WWJD: "We Won Jesus Died"

My son just found this bumper sticker for sale at cafepress.com. The designer says,

"WWJD: We Won Jesus Died. Anti-Religious Spoof. Tired of What Would Jesus Do? We are too. We figure if Christian folk can engage in Christ-ploitation, we can too! WWJD? He wouldn't buy a WWJD bracelet.”

I wonder if this person would be surprised to know how much a Christian can agree with the bumper sticker's message. We did indeed win when Jesus died! Jesus won too!

Dying was in Jesus' plan from the beginning. When his followers were squabbling over which of them was the greatest, he settled it by telling them,

"For even the Son of Man [a term by which he frequently referred to himself] came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

He came with an express intent to give his life. The ransom he paid was a release from the penalty of sin, to which we are all obligated: death. Sin is just the attitudes and actions by which we give God less than his full honor and obedience; it's failing to meet the mark of complete love and worship that is his perfect standard for us. It's a universal human problem, for which Christ came to pay the penalty on our behalf. If Jesus had not died, we all would have lost.

He did it more than willingly, for joy!

"...looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

His victory was consummated by his rising from the dead on the third day. Notice how great this victory was, as shown by the two thoughts hinged by "therefore" in the following passage. He humbled himself to death, therefore he is now exalted above all:

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should 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."

I think I agree that Jesus wouldn't buy a WWJD bracelet; it just doesn't seem to ring true to his style (of course, if he did, it would have to say WWID

). But neither do I think Jesus would say much for or against those who did wear one, except he would be very concerned that our hearts and actions match our jewelry, and that we not think there's any special grace conferred by wearing it.

Anyway, I'm still wondering whether this designer knows how close he or she came to the Biblical truth. I wouldn't buy the bumper sticker myself, because far too many people would read it in just the Christ-hating manner the designer intended. But it's common among the aggressive new atheists that they don't really understand what they're railing against. I suspect this is another example of that. Christianity is full of unexpected messages. We did win when Jesus died; and what he did for us on the Cross provides our only source of hope, life, and victory. We who follow him worship and adore him for it.

Posted: Mon - July 2, 2007 at 12:09 PM |

Thinking Christian by Tom Gilson getCategoryName("<$CategoryUUID$>");

WWJD: "We Won Jesus Died"

Thinking Christian by Tom Gilson