Jesus and Religion
By Amitabh Singh
Jesus did not enjoy a high salary, a prestigious title, fame, or a great position in the upper realm of society. He did not offer five steps to success, a strategic plan of action, or a new set of Ten Commandments. Neither a university degree nor powerful friends could substantiate His claims. He did not conduct modern-style board meetings or create business cards, brochures, or pamphlets in His honor. Jesus, as God, walked comfortably as a man in the face of a society aspiring to be God.
Jesus lived and died for the rich and powerful, including Zacchaeus, the tax collector; Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; and the Centurion, a commander of the Roman army. He likewise loved and served the poor, forgoing the comforts of home to serve the “untouchables”, the prostitutes, the destitute, and the “scum” of the earth. He made time for the greatest and the least of humankind, showing neither preference or bias towards status, gender, or age. He ignored no one and made time for everyone.
Today’s religions hold many practices in common, including incorporation of propaganda, procurement of pledges, methods of recruitment, and politicizing of beliefs. Jesus’ promotional phrase would have been, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18). His politicizing emphasized the concerns of God, namely the care of the poor, the sick, and the broken-hearted. His pledge drive might have read, “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy” (Luke 12:33).
Jesus earned a reputation as “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” as he frequently dined and mingled with them (Matthew 11:19). At a Pharisee’s dinner party, a disreputable woman entered unannounced, and Jesus welcomed her. Though it was taboo to give her attention, he blessed her. The underprivileged welcomed His grace. The rich offered him a place at their table. Whether wealthy or poor, male or female, Jew, Gentile, or Samaritan, the “insiders” or the “outsiders”, He treated everyone with fairness and compassion. He saw in the outlaws and outcasts a group needing forgiveness, restoration, and hope.
In my book, Jesus: The Ultimate Management Guru, I wrote:
“Jesus befriended people regardless of their class, gender, or religion, whether esteemed or despised by society. One of his closest disciples had worked as a detested tax collector. Another was an ex-supported of the radical Zealot movement. While devout Jewish men began their day thanking God they had not been born “a slave, a Gentile, or a woman,” (Menahoth 43b-44a) Jesus valued all three and incorporated them into his wide circle of friends and followers. On one embarrassing occasion, a woman of low reputation entered uninvited into a dinner party and washed Jesus’ feet with costly perfume intermingled with her tears. When the men reclining at the table watched in horror as Jesus did nothing to reprimand her, they rebuked the woman harshly (Matthew 26:6-13). Here and elsewhere, Jesus welcomed and extended grace to the lowly.”
Jesus did not live and die to establish a new religion but to renew a broken relationship between humankind and God. His famous stories describe a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. Each parable illustrates God’s extension of grace to the world. Jesus gave His life to encourage and direct people to the eternal kingdom of God, where death, disease, poverty, and want do not follow. His teachings culminated into one grand idea – to seek the things of God rather than those of temporal significance. It is not about religion. It is about having a relationship with God.