Many Conservatives (Christians too) think Jesus is Woke!
Will the real Justice please stand up?
Jesus is woke. Based on the standards set forth by many in the Conservative American Evangelical Church (CAEC). As the perpetual glossary of justice grows, it has become clear that many are actually defining “just us” instead of justice. And in so doing, they have demonstrated that Biblical Justice is elusive, and Jesus is “woke” when the modern definitions of the term are applied to the scriptures.
Why do I say this?
At this moment, “woke” is a negative term connected to Critical Race Theory via Critical Social Justice via Critical Theory via Cultural Marxism via Satan. One of the main components of being woke is to elevate the poor’s (black and brown people) perspective/narratives, and needs, which by many conservative evangelicals standards is “Standpoint Epistemology” not biblical justice. Mainly because it shows partiality to the poor.
Biblical references:
Exodus 23:3
Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit.
Leviticus 19:15
Do not act unjustly when deciding a case. Do not be partial to the poor or give preference to the rich; judge your neighbor fairly.
These verses have become the trusted texts for many on the CAEC side, giving support to their stance against favoritism of the poor; which is what CRT, Social Justice, and other ideologies connected to BLM fundamentally do.
While these verses do speak against favoritism of the poor, a few observations must be made.
Those verses uniquely speak to court proceedings, not necessarily day to day interactions. The emphasis is on the words lawsuit and case.
There are more passages, in the Pentateuch, that mention caring for the poor than doing anything for the rich
Leviticus 19:10, 23:22, 27:8
Deuteronomy 15:7, 9, 11 24:24-15
The scriptures that talk provisions for the rich, and or tending to the rich’s needs, are absent in the OT.
Is the lack of emphasis towards the rich in the OT a sign of favoritism? People know better than to say yes. But based on today’s evaluative grid on “Biblical Justice,” we have to say yes.
The OT, in comparisons between the rich and the poor, necessitates a verdict of favoritism, based on todays conservative views on justice.
But what about the NT?
The main difference between the OT and NT is Jesus. He brings the full force of the Godhead, and the fulfillment of the OT scriptures. Jesus is the embodiment and application of justice. Jesus deals with humanity lovingly, demonstrating perfect emphasis for all walks of life. If we’re going to be about Justice, and fairness, in any way, shape, or form, we must look to Jesus and the disciples. These are the men that he trained to understand justice from God’s point of view. Jesus showed no partiality. He was perfect in the way he interacted with people. Let’s examine it.
Luke 6:24 But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your comfort.
Luke 19:8–9 8 But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord. And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much.” 9 “Today salvation has come to this house,” Jesus told him, “because he too is a son of Abraham.”
What made Jesus say that salvation has come to Zacchaeus was his giving to the poor. And his giving half of his possessions to the poor; paying back four times as much to those he defrauded, actions that would probably make him poor.
Matthew 19:23–24 Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
Galatians 2:10 They asked only that we remember the poor, which I had made every effort to do.
Paul tells the Galatians that the apostles made sure to remind him to provide for the poor. For them, this was a must! Yet, there is no mention of caring for the rich. In fact, quite the opposite is said.
James 1:9–11 Let the brother of humble circumstances boast in his exaltation, ten but let the rich boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field. 11 For the sun rises and, together with the scorching wind, dries up the grass; its flower falls off, and its beautiful appearance perishes. In the same way, the rich person will wither away while pursuing his activities.
James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father are this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
The orphans and widows would’ve been the poorest in the culture of that day. And James, on behalf of God, stated that true religion is partly prioritizing the poor. Isn’t this favoritism though?
James 2:5–6 5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Didn’t God choose the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? 6 Yet you have dishonored the poor. Don’t the rich oppress you and drag you into court?
1 Timothy 6:17–19 Instruct those rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share, 19 storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age so that they may take hold of what is truly life.
Back to the poor
Matthew 19:21 “If you want to be perfect,” Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Luke 4:18) The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor
Luke 11:39–41 But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and evil. 40 Fools! Didn’t he who made the outside make the inside too? 41 But give from what is within to the poor,, and then everything is clean for you.
Luke 14:13–14 On the contrary, when you host a banquet, invite those who are poor, maimed, lame, or blind. 14 And you will be blessed because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Let’s stop the bleeding right here. I wanted to let the scriptures do most of the talking. Reason being is, without much commentary from me, God clearly demonstrates, throughout scripture, that he gives way more attention to focusing on the poor. And yet, nowhere in scripture is God accused of showing partiality to the poor.
Couple that with, Jesus and the Apostles spend most of the time criticizing or warning the rich. Apart from the rich young ruler, you don’t get the sense that God is for the rich. We know that’s not true. Everyone was in bondage to sin and needed salvation. But Jesus, still spent more time with the poor. Why is there not an equilibrium in communication to the rich? By today’s standards, this is concerning. Jesus is Woke!
By saying that Jesus is woke, I am intentionality highlighting that there is no unified biblical definition of the term “woke.” I have heard many people use the word “woke” as a pejorative term, yet I have no idea what it means biblically. What does one do to repent of being woke? What does faithfulness look like? Is it to be anti-woke? This is one of the reasons why the dichotomy between biblical justice and social justice is not legitimate.
Secular philosophical words like: woke, virtue signaling, social justice warrior, critical race theorist, Marxist, white privilege, conservatives, liberal, etc., carry no biblical connotations that I am aware of. Or, at the very least, I haven’t heard anyone that charges Christians with being or doing these things use biblical clarity. So again, when I say Jesus is woke, I mean in the philosophical framework that many believers operate in today, not in a biblical framework that Christians should be speaking from.
And this creates another problem. Many of the so-called anti-woke theologians put on people's backs something that the Bible does not. In Jesus' day, one of his main issues towards the Pharisees, was their adding obedience to the law that God didn’t require. If we’re going to call people terms that are used pejoratively, that for Christians equivocate to being in sin, then we must provide specific biblical evidence to that sin, or we run the risk of being Pharisees; causing people to stumble because of a lack of definitive biblical explanation on the “sin” that you’re calling people to repent of.
It is a dangerous game to highlight one to three versus that state not showing partiality to the poor, as if that’s the total view of biblical justice. It is evident in the scriptures that Jesus, the apostles, the Father, and the Spirit, have no problem giving more attention to the poor—and basing a lot of the practical theology of what it means to have genuine faith in God, on how one treats the poor.
These are not just people who are poor in spirit but are rich economically. No! These are people who are poor financially, yet God chose to identify himself with them. It is sad that today, people are so blinded by historical and current racial narratives that they are calling any attention given to a socio-economic group, a social justice warrior (actually they just say Woke now); which by default, based on their exegetical work, makes Jesus himself “woke.”
Conservatives will undoubtedly push back against this and turn the tables on me, and I welcome it. My bible is open. They need to stop cherry-picking verses making the Bible say something that is misleading at best. I’m not saying everyone has to agree with “Social Justice.” I’m not even advocating anyone change their position. What I’m saying is, stop saying you hold to Biblical Justice. Because it’s not, it’s “just us.” It’s what I want Justice to be, not what God has shown us it is.
Be careful who you listen to when it pertains to what biblical justice is. Some of these “sound doctrine” theologians are listening to the wrong music.
You can’t handle the truth!
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Many Conservatives (Christians too) think Jesus is Woke!
You missed the most import thing: God’s law____The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17 NKJV)
1 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Commandments.
3 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
4 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
5 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
6 “You shall not murder.
7 “You shall not commit adultery.
8 “You shall not steal.
9 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10 “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.”