Was Jesus a Liberal? The Myth Debunked!
You’ve noticed the crappy trend… it’s become popular and politically expedient to force a leftist political view on your Christian and conservative friends… in the name of Jesus (except when it comes to homosexuality or abortion). How many times have you heard something like,
“Jesus hung out with sinners!”
“Jesus didn’t judge people!”
“Jesus took care of the poor!”
Best of all, usually the person trying to shove your Christianity down your throat has probably never even read a Bible. Because if they’d read it, they might think a little differently on the subject of Jesus and what he actually taught and who he actually “hung out with.” So let’s talk about this. The first, and most commonly repeated myth…
Whiny leftists Myth #1: “But, but… still! Jesus loved poor people! You conservatives don’t care about anyone!”
It’s true. Jesus did love poor people. Jesus commanded His followers to care for the poor (Matthew 19:21 and such). Thus, leftists take what we call “creative license” and insinuate the Jesus advocated for a complex system of wealth distribution as determined by the federal government. Of course that never happened.
Jesus stayed out of taxes. Namely because Tax collectors like Matthew were put on the same playing field as prostitutes (yes really). The only time he really waded into politics was when he called out the Pharisees and Sadducees, who many argued were the political ruling class of the day. SPOILER ALERT: Christ wasn’t a huge fan.
Jesus sidestepped the question of taxes when asked, responding “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Mark 12:17.
Contrast that with the leftist interpretation. “…. pretty much render it all unto Caesar.”
Also, fun fact, the Bible does say that if a man won’t work, then he shouldn’t eat. It doesn’t say, “If a man can’t find exactly the job he wants with the perfect benefit package making $75,000 a year, he needs a union and a bailout.”
In fact in the Parable of the Talents, we have this little gem:
“His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money back in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” (Matthew 25: 26-30)
Seems to me like the message is clear: God rewards those who work hard and use/invest their money responsibly. So don’t be stupid with it.
Whiny leftist myth #2 – “Jesus hung out with the sinners, man!”
Every time Jesus interacts with a “sinner” in the Gospels, that person’s life is forever changed. When sinners came in contact with Jesus, it wasn’t a “Hey, let’s have a sin-party!” moment, it was a life changing moment. Like these peeps:
- Mary? No longer a prostitute. She wasn’t sandwiching Christ in between her 4 and 6 o’clock. Some argue she wasn’t a prostitute, but at the very least an immoral broad.
- Matthew? No longer a tax collector (whom the Jewish people viewed as traitors and the scum of the earth).
Whiny leftist Myth #3: “Well, I believe in Jesus, so I can do whatever I want! He didn’t judge people and neither should you!”
Again, back to the the Pharisees and Sadducees, the ruling religious class of their day. These were the guys who knew every jot and tittle (fun Jewish reference there, look it up) of their law and were supposed to exemplify a moral life, while teaching others how to live morally.
These guys were supposed to be the most righteous people on the planet in Jesus’s time. But Jesus didn’t say to them, “Hey, you guys get it, no judgement zone. Do whatever you want. It’s all good.”
The opposite happened: Jesus held the Pharisees and Sadducees to a higher standard. He judged them. Know what Jesus called them? Hypocrites. Snakes. Blind. White-walled tombs full of dead men’s bones. Fools (which was actually one of the worst insults there was back then). Jesus even overthrew their cheating, money-making scheme in the Temple. He got downright violent.
Jesus wasn’t a liberal. Jesus wasn’t a socialist. Jesus didn’t come to earth to show the world what a perfect government utopia should look like.
Jesus was about you. That’s what matters to Him. Who you are and what you do. Unfortunately, that comes far to close to the concept of personal responsibility. So rather than address it, leftists just concoct a lie and go with that.
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