Last Sunday’s Super Bowl game set a new record with 123.4 million people tuning in to watch the Chiefs win their second consecutive championship game. Forbes Magazine reported that it was the most watched TV event since the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969.[1] So, if you were in the advertising business, your commercials reached a huge audience in a way that is not available with any other medium. And boy was it expensive. A 30-second Super Bowl ad now costs $7 million.[2] That’s over $233,000 per second! Amazingly enough, the “He Gets Us” ad campaign purchased a total of 75 seconds of commercial time in an effort to introduce people to Jesus Christ. I expect many of you have seen these “Jesus ads” before. They typically present a series of photos or sketches of a variety of different people, processed in a hip format. The themes are designed to show that Jesus understands our problems. Hopefully, those viewing the ads will come to find that Jesus is the solution to their problems as well.
But, these ads have not been without controversy. One Christian blogger complained that: “The ‘He Gets Us’ ads message isn’t that you should worship Jesus. Their message is that Jesus worships you.” Another Christian podcast host objected: “If you’ve got the money and opportunity to buy a Super Bowl ad slot, share the Gospel. Don’t waste it on some ambiguous mumbo jumbo that makes Jesus into our image rather than depicting Him as the King and Savior He is.” On the other hand, another Christian media outlet defended the ads, saying: “Some Christians hated the ‘He Gets Us’ ad because they think it’s an insult to show us humbling ourselves to serve people with whom we disagree. . . No sin was affirmed in that commercial, but the human dignity of all people was affirmed. Jesus came to seek and save the lost.” And finally, radio host, Mark Davis noted: “I’m going to be a glass half full guy. I hear the criticism that, [in] the ‘He Gets Us’ Super Bowl Ads, Jesus is all buddy and no rules. But, in this increasingly unchurched age, if people pick up Bibles or start going to church, [where] they’ll be exposed to the real Christ—[then], I’ll take it.”[3] They could well be getting a glass half full. Unfortunately, the question is: Half full of what? I may have missed it, but I have yet to see the words “repentance” or “salvation” in any of the “He Gets Us” ads or on the “He Gets Us” website. A glass containing “half-truths” is best not served at all!
But, without weighing in on the pros and cons of the “He Gets Us” ad campaign, let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that these ads do prick the interest of some people. As a result, further assume that someone comes to you and wants to know more about Jesus—and, more specifically about God’s Word. After all, Jesus is the Word of God made flesh! [4] So, how would you instruct them regarding the way they should approach the Bible? Would you tell them to just randomly open it up and start reading a verse or two per day? Or, would you tell them to get a daily devotional that focuses on short, isolated biblical passages that are applied to real life scenarios in our modern world? Well, I hope you will do more than that. The problem is anyone approaching the Bible that way is likely to be disappointed. Don’t get me wrong—daily devotionals are great if they are used as a starting point in studying God’s Word on a regular basis. However, if that’s the only effort made in trying to understand what the Bible has to offer, then the effort is likely doomed from the start. Let me give you an illustration as to why that is the case.
The Bible is like a huge tapestry. I don’t mean some modern-day imitations of a tapestry. I am talking about one of those grand, European tapestries of the 14th century. Those medieval tapestries were both beautiful to view and also provided in-depth stories that were intricately woven into the tapestry’s fabric. For instance, the Apocalypse Tapestry was crafted over a five-year period and was completed in 1382. It had multiple panels 8 feet in width and 20 feet in height. The total tapestry was about 328 feet long—that’s longer than a football field! When first completed, the colors of the tapestry were amazing hues of blue, green, orange and ivory threads. There were 90 different scenes woven into the tapestry—each one telling a story from the Book of Revelation. There were stunning images of death and destruction in the beginning pictures, followed by breath-taking views of the Second Coming of Jesus and His victory over all things evil, including His final defeat of death and Satan.[5]
Now, let’s say you want to study this tapestry in order to understand the stories it tells. You want to know both the details of the stories as well as the big picture that the stories tell collectively. So, you decide that the best way to do this is to look at the tapestry close up. You notice one of scenes depicts St. John and there is a colorful halo surrounding his head. The halo is made up are brightly colored orange thread. This interests you and causes you to want to know more. So, you pick at the orange thread and start pulling it. And soon, there is a little pile of orange yarn sitting there in front of you. You randomly skip over to another panel of the tapestry. In this scene, the sky is shown with richly colored blue thread. You pick and pull a little of this thread as well. And, you continue going about “studying” the tapestry in this way for quite some time. But, after you have finished “studying,” all you have to show for your efforts is a mixed-up pile of tangled threads there at your feet. Because of that, you really have no better understanding of what the various scenes showed, or what they mean as a whole, than you did when you started.[6]
Unfortunately, that is the way a lot of people “study” the Bible. They’ll pull a thread of Scripture here and another thread from over there. They’ll select a verse or two from this book of the Bible, and a smattering of something else from various other Scriptures. In the end, they have a jumble of biblical threads that resemble my fishing line when I can’t get the kinks out. Sadly, they obtain no over-arching concept of what the Old and New Testament books are about individually, nor do they see how the stories work together to tell God’s overall plan for humanity.
That’s a shame, because the Bible is the only thing in this world that reveals to us the purpose of life. The purpose of life is to come to “know” God and, as a result, come to love Him, obey Him and serve Him. We will have a tough time getting to know God if we randomly try to pull from the Bible a “thread of truth” here and a “thread of truth” there. Rather, the Bible is a cohesive story presented in 66 books, written by approximately 40 different authors over a period of about 1,400 years.[7] You are not going to truly know God, in the sense God intends, until you take the time to delve into the Bible with the aim of gathering a sense of God’s story as revealed from Genesis through Revelation. The Good News is that a recent survey conducted by the American Bible Society indicated there has been an increase in the number of young people who are “drawn to Bible reading plans and Bible studies that look at whole chapters or complete stories” [8] in the Bible. The bad news is this survey also found that: “Roughly 50 percent of American adults reported opening Scripture at least three times a year every year from 2011 to 2021. Then, in 2022, that number declined to 39 percent. That means that amid record inflation, threats of nuclear war in the Russia-Ukraine conflict [and now in the Middle East], and ongoing debates about the state of democracy, there were about 26 million Americans who stopped reading the Bible.” [9]
Hopefully, the Church, through the testimonies of members like you and me can begin to reverse that trend. But, in order for that to happen, we need to get back to reading the Bible regularly. And, we must read stories as a whole—not in some random, piecemeal manner. Those 26 million people who recently stopped reading the Bible would do well to take a lesson from Country singer Vince Gill. In a newspaper interview several years ago, he told the reporter about an encounter he had when visiting a young girl named Tara who was in the hospital. Tara was going through a very tough time. She was a cancer patient. Gill recalls that she had lost all of the hair on her head due to her treatments. Even so, her spirit was upbeat and she had one of the prettiest smiles he had ever seen. Gill didn’t get to the hospital until late afternoon because he had been playing golf throughout a bright, sunny morning. In fact, the sun had been so bright that his nose had gotten quite sunburned. Tara noticed this and asked, “Have you been out in the sun all day?” Gill explained that he’d been outside all that morning playing golf. Tara immediately shot back, “Did you wear sunscreen?” He couldn’t lie to her, so he admitted that he’d failed to apply any sunscreen. Gill said that the look on her face said it all. She didn’t say a word, but in his mind her expression was clearly saying: “Are you kidding me? Here I am struggling for my life, and you’re not smart enough to wear sunscreen?” A few awkward moments passed, and Tara finally broke the silence by asking, “Well, let me ask you something else even more important: Do you read your Bible every day?” Again, Gill told her the truth and simply looked down at the floor and mumbled, “No, I don’t.” She then gave him that same quizzical look as before—only a little more intense this time. Vince Gill told the reporter: “Suffice it to say that since that day, I've been wearing sunscreen and reading the Bible just a bit more.”[10]
Yes, people today need God’s Word. They need it not “just a bit more,”—they need it a ton more. Christians who apply the Bible even less than they apply sunscreen need to get back into the habit of reading it daily. And, they can do that without giving up their favorite, individual verses. You can continue to treasure your favorite Bible verses—those “golden threads of truth.” But, consider them within the context and stories from which they come. In other words, read whole chapters. Read whole stories. Read entire books from the Bible. You don’t have to do that alone. That’s what we have Bible studies for. Or, get a Bible study on DVD. Go on online, and study God’s Word along with podcasts that delve deeply into the Scriptures. If you will do that, those “golden threads” that are your favorite Bible verses will take on new and deeper meanings. You’ll begin to understand the richness of the biblical context from which they were derived.
The “He Gets Us” ad messages can be an important part of the biblical narrative to the extent they allow people to identify with Christ. In other words, those ads can be useful if they convey the thought that Jesus suffered as much as any human being. The Bible shows us that Jesus knows what it’s like when you experience pain and frustration. He knows what it’s like to be treated as a social outcast. A few of those “golden threads” you can rely upon in this regard come from the Book of Hebrews. In Hebrews, chapter 2, we are told: 17 “It was necessary for Him [referring to Jesus] to be made in every respect like us, His brothers and sisters, so that He could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then, He could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. 18 Since He himself has gone through suffering and testing, He is able to help us when we are being tested.” Hebrews 2:17-18 (NLT2) Hebrews, chapter 4, elaborates further: 15 “This High Priest of ours [Jesus] understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin. 16 So, let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:15-16 (NLT2) SO, YES INDEED!—Jesus “gets us” because He understands what we are going through in this life.
Pastor and Christian writer, Randy Alcorn, puts it well in saying: “We can’t say, ‘He just doesn’t get it or care,’ because God’s love comes to us soaked in divine blood. He has firsthand experience in life under the Curse. Christ’s suffering on the Cross atoned for our sins, but His suffering, tests, and temptations allowed Him to understand, empathize and help us.” The late Timothy Keller adds, this is “a God who truly understands you, from the inside of your experience.” And, you won’t have to convince Christian musician and writer Michael Card, for he already knows this great truth about Christ—he writes, “[Jesus] has come to share the danger as well as the drudgery of our everyday lives. He desires to weep with us and to wipe away our tears. And what seems most bizarre, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, longs to share in and to be the source of the laughter and the joy we all too rarely know.”[11]
Yes, we must never forget the biblical truth about Jesus: HE REALLY DOES “GET US”—He knows exactly what we are going through in the bad times, as well as the good ones. That’s important to remember, but that is not the only thing to remember. Jesus not only “gets us”. . . HE LOVES US. In fact, He loved us so much that He left His glorious home in Heaven and descended to this often dreary, dark and thoroughly sinful world. “He gets us”—yes, but more than that “HE DIED FOR US!” You see, God is perfectly holy and perfectly just. A just and holy God demands that every sin in our lives, from the cradle to the grave, be paid for in full. So, why did Jesus go to the Cross? Again, the answer is because “He gets us.” And, because “He gets us,” Jesus knew that there is nothing that we, as mere humans, could ever do to pay the enormous price for our sins. Only, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, could bear such a burden for all of humanity and be our Savior and Redeemer.
The richly woven and beautiful tapestry of the Bible is a long series of faithful, interconnected stories, poetry, history, prophesies and commandments that fully develops that very essential truth. The more we explore the deep wonders that appear from the beginning to the end of the Bible, the more we come to know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. And, the more we know about Jesus, the more we will love Him. Jesus said that the first and greatest “golden thread” is this: “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” Matthew 22:37 (NLT2) Throughout the pages of the Bible, we are told why that great truth is a necessity for our lives.
Now having heard all this, some people will just throw up their hands and cry out, “Oh, the Bible is just too much for me to comprehend! It is all just too overwhelming. I never went to seminary, and I don’t have the training or the mind to unravel the things that the Bible teaches. So, why should I even bother?” What a poor excuse that is! This past Wednesday, at the end of our Bible Study, we watched a You Tube video made back in 2010 of a little girl, named Mary Margaret Douglas, who appeared to be about 5 years old at the time. The video shows her in the pulpit of Corinth Baptist Church in Albertville, Alabama. There, she proceeded to give one of the most compelling descriptions of the Book of Jonah that I have ever heard. She didn’t pull at the threads of the story and merely recite the fact that Jonah was swallowed by a big fish. No, she gave the entire story, from beginning to end. She explained the biblical truths about God’s faithfulness to us. She described our obligation of faithfulness to Him and the need to offer forgiveness (even to our enemies). She concluded with the message of God’s mercy that’s available to those who are willing to show mercy to others. Her little sermon was concise—in fact, it was given in just under eight minutes. Yet, it was powerful and comprehensive. Since its publication in 2010, this You Tube video has received over 1.4 million views! (If anyone would like to see it, just Google a search for “little girl teaches Jonah.”) If that little girl could understand the story of Jonah and preach it from the pulpit, then none of us have any excuse to claim that the Bible is too hard to understand or too difficult to share with others.
It is time that our churches across this country remember what God’s Word is supposed to be. It’s supposed to be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.[12] When people fail to allow God’s Word to light their paths, things start to get very dark. After Bible Study last Wednesday, Mark DeQuoy, who is a missionary with the AWANA children’s program, dropped by the church just to say hello. AWANA is a bible-based discipleship program with a ministry focusing on children as young as 2 years old and up to 18 year olds. Mark informed me that, not too long ago, he worked with over 140 churches in the northeast and mid-Atlantic states. Now, he works with around 90 churches. I asked him what happened to the other 50 or so churches to which he ministered. His answer was very simple—he said: “They closed.” Those churches are no more. Why? Well, I am sure there may be a variety of different reasons. But, one of the reasons is that people have tossed their Bibles aside. They are not hungry for the Word of God. We know that in nature when a person or an animal is not hungry for an extended time, it’s usually because they are sick. There is a lot of sickness in this country today because people are spiritually starving themselves. The Psalmist said, the Words of the Lord are as sweet as honey.[13] But, when your heart is sick, your spiritual taste buds find God’s Word to be very bitter. There is a solution to this sickness. It involves a desire to change your focus from yourself and direct your focus on God. Rather than viewing Jesus from a “He gets us” perspective, people need a new outlook whereby they start “GETTING HIM.” Until they “GET HIM IN THEIR HEARTS”, they’ll remain sick—so sick that they one day they’ll die without the prospect of eternal life. If you want the cure to the deadly sickness of sin, you must have a healthy injection of Jesus into your heart along with a constant infusion of God’s Word.
Until people return to living according to God’s Word, all the ad campaigns in the world aren’t going to matter. To paraphrase, Christian theologian, J. I. Packer: “Disregard the study of [God’s Word], and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded. . . with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. [If you continue living that way, you will] waste your life and lose your soul.”[14] He is not talking about reading the Bible occasionally or merely pulling out a thread here and there. He is talking about allowing the Holy Spirit to show you the entire, wonderful tapestry of God’s love for you as revealed in the truths of Scripture. You’ll never even get a glimpse of that “big picture” without being fully committed to Bible reading, study, memorization, and prayer. Yes, JESUS GETS US—now it is time that WE GET HIM. . . before it’s too late!
Darvin Satterwhite, Pastor
Forest Hill Baptist Church
February 18, 2024
©2024 All Rights Reserved as follows:
Anyone is at liberty to use this sermon or any portions thereof for educational or religious purposes, with or without credit. The pastor believes the material presented herein to be true to the teaching of Scripture, and desires to further, not restrict, its potential use as an aid in the study of God’s Word. The publication of this material is a grace ministry of Forest Hill Baptist Church in Louisa, Virginia.
Visit us on our Face Book page at https://www.facebook.com/4409sspotswoodrdgordonsvilleva.
[1] Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, “Super Bowl Earns Record 123 Million Viewers—Most-Watched TV Event Since Apollo 11,” Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2024/02/12/super-bowl-earns-record-123-million-viewers-most-watched-tv-event-since-apollo-11/?sh=13e1903458e6 (February 12, 2024).
[2] Santul Nerkar, “$7 Million for 30 Seconds? To Advertisers, the Super Bowl Is Worth It,” New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/06/business/super-bowl-commercials.html (February 6, 2024).
[3] Michael Foust, “He Gets Us Super Bowl Ad Ignites Controversy: ‘Jesus Didn’t Teach Hate. Jesus Washed Feet.’” ChristianHeadlines.com,https://www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/michael-foust/he-gets-us-super-bowl-ad-ignites-controversy.html?utm_source=ChristianHeadlines%20Daily&utm_campaign=Christian% 20Headlines%20Daily%20%20ChristianHeadlines.com&utm_medium=email&utm_content=9304341&recip=559663686&aps=719e9df3abb16b7ccd6948d78d02d50ab32a0b12a19384b57993499ac8097618&lctg=559663686 (February 13, 2024).
[4] John 1:1, 14 1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . 14 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (NIV)
[5] Wikipedia contributors, "Apocalypse Tapestry," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Apocalypse_Tapestry&oldid=1180938723 (accessed February 13, 2024).
[6] Walton, John H. & Hill, Andrew E. Old Testament Today: A Journey from Original Meaning to Contemporary Significance. Zondervan: Grand Rapids (2004).
[7] Jones, Clay. Prepared Defense. Austin, TX: WORDsearch, 2005. WORDsearch CROSS e-book.
[8] “Take and Read,” CT Magazine, Vol. 67, Number 1 (January / February, 2023), p. 17.
[9] Ibid.
[10] USA Weekend (9-1-02), cited in PreachingToday.com [accessed February 14, 2024].
[11] Randy Alcorn, “Jesus, the God Who Became One of Us and Understands Our Suffering,” Eternal Perspective Ministries, https://www.epm.org/blog/2021/Dec/24/jesus-understands-suffering (December 24, 2021).
[12] Psalm 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (KJV)
[13] Psalm 119:103 “How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey.” (NLT2)
[14] Kevin Halloran, “100 of the Best J. I. Packer Quotes,” kevinhalloran.net, https://www.kevinhalloran.net/ the-best-j-i-packer-quotes/#:~:text=A%20little%20knowledge%20of%20God%20is%20worth%20more,it%20–%20the%20fact%20that%20he%20knows%20me (August 18, 2016).
