How Far Does the “He Gets Us” Jesus Get Us? Not Very Far…

Last updated on: February 18, 2024 at 3:37 pm by Dennis Knapp

0 Comments

How Far Does the “He Gets Us” Jesus Get Us? Not Very Far… 2024-02-18T15:37:11-06:00 Dennis Knapp

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Did you see it? If you watched Super Bowl LVIII, you know what I am referring to—the foot washing commercial put out by “He Gets Us.” Click here to see the video again.

In the video, various people wash the feet of others.

A youth washes the feet of an older man (probably his father)
An African American policeman washes the foot of a young African American man
A blonde girl washes the feet of another girl with colored hair sitting on a skateboard
An older white man washes the foot of a Native American
A white woman washes the feet of a young, tattooed woman outside an abortion clinic
A girl washes the feet of an alcoholic woman
A white oilman washes the feet of a non-white environmental activist
A suburban blonde mom washes the foot of a migrant with a baby
A woman washing the foot of a Muslim woman in a hijab
A protestor washing the feet of another protestor
Two older men (one white and one black) sit soaking their feet
Finally, a Catholic priest washes the feet of gay man

The video ends with the words:

JESUS DIDN’T TEACH HATE. HE WASHED FEET. He gets us. All of us. Jesus.

Airing during the Super Bowl, this commercial reached over 120 million viewers (thanks to Taylor Swift?) with its message about Jesus, or at least, a message from its version of “Jesus.”

How far does the “He Gets Us” Jesus get us? Does the message of this Jesus lead us to the kingdom of God? Did Jesus teach us not to “hate?”

Indeed, the real Jesus “gets us,” but does the “He Gets Us” Jesus get Him?

The “He Gets Us” Jesus

In reviewing the “He Gets Us” website, clearly the Jesus presented is one that buys into and promotes the Progressive victim hierarchy. Right off, the organization ponders:

How did the story of a man who taught and practiced unconditional love, peace, and kindness; who spent his life defending the poor and the marginalized; a man who even forgave his killers while they executed him unjustly — whose life inspired a radical movement that is still impacting the world thousands of years later — how did this man’s story become associated with hatred and oppression for so many people? And how might we all rediscover the promise of the love his story represents? Those are the questions at the heart of He Gets Us.

In this statement, Jesus identifies with the victim and gets used (and his message abused) by the oppressors. Now, the website does not identify these “oppressors” and “haters.” However, given their use of words like “justice,” “sexuality,” “identity,” and terms like “the righteous ends justifying the dehumanizing means” and referring to Jesus as “the world’s most radical love activist,” the “oppressors” become clear: ideologically conservative Christians.

Ironically, in their attempt to de-weaponize Jesus, “He Gets Us” further weaponizes Him against religious conservatives in the guise of radical “kindness, patience, and the respect and dignity of others…”

Jesus as Victim and Victor

In the Bible, Jesus does present Himself as the victim (and priest) offered for the sins of the world. He also identifies as the victor over sin and death through His resurrection. The Jesus presented in “He Gets Us” represents yet another version of the Jesus professed and admired by Progressive Christians and non-religious progressives. This Jesus eats with sinners, feeds the poor, and heals the sick (all true and good things), but this Jesus also does not judge and accepts people as they are (also good). However, this Jesus does not demand or expect holiness through transformative change (not good). In other words, the Jesus presented in “He Gets Us” only “gets us” the typical progressive milquetoast victim Jesus (not the risen triumphant Jesus of the Bible and Church history).

Jesus and Hate

Moreover, in a past article, I addressed where Jesus mentioned “hate” and in what context Christians ought to “hate.” Christians ought to hate sin and love righteousness. Christians ought not to excuse sin or seek to redefine sin to appear “nonjudgmental” or come off as activists for “radical love.” In fact, Christians, like Christ, ought to “not judge” and “hate sin” at the same time. We, like Christ, can wash feet and say to the person to whose feet we wash, “go, and sin no more.” To use a proverbial phrase, Christians can “walk and chew gum” at the same time.

Questions Answered

To close, let us review the questioned at the beginning of this article.

How far does the “He Gets Us” Jesus get us?

Sadly, the “He Gets Us” Jesus does not “get us” very far in terms of the full message and mission of Jesus. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. In saving “the lost,” Jesus does not leave those He saves as “lost.” He does not leave us in our sins. Nor does He command us to simply “wash” the soles of people’s feet while ignoring the stain of sin on their eternal souls.

Does the message of this Jesus lead us to the kingdom of God?

No. It leads us to what Catholics call “corporal works of mercy,” but it ignores the effects of sins on our souls that desperately need cleansing.

Did Jesus teach us not to “hate?”

Jesus taught us to hate sin. Jesus taught us to “go, and sin no more.”

As previously stated, the real Jesus “gets us,” but the “He Gets Us” Jesus does not get Him. This Jesus is nothing more than another attempt to weaponize a progressive milquetoast version of Jesus against conservative Christians in the guise of “radical love” and against “hate.” I recommend avoiding this “Jesus,” as he lacks the power to save.