Jesus didn’t have a theology.
That is to say, he didn’t come with a nice, tidy, little systemized set of creeds and beliefs and parameters and rules; the way we Christians wish he had.
The totality of Jesus life and ministry laid out in his four Gospel biographies, present a subversive, enigmatic, confusing, expansive, gritty, counterintuitive, radical panorama; one revealing the infinitely faceted character of God.
It’s a massive, cosmic picture that we in the American Church have managed to squeeze down into a thumbnail profile photo.
Jesus did a lot of stuff while his feet were on the planet:
He spoke extensively in cryptic, symbolic word pictures about the “Kingdom of God”; one that was as elusive and insidious and powerful as “yeast in the dough”.
He laid out the markers of those who embraced this countercultural, invisible kingdom; through a decidedly nebulous set of heart character traits.
He taught in audacious hyperbole about gouging out a lustful eye, and about needing to hate your own family to follow him.
He scandalously touched shunned lepers, ate with skeptical religious Pharisees; he healed on holy days, he washed filthy feet, and he lived homeless.
He preached moral purity, while having dinner with sinners and outcasts.
He was the most important person in any room he entered, yet he continually sought the lowest places.
He was the most powerful person in any gathering he was ever a part of, yet he never lifted a finger unless it was to heal or bring hope.
(Seriously, you try to put all that into a 10-word mission statement, or a 7-point core value Powerpoint, or even a cohesive doctrinal system.)
One of the saddest things in our modern Christian culture, is the way we’ve shrunken, boxed, and marketed Jesus for mass consumption.
Over the last few decades, we’ve managed to take the beautifully wild, sprawling life and ministry of the one who we claim to be Divinity, and turned it into nothing more than a simple, clear blueprint for building a ladder to Heaven:
Confess your sins. Walk down the aisle. Accept Jesus into your heart. Get out of jail free.
This is what far too many Evangelical churches have distilled the Gospel down into; A magic prayer to avoid Hell.
Nevermind the beautifully vivid parables, or the confounding talk about becoming “servant of all“, or the weighted warnings about not tangibly loving the least. Forget Jesus feeding multitudes, and grieving with distraught families, and laying into religious hypocrites, and creating messy community with anyone who would join him.
And by all means, discard anything in Jesus’ life and ministry that’s the least bit ambiguous. We can’t build massive religious organizations around ambiguous. We can’t craft succinct church mission statements around ambiguous. We can’t scare or manipulate or move people with ambiguous.
Was Jesus’ theology, John 3:16? Sure, but it was also Matthew 5:44, and Luke 6:37, and Mark 2:17 too.
Was Jesus’ theology about getting people into Heaven? It sure seems so, but it was also about bringing Heaven down, here on earth, right now.
Was Jesus’ theology about living to a high moral standard? Yes, but it was also about relentless forgiveness when that standard was missed.
Was Jesus’ theology about a Cross? Of course, but it was about a life lived on the way to it, and in the wake of it.
If we bring all of his life and ministry to bear upon us, and consider every precious word, and every miraculous display, and every meaningful personal interaction, we’re left with a Jesus who is so much greater than simply an altar call; a Jesus whose methods and purpose and mission aren’t as figureoutable as we want to admit.
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:28-30
At the end of the day, it would be too easy to simply say Jesus’ theology was Love, but maybe Love; as vast, and heart-altering, and screw-up covering, and disarming and inexplicable as it is; is the closest thing to Jesus that we have.
Love too, is ambiguous.
Be careful with your doctrine, Christian. It may be too small… and it may be keeping you from really seeing Jesus.
