It was the motivation behind the WWJD bracelets of the 1990's. It is the overarching ponderance of Christian ethics.It is one of the most difficult questions that every pastor must ask when preparing Sunday's sermon.This question: What if Jesus were here today?
I don't know that we can ever fully or accurately answer this question. We can guess based on the limited picture we have of Jesus' life in the scriptures, but even then I bet Jesus would surprise a few of us. Jesus' actions rarely met the expectations of the religious minds of His day.
I stumbled recently on The Journeys Project, an artistic representation of Jesus in modern contexts. The photographs are the work of Michael Belk, a world-renowned fashion photographer, and they display a surprising amount of depth. I want to share a few of them with you, but I encourage you to look through them all on the Journeys of the Messiah website.
A Step Away:Inspired by Matthew 19:17. "Jesus is God’s “line in the sand,” so to speak. Those who seek the light of His true nature and immortality will stand with Him. Those who prefer the darkness of the world’s lies will not. Although God wants and eternal relationship with everyone, He only makes the offer, we must make the choice."
The Second Mile: Inspired by Matthew 5:38-48, this image shows Jesus carrying the bag and rifle of a Nazi officer. "“Love your enemies as yourself. Pray for those who persecute you. Forgive people seventy times seven." Jesus reminds us that, just as God forgives us, we are expected to do the same for others."
Quandry: Inspired by the parable of the rich, young ruler, this image depicts a man talking to Jesus wearing designer clothes and standing next to a Ferrari. "He knew that, for the rich young ruler, his lifestyle—money, cars and beautiful women—had become a personal road block to what he really wanted, which was to follow Jesus into eternity. We examine our lives to see what holds us back from living the dream Jesus has for us."
Vacany: inspired, by Matthew 10:39, this picture features a neon sign fastened to the crux of the cross that reads "vacancy." It powerfully shows how "Jesus the man died on the cross. [But] Jesus, the Savior, lives."
Some of his images may not sit well with you while others may speak to your heart. What do you think of these images, both artistically and theologically? Take a look at the whole gallery and tell me your thoughts on this project.
Bill said:
These are wonderful. There is nothing sacred about the way artists may have rendered religious figures in the past.
Every generation and era needs to find ways to represent their beliefs, in ways that make sense in the context of time and place.
Posted: September 15, 2009
Dave said:
The images are very powerful, and connect very well to the temptations and issues we face today. Thanks for posting this!
Posted: September 18, 2009
Steve said:
All very good points, in my opinion. The vacancy sign gets a bit campy, but the temptations of the world and Nazi pictures play very well.
As to the latter, Christians have become known as the bigots and haters of society through the more extreme of our numbers. I will never understand the logic of screaming about God's hatred for a person while preaching His love and mercy. It is cognitive dissonance to what would seem a painful degree.
Posted: November 17, 2009
Barbara Bastien said:
This is a website for people who want to know about jesus if he were alive today.
Posted: January 18, 2010
Samuel hutagalung said:
This is great, thankyou for enlighting me. I'll tell this site to my friends. God bless you!
Posted: March 30, 2010
Gyula said:
You have done a great job with these! Congrats!
Posted: April 17, 2010
Grammy Blick said:
Thank you for sharing the site. These photos quite simply draw our eyes to Christ today. He is Lord for all time. I was searching for a graphic to accomopany the rich young ruler parable. Quandry is perfect. A visit to the Journeys will aid mine.
Posted: July 13, 2010
Third Option Men said:
We salute you, Jonathan. Incredible, relevant photography. We'd love to use 'Quandry' as the featured pic of an upcoming blog. Say the word, and we'll be sure to have a link to your site.
Serving our King,
T.O.M.
Posted: August 2, 2010
Terrie McManaman said:
Absolutely beautiful!
Posted: November 24, 2010
Marie Gill Longar said:
The Vatican could learn a lesson from these pictures. Life does go on and the faithful don't keep living in ancient times. I hope that Jesus recognizes that better than "The Church" does and that we aren't all going to hell in a hand basket.
Posted: November 24, 2010
m potter said:
your art has help me find my way back to god. this art reinforced what my pastor was telling me god was saying. http://olddutchchurch.org/
Posted: November 24, 2010
Michelle said:
Thank you for leading me to this collection. It touched me.
Posted: January 27, 2011
Marie Gnagne said:
I personally believe that this is very good the pictures are amazing while the explanation with the bible verse makes the picture stand out for what it really what we really want to follow Jesus into eternity... continue the good work allow the Holy Spirit to use you and may I see u in Heaven some day...Be Blessed.
Posted: May 19, 2011
Michael Belk said:
Jonathan, Thank you for the work you are doing and for sharing Journeys with the Messiah - TheJourneysProject.com - with your readers. I believe that these unique images and the messages they depict will open many hearts to Jesus. Our books, DVD, posters and more are excellent tools for sharing one's faith. Plus, purchase of them supports the project. For your Atlanta readers, I will speak at Mt. Pisgah the Sunday morning after Thanksgiving. May God continue to bless you, indeed.
Michael Belk
Posted: November 6, 2011
Brandon said:
Absolutely beautiful photography! At first glance, I interpreted the Vacancy sign as an invitation to take up your own cross more than a sign that Jesus was not there any longer. After reading Mt 10:38+, I can only assume that this is what you had in mind too. Perhaps that could be added to the caption above.
And, Ms. Longar, the Church does not live in ancient times. The message of the Gospel is timeless. G.K. Chesterton puts it well in The Everlasting Man, "A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it." Christ didn't (and doesn't) go with the flow, so neither does the Church.
Posted: November 9, 2011
Mairo said:
Hi!
Very nice story, and true, and I respect, what you do.
But I wanted to ask, can I use these pictures as well on my blog and in my language?
Keep going! (ofcourse in Christ) :)
Posted: November 25, 2011