What's God Like?

The scriptures referred to are Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12.

In a famous Monty Python sketch, a couple of clients are waiting in an office to hear the presentations of 2 architects on a proposed residential block. The first, Mr. Wiggin, played by John Cleese, points to his model and says, “This is a 12 story block combining classical neo-Georgian features with the efficiency of modern techniques. The tenants arrive here and are carried along the corridor on a conveyor belt in extreme comfort, past murals depicting Mediterranean scenes, towards the rotating knives.” 

As Mr. Wiggin explains what happens to the blood, the clients interrupt. “Did you say 'knives'?” they ask.

”Rotating knives, yes,” says Mr. Wiggin. 

“Do I take it that you are proposing to slaughter our tenants?” the clients ask. 

Mr. Wiggin looks a bit confused. “Does that not fit in with your plans?” 

“Not really. We asked for a simple block of flats,” the clients say. 

“Oh,” says Mr. Wiggin, “I hadn't fully divined your attitude towards the tenants. You see, I mainly design slaughter houses.” 

Then the sketch, as is typical of Python, veers off in another direction, satirizing Freemasons, a group of which the British are inordinately suspicious.

Why did I start my sermon with a 50 year old comedy sketch? Because of Mr. Wiggin's line about not fully divining the clients' attitude towards their tenants. And there are a lot of people, including some in charge of society, and even some in churches, who do not seem to understand God's attitude towards his creation and those who dwell in it. And part of that is due to a very selective reading of various scriptures that, pulled out of context, seem to support the idea that God wants his tenants to go, if not into rotating knives, then into hell. And this despite the one New Testament verse everyone knows, thanks to its ubiquity on bumper stickers and church sign boards and hand-lettered signs held up at televised sports: John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that he gave his unique Son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God's attitude? He loves the world of people so much that he sent his Son to save them.

Now usually the next topic would be the cross but I am following our passage in Hebrews which says, “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds.” The author of Hebrews is basically saying what the gospel of John says in its first verse, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Or as the J.B. Phillips translation puts it, “At the beginning God expressed himself. That personal expression, that word, was with God and was God.”

Hebrews goes on to say, “He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being...” The Greek word translated “imprint” means a mold or a stamp used to make a coin. Just as a quarter or a silver dollar is the exact image the sculptor created, Jesus is the exact image of God's very being. In other words, Jesus Christ is God's personal expression of who he is. If you want to know what God is really like, look at Jesus. When people get God's attitude towards people wrong, it's usually because they get Jesus wrong.

We can literally see how people viewed Jesus by looking at Christian art. The earliest depiction of Christ, once we get past symbols like the ichtys (or fish) and the anchor, is that of the good shepherd, a beardless youth carrying a lamb on his shoulders. Jesus was also depicted as a baby, held by his mother. About 235 AD, he is portrayed as a young beardless philosopher, more typically Greco-Roman than Jew. And in scenes showing events from the gospels, such as his baptism or raising Lazarus, he is still seen as a youth, beardless and with short hair. Only from the late 3^rd century on do we see a bearded Jesus with long hair. And that may have been because beards became popular among Christians. So people were depicting Christ in their own image, not God's.

This becomes very obvious when Christianity is legalized by Constantine. Now that the faith is favored by the emperor, Christ starts being depicted as King, majestically enthroned and dressed in rich robes. Called Christ Pantocrator, meaning Christ Almighty or Christ Ruler of All, this version became one of the most common religious images in the East, where the emperor now resided. Christ's left hand holds a book for teaching and his right hand is raised in blessing. In the West we see a version of this called Christ in Majesty, where he's seated on his throne and surrounded by the 4 evangelists or other religious figures. A variant is Christ in Judgment, his hands pointing saints up to heaven and sinners down to hell. Those in power liked this version of Christ and fancied themselves to be like him, with the godlike power of life or death over others, even if it meant turning this world into a slaughterhouse for the people God created.

But how does Jesus describe himself? The title he most frequently uses of himself is Son of Man, which appears 84 times in the gospels. This phrase could mean simply a human being but Jesus' use of it makes it obvious he is thinking of the passage in Daniel that says, “And with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man was approaching. He went up to the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him. To him was given ruling authority, honor, and sovereignty. All peoples, nations, and language groups were serving him. His authority is eternal and will not pass away. His kingdom will not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14) 

And indeed the largest number of Son of Man sayings have to do with him coming in glory to judge those who are in the right with him or those who aren't. Yet those he judges as being right with him aren't usually the powerful but those who helped the poor and disadvantaged. Those who neglected to do so, even though they had the power, are the ones who are condemned. (Matthew 25:31-46)

The second largest group of Son of Man sayings have to do with his suffering, death and resurrection. He will be betrayed, abused and killed by the authorities. This was unique. Nothing in Jewish thought connected the Messiah with suffering and death. The only thing like it was the suffering servant of God found in Isaiah 53. And in contrast to the popular image of a king on a throne, the Son of Man's glory is revealed in his death on the cross. (John 13:31) Jesus, explaining why his followers must be servants to all, says, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) This is not your typical earthly ruler, then or now.

Instead, “the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20) “The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.” (Luke 19:10) “The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Mark 2:10) even of those who speak against him. (Matthew 12:32) The Son of Man does not live for himself but dies for others. (John 12:23-24, 32-33) Or as it says in Hebrews, Jesus died “that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” Why? Because he so loved the world, he was willing to die to save it.

And while all Christians affirm that Jesus died for us, there is resistance to the logic that we are to be like him in selfless sacrifice. When Peter pushed back on Christ's saying that he must suffer and die, Jesus said, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel will save it. For what benefit is it for a person to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his life?” (Mark 8:34-36)

But the most popular forms of Christianity are precisely those that downplay disowning yourself and taking up the instrument of your death and following Jesus down that road. The biggest churches and the most popular preachers are generally those who say God wants you to be rich and happy and have the good life now. They tell you to claim it. It's yours if you only believe hard enough. Which means if you aren't rich and happy, it's your own fault for lacking sufficient faith.

That's a distortion of the gospel severe enough to be called a heresy, a false teaching. Jesus never guarantees anyone worldly riches and earthly pleasures. (John 16:33) In fact, one rich man, who loves his possessions more than following Jesus, is told to sell all he has and give it to the poor. When the man leaves Christ's presence, crestfallen, Jesus says, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Luke 18:18-23) His listeners, shocked because they thought God must favor the rich because of all that he has blessed them with, ask Jesus, “Then who can be saved?” To which Jesus replies, “This is impossible for mere humans, but not for God; all things are possible for God.” (Mark 10:27) Wealth is not evidence of God's favor, much less salvation. Those following Jesus must be willing to make sacrifices, as he did.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul says, “You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, who, though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8) Jesus did not cling to his position as God but gave up his divine prerogatives and became one of us. He further humbled himself and willingly went to his death, the painful and humiliating death on the cross, for our sake. If he did that for us, how can we hold back from letting everything go and following him?

Paul continues, “As a result God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11) Likewise Jesus says that whatever we give up for him will be repaid by God 100 times over. (Matthew 19:29)

Who God is and his intentions toward us are clear if you look at Jesus. He does not hate or wish to harm us. God is love, self-sacrificial love for the lost and those who need forgiveness. (1 John 4:8-10) He is willing to go to extraordinary lengths to save us. And we are to follow his example.

Because not only is Jesus the exact image of God but we, too, were created in God's image. (Genesis 1:27) That image has been marred in us by our sin and selfishness and lack of love for God and others. But Jesus came to restore that image. As in says in 1 John, “...what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that whenever it is revealed we will be like him...” (1 John 3:2) In other words, we will embody Christlike love for others, helping, forgiving, healing and reconciling them to God and to each other.

So if you want to know what God is really like, look to Jesus. And if you want to know what we can become, look to Jesus. But don't just look. Follow him. Leave behind what clings to you and tries to hold you back. It won't always be pleasant or easy. But it will be fulfilling and rewarding. And it is what you were created to be.