Was Jesus Sexy?

I mean not was he a snack but was his teachings meant to make us rich.

I know that we’re taught to believe that Jesus was this meek and humble servant of God, but for some of us in this tradition, we believe he was God’s son. Yeah, Jesus was God in the flesh, but was Jesus sexy?

You may have always thought that living for Jesus was this glamorous life. I did. I thought it would lead to success. It would lead to a great wife—a great life. I would be a famous prophet or someone enamored of the praise of people in my community. I would enjoy the success that some of my peers were experiencing. That I would be an itinerant preacher. I would travel the world and tell everyone about Jesus. I would be this gifted speaker. But, we are who we are. I may be able to succeed in some of those things, but they’re not what God or Jesus called me to. So, when I write that Jesus is not sexy, I’m speaking to the health and wealth contingent of the charismatic movement and evangelicals who believe in the prosperity gospel.

We preach that Jesus was meek and lowly, but we live like he was prideful and spiteful. We live as if he called us to be Rome, not called us out of Rome. He actually never told us to be something we were not. We are children of God, and that is what God has always called us into. Rome had a strategy of peace through excessive violence. The idea was known as Pax Romana, or peace through victory. If someone were a dissenter or objector, they would be killed and silenced.

I’ve seen it over and over again in this movement. The evangelical charismatic ones have all prioritized power and prestige. I’m not against being successful. I want to be successful. That’s up to you and God on what success looks like, but I believe that the life of Jesus recorded in scripture is my truth north. I want to be humble. I suck at it. I want to pursue peace, I’m vengeful, I want to be giving, but more often I seek to hoard my resources, even when at times I have more than enough. I argue with myself that I deserve to have these things because I didn’t previously.

Now that’s not an excuse. There are times when it’s right to hold on to your things. But there is also a time to let go. There is a time to hold things lightly.

In the charismatic world, we spout prophetic words, evangelize our neighbors, and vote red every four years, or seemingly we’re supposed to. If you don’t, that’s fine. I don’t either. I actually believe that the Democratic Party holds to more of the gospel than the fiscal conservatives do. I believe in liberal policies and supporting the most vulnerable. Matthew 25:31-46 has been my life verse for as long as I can remember. I have a very good friend who pointed out that portion of scripture to me years ago, and it never left me. There are entire movements designed around pursuing the fulfillment of those verses in the public square. One of those movements was Red Letter Christians, formed in part by my late great friend, mentor, and hero, Tony Campolo, and his one-time student, now colleague for love and justice, Shane Claiborne, who was famous for authoring, Ordinary Radical some years ago.

In getting back to my original polemic, Jesus was not sexy. He’s not a republican. He’s not a democrat. He’s not even independent in the form of a political party. He’s the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He’s Alpha and Omega, He’s the Beginning and the End. He’s El Shadai. He’s so much, and yet we don’t perceive it. He’s the King. He humbled himself and, theologically speaking, left “heaven” and became a man. He put on flesh and lived among us. He’s humble, He’s patient, He’s generous, He’s not prideful, He’s not us. Jesus is not a mere man. Jesus was God in the flesh. He’s the reason why we live, He’s the reason we die. He’s not a nationalist. He’s not a tyrannical King. He’s not a selfish, greedy entrepreneur. He’s a generous, most merciful savior.

So why the hell do his believers live as if they’ve never known this man? Why do they live like he’s an idea and not an actual historical person? Jesus was real, and Jesus’ pronouncements were not for selfishness. Jesus was for the oppressed, the marginalized, the maligned, the desperate, and hopeless. He was for the unhoused, unloved, unknown, exile. He was for the sex worker, the drug dealer, the drug addict, the perverted, and the pious. He was God. He was Jesus. He was for the documented and the undocumented. See, Jesus was for the Jews, and he was for the Gentiles.

Moreover, Jesus was for everyone.

Jesus wasn’t sexy. Although that sounds pretty hot, come to think of it.