Jesus Tops the Polls
In a recent poll people were asked which dead person they would most like to meet. The result of the poll put Shakespeare third, Princess Diana second, and Jesus Christ first. It might, at first glance, seem strange that in an age where Christianity generally gets a bad press that Jesus should receive such attention. But that is to make some assumptions about people’s view of Christianity. By and large people make a distinction between Jesus Christ and the Church, and while they realise that Christianity has to do with Jesus Christ, they actually make a stronger connection between the Church and Christianity. So they have negative views about Christianity because of their generally negative perception of the Church. But Jesus is something different.
What this poll highlights is that there is a very vague and fuzzy view of Jesus in many people’s minds. He was a great teacher and has had a massive influence on the world. He is the great example in history of sacrificial love and commitment to others. He was born at Christmas, died on Good Friday and in some way rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. When He was alive He did very good things and He has set an example for people to follow in terms of caring and generous living. This is the sort of generalisation that people believe about Him. And such a man would be fascinating to meet, if it were possible. Of course, many evangelical Christians would want to fill out that knowledge with all manner of details about His origins and eternal being as God, and about His real reason for being in the world, and so on. But to most people that is about the institutional bit of Christianity, the Church, and they don’t really want to know.
This sort of fuzziness is reflected in many of the presentations of Jesus in popular culture. It is quite surprising to see how much Jesus features in popular songs - there are numerous examples that could be quoted. One that is very well known is the country and western song "One day at a time". The refrain for that sounds quite good on a superficial hearing. Here’s what it says -
One day at a time sweet Jesus
That’s all I’m asking from you
Just give me the strength
To do everyday what I have to do
Yesterday’s gone sweet Jesus
And tomorrow may never be mine
Lord help me today, show me the way
One day at a time.
Sadly the verses are less than spiritual or accurate in any doctrinal sense - they do, of course, express people’s view of Jesus as some sort of mystical means of help. That is how Jesus is regarded a good man, who did and taught amazing things, but who is just a sort of influence out there that we can call on in times of trouble.
The sad thing about the result of the poll is the serious mistakes in peoples’ understanding which it exposes. Firstly it refers to people who are dead. And here is a popular and major error. Jesus certainly died on a cross outside Jerusalem about 2,000 years ago. But He is not dead now. He died but came back to real life - He was resurrected. That means He received a real and physical life. He is not alive as an influence, or a powerful memory, or just in His teachings: He is alive as a real man. So He does not really qualify for the poll at all. But more importantly He cannot be dismissed as merely a figure of history. He is a figure of today and must be reckoned with on those terms.
A further error in the poll was to propose choosing people who are dead with the presumption that no-one will actually meet the choices in any real encounter. That is undoubtedly the case in all the other who were chosen. But that is not true of Jesus. He Himself said that all men would meet Him when He will act as their Judge at the end of the age. Everyone will meet Jesus but on His terms and not their own. He will judge men in respect of their lives, whether they met God’s holy standards, and their attitude and relationship with Him. There is no avoiding that meeting.
The final error in this poll is the underlying assumption that no-one could ever meet their choice. But again with Jesus that is not the case. The whole message of Christianity, which Jesus Himself brought as a part of His wonderful teaching, is that anyone can meet with Him now by faith. And that does not mean that it is merely a psychological encounter. No, it is a real encounter on the spiritual level which has an impact in every part of a person’s personality, life and being. This is what has happened to multitudes of people down through the centuries. It is happening to people all around the world today.
We have not kept the requirements of God. We all fall woefully short of the standards God has set. The concept of having to give an account to God for our failings and rebellion against Him is awesome. We face His eternal judgement against us because we have broken His law. How can we avoid the punishment? That is why Jesus lived and died as He did. His whole purpose was to be a man who, because He was absolutely without any faults or sins whatsoever, could take responsibility for our sins and bear God’s punishment in our place. That is what happened when He died. His resurrection means that God has accepted His death for ours if only we will trust in Jesus. When we do trust in Jesus He makes Himself real to us. We believe what He has said and done, as it is recorded for us in the New Testament, and He keeps His promise. Our sins are forgiven, we enter into a new relationship with God, and Jesus becomes known to us.
So here is the astounding fact that we can meet Jesus now. But remember whatever your response to Jesus in this life you will most certainly meet Him in the life which is to come.