Check it out, if you haven't already.
Apparently it resonated with a lot of people, because the video went viral and, as of the time of this writing, has over 15 million hits. Everyone is talking about it, including the Washington Post blog, the Huffington Post, and even Yahoo! News.
Most of the reactions I've seen have been in support of the video, but I've seen a few "rebuttals" here and there as well.
The whole thing comes at an interesting time for me. I just heard a message about a month-and-a-half ago that pretty much said the exact same thing (links to highlights from that sermon are at the end of this post). Inspired by that message, I posted a comparison chart on Facebook that showed the difference between living life "on the way to the cross" and living life "on the way from the cross." That chart, in turn, became the focal point of discussion for two consecutive Sunday School lessons this month.
I think there's a lot of truth in this video, and I really hope it isn't the last word on the subject. What I mean is this: there may be some major discrepancies between Jesus and "the church" (or "religion," if you will) at this point in history, but that rift can be healed. I'd love it if a video like this had no link to reality 20 years from now, if the majority of people in the world could honestly say, "I actually don't see a huge difference between Christianity and Christ, except for maybe in one or two off-the-beaten-path groups here and there."
Healing that rift has to start with individual Christians and how they understand themselves in relation to God, how they understand what the New Covenant really is, and how much they grasp the revelation of the Father's heart.
We're not there, as a church-across-the-world ... not yet. There are a lot of Christians who have stepped into the New Covenant, but never left the Old Covenant mindset behind. Christianity is just a super-polished version of the Old Covenant in a lot of peoples' minds. My creed says I'm following after Jesus, but my life says that Moses is my traveling companion.
In "Moses," I am conscious of my "sin nature," but in Christ I rejoice that I am a participant in the Divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4).
In "Moses," I try really hard to obey God's laws so that He will bless me, but in Christ I remember that the requirements of the law have been met (Rom. 8:4), and I focus on simply receiving my inheritance (Rom. 8:17).
In "Moses," I see crises and tragedy in my life and I assume that God must be punishing me for having done something wrong, but in Christ I know that I am unpunishable (Rom. 8:1) because God doesn't play "Double Jeopardy."
In "Moses," I think God causes bad things to happen to me sometimes because He wants me to repent, but in Christ I know that it is the Enemy who does the stealing, killing, and destroying (John 10:10), and when God wants me to repent He employs the remedy of His goodness (Rom. 2:4), not the remedy of destruction.
In "Moses," I think of myself as an unworthy servant, but in Christ I know that I am a beloved son (Rom. 8:16, 1 John 3:1) who is worth everything to my Father.
In "Moses," I try to get a greater revelation of God's love and grace by focusing on my sinfulness, but in Christ I get a greater revelation of God's love and grace by focusing on God's love and grace.
In "Moses," I think that I have to hang my head in "humility" (which is really shame) in order to get God to move on my behalf, but in Christ I lift up my head in order to see the King of Glory come in (Ps. 24:7).
In "Moses," I try to content myself with what I have because I don't expect God to give me much, but in Christ I realize that God supplies my needs according to His riches (Phil. 4:19), not according to the limitations of my needs.
In "Moses," I work hard at becoming more righteous by obeying the law, but in Christ I know that I am already the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21), and my obedience comes from love, not for love.
In "Moses," sorrow and tears are the trustworthy signs that the Spirit is working, but in Christ I know that the fruit of the Spirit is joy (Gal. 5:22), so when He moves in my life I experience rejoicing.
In "Moses," I think of repentance as beating myself up and wallowing in shame before God, but in Christ I know that shame was completely dealt with at the cross, and repentance is renewing my mind so that I can be transformed (Rom. 12:2).
Healing the rift between religion and Jesus starts with healing the rift in ourselves, where we're living with one foot in each Covenant. When we embrace the full reality of the New Covenant and our own identity as sons and daughters of God, we start reflecting more Jesus and less religion. When we stop focusing on what we were (dead, depraved, sinful, miserable) and start focusing on what we are (alive, righteous, co-heir with Christ, dead to sin, unpunishable), we position ourselves to be conduits of God's love and grace to the world. When we get really good at focusing on our "sin nature" and our struggle to be righteous, we get really good at focusing on everyone else's sin and failure as well, and we position ourselves to be accusers.
When Christians start stepping, en masse, into their full inheritance, then churches across the world will start preaching (and demonstrating!) the extravagant goodness of God, which leads to true repentance. And when that happens, there will be no more distinction between Jesus and religion, because the "religion" practiced by the church will be nothing less than a continuation of the life and work of Jesus.
Enjoy the videos!
Jacob
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