Jesus had an accountant – so said a Nigerian pastor on a recent Channel
4 documentary about the prosperity doctrine being preached in that country. He
said it without any sense of irony and as a response to the challenge put to
him that Jesus was poor. No, he insisted, Jesus was rich. He then produced the
accountant line in order to ‘prove’ his point.
Ridiculous, I know, but it got me thinking about how the image of Jesus
is manipulated so that it’s a little easier for us to believe in him and hold onto our fallen lifestyle. So
we have Jesus the warrior, Jesus the macho male, Jesus the prosperity giver. We
have grand titles for him and for those who serve him; we have wonderful
ecclesiastical buildings; we have a complicated, hierarchical church structure:
all things that make Jesus more like the kings of the earth and, therefore, a
little easier to follow.
After all who wants to bend the knee to a king who washes people’s feet
and spits in their eye; who has no place to lay his head; who was born in a
stable and brought up by a carpenter; who calls on us to forgive our enemies
and to turn the other cheek?
If our image of Jesus makes it easier for us to follow him, is it the
correct image?
