Super Bowl Ad Distorts Jesus’ Love
Jesus requires more of us than just getting along with everyone
The Super Bowl has become known as much for its commercials as it has for the actual game on the field. Some people watch it just for the commercials, and some iconic ad campaigns were born out of a Super Bowl spot.
But one ad during Sunday’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers was not only controversial, but heretical in the eyes of many faithful Christians.
That ad was from the He Gets Us campaign, which has run ads during big sporting events for the past year or so, featuring gritty and poignant depictions of modern times imagined as how Jesus would respond to them. The tagline lines are “He gets us” and “Jesus didn’t teach hate.” The premise of the He Gets Us campaign seems to be that Christians are judgmental and hate-filled, but Jesus loved everybody just the way they are.
Sunday’s ad featured vignettes of one person washing another person’s feet. Among the scenes were:
• A police officer washing the feet of a young black man in a dark alley
• An old rancher washing an old Native American’s feet
• A woman washing a young girl’s feet in front of an abortion clinic where Christians are protesting
• An older oil rigger washing the feet of a young Native American protester
• A woman washing the feet of a Muslim neighbor while her angry husband looks on
• A priest washing the feet of a roller skater
The tagline for all of it is, “Jesus didn’t teach hate. He washed feet.” It then states that Jesus washed the feet of his friends and his enemies.
Conservatives were upset because in all except one scene, the people kneeling and washing feet were white, and most the recipients were people from “oppressed” groups championed by the left – criminals, women getting abortions, clean air protesters, LBGTQ, homeless and Muslims. The subtle implication is that Christianity is a white religion that discriminates and hates people not like themselves.
The Bigger Issue for Christians
While that is an issue, the far bigger issue to me was how badly this ad and the whole ad program misrepresents Jesus as we see him in the Bible. It distorts him into simply being a good man who was trying to make people get along with one another – that all he wanted from Christians was for them to love everybody and quit all this talk about making people change.
It starts by completely distorting the idea of footwashing as Jesus taught it. During the Last Supper, Jesus washed each of his disciples’ feet and instituted it as a sacrament to show how his followers are to serve each other. It was never intended to be for believers to serve to non-believers.
When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His robe, He reclined again and said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you? You call Me Teacher and Lord. This is well said, for I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done for you. (John 13:12-15)
Jesus never washed the feet of an enemy, unless you count Judas Iscariot who betrayed him, but even he was a disciple at that point. But there were a few instances of “sinners” washing Jesus’ feet.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with Christians washing the feet of non-believers, but it’s certainly not some pre-requisite to be considered a “good” Christian. Most of the commands from Jesus and from the epistles are for how Christian believers are to treat each other. And that’s important because of something else Jesus told his disciples soon after he washed their feet.
“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)
It is the love that the followers of Jesus display to each other, not to the rest of the world, that will speak volumes to non-believers. Of course, we are kind to those who don’t believe, but first we must focus on how we love and serve fellow believers. If we don’t get that right, Jesus says, it won’t make much of an impact on how we treat those outside our fellowship.
The World Hates What Jesus Taught
Ironically, I’m sure much of what Jesus taught would seem like hate to those in the He Gets Us campaign. Here are a few of the things Jesus said:
• Repent
• No one comes to the Father but through me
• Anyone who doesn’t believe in me is condemned
• Anyone who loves family and friends more than me can’t be my follower
• Marriage is between a man and woman
• Deny your own desires and follow me
• The world will hate you for following me
• Go and sin no more
But I’m sure the He Gets Us people won’t ever talk about those things since they don’t even claim to all be followers of Jesus. Here’s a statement from their About Us section:
He Gets Us is a diverse group of Jesus followers with a wide variety of faith journeys and lived experiences. Our work represents the input from Christians who believe that Jesus is the son of God as well as many others who, though not Christians, share a deep admiration for the man that Jesus was, and we are deeply inspired and curious to explore his story.
Sharing a deep admiration for him will never be enough for Jesus. “Loving” unbelievers just the way they are isn’t nearly enough, even if we wash their feet.
Jesus requires us to love our fellow believers and wash their feet, which is often harder than loving unbelievers. Most of all, he requires us to turn away from our own ways and desires to completely follow him and live his way. He removes us out of our own misery-inducing selves so we can have everything he has. That’s the real love of Jesus.