White Jesus

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers,  All things were created through Him and for Him.  And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
Colossians 1: 15 - 17 NKJV

I read this week that a civil rights activist by the name of Shaun King has been calling for the destruction of statues of Jesus.  King takes this stand because he views the traditional images of Christ which we find in many Christian publications as standing for white European supremacy.  I get it.  I've heard many arguments over the years of which race it was that Jesus belonged.  Well, Jesus is the firstborn of the human race.  Without getting too much into the details, Jesus is recognized as the second Adam, who came along to fix what the damage that first Adam had done in the garden of Eden.  What Shaun King fails to realize is that Jesus, being one of the most broken men in our entire history, would more than likely agree with his stance if he were to have the ability to ask Him.  For Jesus was never white, European OR entitled.  He is the Son of the living God.  Along the way, He was also the son of a poor common family.  Despite His holy nature, Jesus grew up knowing and experiencing most of the pain and hardships which you and I face in our own lives {Hebrews 4:15}.  Jesus can sympathize with our shortcomings because He's been there Himself.  You want to talk about privilege?  Jesus was persecuted and put to death by the elitists of his day.  The Jewish authorities were hell bent on condemning Jesus because they didn't like what He was saying.  For one thing, Jesus condemned the Jewish authorities for their practices against their own people {Matthew 23:13}.  When you really look at the life of Jesus, He was as far from a elitist as one could get.  Perhaps Mr. King should ask the multitudes of people who have held Jesus up as that example of what is true and just.  Before I get away from the point Shaun King was attempting to make, let's address it shall we?  So, who is it that profits from the image of the white, European Jesus?  The same people who have been pushing this image of Jesus for centuries.  Hundreds of years ago, the followers of Jesus needed a image by which to know Him by.  Sort of like a family photo.  The church was more than willing to provide  their flocks with a image of Jesus to adore.  After the reign of Constantine (272-237), these images of Jesus became more prevalent.

"Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Devine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's understanding."
Acts 17: 29 NKJV

One reason that I didn't take Shaun Kings comments all that seriously is because I know better.  I know that Jesus is more than just a image of stone or art.  If all of the statues of Jesus were torn down today, would that change who Jesus is?  Not at all!  I see the various paintings and statues of Christ as somewhat akin to idol worship.  Our friends of the catholic faith way be well aware of idols in the church.  Gods definition of idols is clear.

"You shall have no other gods before Me.  You shall not make for yourselves a carved image - any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth."
Exodus 20: 3 - 4 NKJV

Like the symbolism of the cross, the image of Jesus has almost become more important than the man Himself.  But what about this entire white Jesus thing?  Well, the truth of Jesus is that He is the image of the invisible God {Colossians 1:15}.  When we see Jesus, we see the Father as well {John 14:7}.  This is important to how those who actually knew Jesus saw Him.  Where was it that Jesus spent most of His time on earth?  That's right, in what we would today call the middle east.  How many white Europeans would you see walking around Jerusalem back in Jesus's day?  I'm guessing not many at all.  My point is that Jesus would appear to those around Him as one of them.  He was, for all intents, the son of a Jewish carpenter.  His physical appearance would associate Him with other young men of His time.  This was no white European Jesus.  However, if we want to really get down to brass tacks, the Jesus of today is white, black, Asian, European etc.  We do not define Jesus.  Jesus defines all who we are {Galatians 2:20}.

~Scott~