If Jesus walked the earth today, He would be the most hated individual the world has ever seen. Even more than the first time He came around.
He would be hated by both CNN and Fox News. He would give no regard to political correctness, only truth. He would be hated by both liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans.
Celebrities, pastors, and sports athletes who conveniently cross themselves after hitting a home run, crossing the end zone, or winning their third Grammy… almost all of them are going to be offended by what he’ll teach when He comes again.
He won’t mince words. He won’t flatter people. He won’t twist the truth. And it will drive those who are in power absolutely bonkers. He’d be cancelled by churches, censored by tech companies, banned by social media, ridiculed and made fun of almost everywhere he goes.
The most troubling thing to consider is that Christ would probably be hated the most among professing Christians. You know… the Christians who come out to church only on Easter and Christmas. The Christians who lower their standards and acquiesce to the secular and political demands of their politicized, secularized, sexualized, and sensualized culture. The Christians who would rather “fit in” and not make a scene. The Christians who secretly like to sneak a little flask of Babylon into the worship service. The Christians who would rather accept the world out of their so-called empathy and compassion instead of accept the teachings and example of Christ in their entirety. The Christians who have their Bible sitting on their night stand but couldn’t tell you whether Genesis is found in the Old or New Testament. The Christians who keep every commandment but forget to love others. And the Christians who say they “love everyone” but think that love is enough to make them exempt from striving to keep the actual commandments that prove their love for God and his children. Remember… “on these two laws hang all the law and the prophets.”
Why would Jesus be so hated among the people who profess his name?
Because Jesus never was and never will be what the Christian world has made him out to be. And honestly, the thing that Christ hates the most is hypocrisy from those that claim to be godly, but whose actions are far from it. “Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, … And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord. First among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have not known me, and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house, saith the Lord.” (D&C 112: 23-26)
So much of the world talks of Jesus Christ as if he was some kind of fun-loving, happy go lucky, anything goes kind of guy. It’s much easier to build yourself a custom Christ. It’s much easier to turn the Messiah into a good ol’ fashion hippie friend. It’s much easier to think of him and his gospel like the Golden Corral, where you can pick and choose to live “your truth” according to your taste as if you were picking between the shrimp scampi and some stale mac and cheese. Nothing in Christ’s teachings resemble that this is even close to what he expects from us. You can’t walk down the aisle and say, “I’ll take a little bit of this and a little bit of that. But hey… that over there… you know, that’s not for me. I’m not really into that. But ooooooooohhhh Jesus, I’ll make sure and mention your name at my next political convention, my next press conference, or the next time it makes me look good in front of a crowd.”
When Jesus says, “If ye love me… keep my commandments,” the fair-weather Christians respond, “Well… Jesus cares more about my happiness than He does if I keep the commandments.”
Jesus says, “blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” The world responds, “But I’m living ‘my truth'”.
Jesus says, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” The lazy disciple responds, “Well then you are a judgmental and vengeful God.”
Jesus responds, “No I am a fair and loving God and my bowels are filled with mercy toward you. But if you don’t listen to me, and don’t believe me, then I can’t lead you toward happiness and away from the universally applicable laws of nature… laws that are even applicable to the gods.”
Paul chimes in and says, “If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.” (Heb 10:26) The fake disciple responds, “But his love is so boundless and his mercy so endless that I will be accepted by him at the last day. Christ has too big a heart to ever reject me.”
Christ says… ” I do love you… but ? ”
Just as Isaiah prophesied, people are looking for a church, a philosophy, and an ideology that will “give [them] smooth things.” Things that make them feel good and justify their way of living. John 3:16 and other related feel-good scriptures are thumped from the pulpits. Never mind all of that stuff that makes you feel like you need to get better. Never mind the endless verses bearing Christ’s words that require effort and sacrifice on behalf of the disciple.
The less a person reads the Bible, the more accepting Christ becomes to their desired actions. The less they need to change and improve. The less they need to repent. The more the philosophies of men get mingled with scripture.
If Jesus walked the earth today, he would be filled with love. He’d be hated by much of the world… but still… he’d be filled with love. He’s still going to teach truth and not equivocate just because someone has found “their truth.” There is no such thing as “my” truth. There is only THE truth. And Jesus will always stand for truth. For that reason he will be hated by much of the world… even by many of those that profess his name.
Jesus wants each of us to be happy. But we don’t find happiness by professing his name and not living his teachings. God loves me and you. YES! Absolutely. With a love that is unmatched. Unparalleled. But there is no way a sane person can read the New Testament, the parables, the teachings, the sermons… and conclude that Christ is not asking us, no, requiring us to do certain things and live a certain lifestyle in order to have him “open the door” to us when he comes again.
