Thursday, July 14, 2016

Black Lives Matter

There has been a response by many white Christians to the Black Lives Matter movement that has suggested that Jesus wouldn’t have agreed with the sentiment and that instead by his death on the cross he would have said that “All lives matter”. But I must disagree. Although theoretically Jesus shows love for all, he often did so by lifting up and speaking on behalf of the oppressed, the hurting, the poor, and the downtrodden. I believe Jesus would have said Black Lives Matter, as a way of telling us that we are not living up to his standards of love and justice. Here are 10 of his statements that I believe show that Jesus would have worn a Black Lives Matter t-shirt:

1.      1. ““Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh . . . But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.” – see Luke 6:20-26

2.      2. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” – see Luke 4:18-21

3.       3. “And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them.” – see Luke 18:1-8

4.       4. “Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” – see Luke 13:24-30

5.      5.  “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” – see Luke 14:7-14

6.      6. “Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” – see Luke 13:1-5

7.      7. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!” – see Matthew  23:23-39

8.       8. The Parable of the Good Samaritan: “So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.” See Luke 10:25-37

9.     9.  “Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’” – see Matthew 25:41-46


1     10. “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you . . .  If they persecuted me, they will persecute you.” See John 15:18-16:4