign of his Messiahship, told a rich man to sell all that he had and give it to the poor, before that same rich man could follow him.
The same Jesus who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me,” also said, “If anyone thirsts, let them come to me and drink.” The same Jesus who welcomed Jews, Gentiles, men, women, children, lepers, and repentant religious leaders and occupying soldiers into his Kingdom, also made it clear the way into that Kingdom is narrow; few find it.
Neither the political Right nor Left nor the Christian theological spectrum has cornered the market on Jesus. Dangerously for them all is they are creating a shoddy AI Jesus who represents all their preferred ideals but none of their rejected ones. You cannot worship a “Jesus” who died an atoning death on the cross but did not have a ministry filled with daily, practical ministry among hurting, oppressed people. Nor can you worship a “Jesus” who fed the hungry, healed the sick, and challenged government and religious leaders, but did not die an atoning death on the cross.
You cannot preach a “Jesus” whose family immigrated from one land to another for fear of their lives, then argue the fulfilled prophecy has no bearing on today. Nor can you preach a “Jesus” who is all love, whose holiness doesn’t matter for him then or us now, or a Jesus who is all holiness, whose love for the whole world is not the pattern his disciples must follow.
Conservatives can’t say, “But I do love my neighbor,” then define neighbor in such a way that only carbon copies of themselves fit, while Liberals can’t say, “But I do love my neighbor,” then define love in such a way that excludes the primacy of the gospel.
The biblical Jesus is both Savior and Servant, both the friend of sinners and Lord of Lords. He fed the hungry, healed the sick, raised the dead, preached the gospel to the poor, challenged the rich, welcomed a humbled insurrectionist into his kingdom, rebuked some religious leaders while redeeming others, and died and raised for them (us) all.
Jesus is neither Marxist nor Capitalist; he is neither Democrat nor Republican; he is neither Right nor Left. Jesus the Messiah transcends earthly categories and labels. Attempts to co-opt Jesus to a political party inevitably end with a god not God, a three-armed, computer-generated animation, all pixels but no power.
There is only one Jesus. Scripture presents as much of him as we can apprehend. Picking and choosing the aspects of Jesus that fit our politics is not the same as following him. It is idolatry as sure as carving an image of wood or chiseling one of stone. Jesus is not our political star. He’s the sovereign against whom all our politics are measured. No political leader or party measures up, and God’s people should stop pretending they do.
