Was Jesus Politically Correct?

There’s been this notion, I think, even in Christianity, that Jesus was always a nice guy who freely healed the sick, raised the dead. In children’s Bibles, we see pictures of Jesus playing with the children, and often children in Sunday school, my self included, are or were taught songs like “Jesus Loves the Little Children,” or “Jesus Loves Me.”

Although, I think people are willing to admit that there are two examples of Jesus being “nasty:” “In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, ‘Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.’” (John 2:14-16) Similarly, in the week prior to His crucifixion, we are told that “Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, ‘It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den of robbers.’” (Matthew 21:12-13)

I also admit that most professing Christians would probably concede that when He returns, that He will come as a judge in His full power and glory. But, Jesus, when we look at Scripture, we see that He wasn’t always the nicest guy to be around during His earthly ministry.

In fact, Pastor John MacArthur of Grace Community Church in southern California, recently wrote a book called The Jesus You Can’t Ignore about this issue. I haven’t read the book, but we should perhaps go through Scripture to see that Jesus wasn’t the person who was always the nicest guy.

“Then He began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.'" (Matthew 11:20-24)

“Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, ‘Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.’ He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.' 5But you say, 'If anyone tells his father or his mother, "What you would have gained from me is given to God,’ he need not honor his father.' So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me in vain do they worship me,teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” (Matthew 15:1-9)

"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? And you say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.' You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?” (Matthew 23:13-33)

“While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. And the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.’” (Luke 11:37-41)


“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ They answered him, ‘We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, 'You will become free?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father. They answered him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did.’ They said to him, ‘We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies…Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.’” (John 8:34-44 & 47)

Now, am I putting up these verses to suggest that Jesus was a mean person? By no means!!! However, Jesus didn’t mince words, and loved people enough to tell them their state.

A prime example of this is in John 6 after He feeds the 5,000 men, plus women and children, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. We read that the people followed Him around the Sea of Galilee, with the intention of making Him king, and meet up with Jesus on the other side, and Jesus tells them plainly: "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” (John 6:26) He also plainly tells them, after being asked what the people can be doing to do the works of God: "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent…Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.’” (John 6:29, 35-36)

You see, Jesus, while being loving, wasn’t being politically correct. But, unfortunately, I think that there has been a notion in today’s society that being loving and being politically correct are basically the same thing.

I mean, I’m sure that the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) thought it was being “loving,” when it voted to allow homosexual clergy a couple weeks ago, and some in the name of “love,” like Tony Jones, have decided that homosexuality is no longer a sin. It’s “unloving” to proclaim that Christ is the only way to Salvation, and God forbid that a preacher even mention the word “hell” to people, let alone preach on it. Now, the issues I raised, and others, such as abortion, should be confronted with compassion, but also with the truths found in Scripture nonetheless

But, unfortunately, truth isn’t what people really want to hear. In fact, we are told that “the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (2nd Timothy 4:3-4)

Therefore, it’s little wonder that “preachers” like Joel Osteen, who proclaims “your best life now,” or Emergent leaders like Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, or Doug Pagitt, who clearly contest the clear words of Scripture are so popular today, because they teach exactly what people want to hear. No longer is the truth of Scripture relevant, but personal feelings and “feel-good” messages of self-help.

He certainly didn't come preaching that you'll have health & prosperity. In fact, he stated that we will be persecuted because of Him and that "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household." (Matthew 10:34-36)Nor, did He come, as many Emergents claim, to be a social activist like Martin Luther King Jr. or Ghandi. No, He claim to proclaim TRUTH!!!

However, admittedly, most people, particularly in America, don't want that Jesus. In fact, judging by the verses that I put up, I would guess that Jesus Himself, if He were to come preach a sermon at some of these churches, His preaching would clear the pews and He would be shown the door.