In some ways, Jesus is extremely well-known throughout the world.  He is likely the most known person to ever have lived throughout the course of history.  However, for most people who know Jesus, they likely know very little about Him.  So although He is known by a large number of people, He is not very well known by those people.  What I’d like to do today is to take a look at what I like to call, American Jesus.

American Jesus

What do I mean by American Jesus?  What I mean is the Jesus that people in the United States think of, when they think of Jesus.  And although there is no absolute agreement or even consensus on Who Jesus is, or was, I would like to focus on the most common beliefs about Him, even if they are not universal, they are at least very common.

Who is “American” Jesus?

Here are some of the most popular beliefs about Jesus:

1. He was a real person(over 90%).
2. He was born in Bethlehem.
3. His family was poor.
4. He was a great teacher.
5. He was nice to the poor.
6. He was nice to women.
7. He took on the religious establishment.
8. He was loving and told people to love others.
9. He was forgiving and told people to forgive others.
10. He was not judgmental(i.e. He did not condemn people for doing bad things).
11. He told interesting stories(i.e. parables).
12. Jesus was God(a little over 50%, although that percentage decreases for younger Americans).
13. Jesus sinned just like other people(over 50% believe this).
14. Jesus is the way to get to heaven(about 40% of people, although about 20% believe they will make it to heaven because of their good deeds).
15. He was unjustly convicted on false charges and crucified by Romans.

Next, let’s take an extremely brief look at these to see if they are accurate, per the Bible.

1. He was a real person(over 90%). – Jesus is depicted as a real person throughout the New Testament. Matthew 1:1 begins with a genealogy of Who Jesus was, as well as His ancestors.  Luke begins his gospel by stating that he was putting down in writing the things that happened so people would know about Jesus(Luke 1:1-4).
2. He was born in Bethlehem. – In Luke 2:4-7, Joseph and Mary travel to Bethlehem, where Jesus is born.
3. His family was poor. – In Luke 2:21-24, Joseph and Mary take Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem in keeping with the Law of Moses to offer the appropriate sacrifice. According to Leviticus 12:7-8, a woman was to bring lamb as a sacrifice after having her first child.  If she could not afford a lamb(i.e. she was poor), she could offer two turtledoves or pigeons).
4. He was a great teacher. – Luke 4:32 states that people were amazed by His teaching. Matthew 7:28-29 effectively states the same thing.  Temple guards who were sent to arrest Jesus were amazed by the teaching of Jesus(John 7:45-46).
5. He was nice to the poor. – In Luke 14:13, Jesus told His followers to invite poor people to their parties. People would typically want to invite those who are financially well off, as they will invite the host to their party.  Jesus wanted people to invite the poor, even though the poor would not be able to reciprocate.
6. He was nice to women. – In Luke 7:36-50, a woman who is a known sinner comes to Jesus. While others looked down on her, Jesus complimented her and told her that her sins were forgiven.  It is important to note that Jesus did agree that she was a sinner, as it would be have unnecessary to forgive someone of their sins if they were not guilty of sinning.
7. He took on the religious establishment. – Jesus did this A LOT! Matthew 23, almost the entire chapter, is a condemnation against the Pharisees.  The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Luke 18:9-14, is Jesus outing the Pharisees for the self-righteousness.
8. He was loving and told people to love others. – Based on passages like John 15:17, Jesus told people to love one another.
9. He was forgiving and told people to forgive others. – Part of what is commonly referred to as the “Lord’s Prayer” includes a statement that we are to forgive others when they sin against us(Matt. 6:12; Luke 11:4).
10. He was not judgmental(i.e. He did not condemn people for doing bad things). – Jesus was forgiving, but definitely pointed out sin and told people to stop doing it(i.e. sinning). John 8:1-11 showcases a woman caught in adultery.  The Pharisees want to condemn her and have her stoned, per the Law of Moses.  Although Jesus does not condemn her, He tells her to go and sin no more.  There is judgment, but there is also mercy(not condemning her, as it took two or three witnesses under the Law of Moses and her accusers had left).  Jesus was very judgmental against the Pharisees in Matthew 23.  In Matt. 25:31-46, Jesus says that those who were not kind to His brothers and sisters would go away into eternal punishment(Matt. 25:46).  In Matt. 25:1-13, He condemns people who are not ready when He returns.  In Matt. 25:14-30, Jesus condemns those that He entrusted with gifts/abilities for not properly using them.
11. He told interesting stories(i.e. parables). – Several parables have been referenced already in this article.
12. Jesus was God(a little over 50%, although that percentage decreases for younger Americans). - John 1:1 begins with the fact that Jesus was God. His deity is central to John’s gospel.
13. Jesus sinned just like other people(over 50% believe this). – This is something that makes no sense.  The point of the entire Bible is that people are guilty of sin(Rom. 3:23) and the result of sin is death(Rom. 6:23).  People needed a sacrifice to pay for their sins.  Since the blood of animals was not good enough(), a sinless(a.k.a. unblemished) person needed to be that sacrifice, and Jesus was that sinless person(Heb. 10:1-18, esp. vv. 4 and 10).  Passages like I John 3:5 and I Pet. 1:19 highlight Jesus as being sinless.
14. Jesus is the way to get to heaven(about 40% of people, although about 20% believe they will make it to heaven because of their good deeds). In John 14:6, Jesus states that no one can come to the Father(God) except through Him(Jesus).  There is no other way to God.  And good deeds(i.e. works) will not get you there(Eph. 2:8-10).  It is grace from God(i.e. the sacrifice of Jesus for your sins), and only God’s grace that will get you to heaven.  This does not mean that you can just sit back and “let Jesus save you.”  There are things you have to do, but you will never earn your ticket to heaven.
15. He was unjustly convicted on false charges and crucified by Romans. – Luke 22:54 – 23:49 relates the arrest, trials, condemnation and crucifixion of Jesus. Witnesses were contradicting each other.  Lies were being told.  Jesus kept being confirmed to be innocent, yet He was eventually condemned to die and executed.

Looking back at American Jesus, it sounds like much, although not all, of the things stated about American Jesus are true, but some very important ones are not true.  Jesus was very judgmental against people who were unrepentant sinners.  If a sinner was willing to repent, Jesus was all about mercy,, but not if they did not have a heart filled with repentance.  And Jesus being a sinner?  Really?  That is just so contrary to the premise that the New Testament is founded on, that Jesus was a perfect(sinless) sacrifice for sins.  I doubt many people understand exactly what Jesus sinning would mean.  It would mean, for one thing, that people could not get to God(the Father) through Jesus.  A sinning Jesus is just like you are me, a sinner.  A sinless Jesus is not like you or me.  He can save us from our sins.

It is important to note that there are other aspects of Jesus not covered in the above information that people leave out of their American Jesus.  I will leave that to a follow-up article at some point in the future.  But for now, let’s look at American Jesus and see Him for what He is . . . flawed, as well as incomplete.  American Jesus is not the whole picture of Jesus.  It’s the parts that people are comfortable with.  How could you not like American Jesus?  He is all about love and forgiveness, and He requires almost nothing from you.  Sounds easy enough . . . sign me up?  Oh, wait, we don’t even need to do that.

Instead of following American Jesus, let’s look at the Jesus in the Bible.  Let’s follow Him.  Let’s do what He tells us to do, in contrast to the American Jesus Who tells us we need to do almost nothing.  Let’s be doers of the word, and not just casual listeners(James 1:22).