By: MAJ (RET) Montgomery J. Granger @mjgranger1
For several years now, a pseudo-Christian advertisement campaign called “He Gets Us” has aired, most notably during the Super Bowl. No standard organized religion could afford such extravagant expenditures, even for evangelical pursuits.
So, who or what is “He Gets Us,” what are they doing, and what do they want?
In a recent Fox News report, spokesperson and BrandHaven president Jason Vanderground told Fox News Digital that the ads were meant to invite people intrigued by Jesus’ “unconditional love, kindness, and generosity” to explore His message. The campaign also sought to “disrupt” “preconceived notions” about Jesus and Christianity.
Let’s break down the most talked about “He Gets Us” ad from this year’s Super Bowl. “Foot Washing,” used contemporary music along with images of privileged people washing the feet of the underprivileged. In the last image, we see a priest in black garb and a Roman collar with a cross around his neck, on bended knee, washing the feet of an obviously LGBTQ person of color, who is sitting on a concrete bench at the beach. The priest is white, by the way, as are most of the feet washers. I recommend that you watch for yourself.
At the end of the commercial, a black screen appears with white block letters spelling out “JESUS DIDN’T TEACH HATE,” with the word “HATE” in yellow. Next slide: “HE WASHED FEET,” with “WASHED” in yellow.
The message is white people and people in authority OWE something to people of color, the underprivileged, and LGBTQ persons, who are all somehow underrepresented in society, right?
The video ends with the message: “He gets us. All of us. Jesus.” The letters “us” in each phrase appear in yellow.
And the end credit directs viewers to “HeGetsUs.com/LoveYourNeighbor,” with “Us” and “LoveYourNeighbor” appearing in yellow.
I think it’s also important to share the lyrics of the song playing throughout the ad, a pop-rock tune that conjures Adele’s James Bond song, Skyfall. The words go like this:
Don’t ask me
What you know is true
Don’t have to tell you
I love your precious heart
I – I was standing
You were there
Two worlds collided
And they could never tear us apart
We could live
For a thousand years
This is how the “He Gets US” campaign describes the ad on YouTube:
“The night before he died, Jesus got his friends and followers together and washed their feet as a symbolic example of how they should humble themselves while dignifying and valuing others. How would our contentious world change if people, especially those with opposing ideologies, took off their shoes and washed each other’s feet? Read more here: https://hegetsus.com/en/articles/what…”
Finally, the “He Gets Us” website says the ad campaign is a movement not “affiliated with any single individual, political position, church, or faith denomination.”
It’s apparently not affiliated with a traditional view of Jesus and Christianity, either. Let’s examine why.
Matthew 7:15 (KJV) teaches us:
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”
Jesus shows us how to respond to false prophets when, in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 4, He is tempted by Satan in the wilderness. He responded to each temptation with scripture. Below are the verses (KJV) that He used:
“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
Matthew 4:4
“Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”
Matthew 4:7
“Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
Matthew 4:10
In these responses, the Lord quotes from the Old Testament scriptures, demonstrating the power of relying on God’s Word in resisting temptation.
“He Gets Us,” on the other hand, is using the power of the name Jesus along with reimagined scenes from scripture to lure non-believers into…what, exactly? Asking questions about God, about Jesus?
The phrase caveat emptor, meaning “let the buyer beware,” comes to mind. What exactly is being sold here, and at what price?
Advertising sells the sizzle, not the steak. The steak, in this case, is the word of God, Jesus. The sizzle is the message of forgiveness, but at what cost? No cost, it would seem. Love is free, isn’t it?
What’s missing from the commercial is the true word of God, along with the righteous message that salvation comes only through baptism and repentance, not through washing somebody’s feet. Ever.
It seems like a kind and innocuous gesture, but the washing of feet is serious business. And it comes at a price, the price of acceptance of God’s will.
Nothing in life is free, including love. Anyone who’s ever been in love or loved someone with their whole heart knows the heart is also easily broken and that to accept someone as he is takes courage, perseverance, patience, and grit.
Loving an addict, a trespasser, a criminal, or any sinner takes tremendous effort. And if the sinner is not willing to hear the word of God and repent, then he is lost, regardless of how much he may be loved.
The “He Gets Us” website says, “Let us be clear in our opinion. Jesus loves gay people and Jesus loves trans people. The LGBTQ+ community, like all people, is invited to explore the story of Jesus.” But this isn’t what Jesus said or did. That’s true as far as it goes, but the He Gets Us organization misrepresents the story of Jesus by making Him out to be a peacenik hippie.
In reality, Jesus made a whip, overturned tables, and chased unrepentant sinners from the temple. He didn’t rush after them, saying, “I’m sorry! I love you! Come back, and all will be forgiven!” He let the unrepentant sinners go, as we see in John 2:13-17 (KJV):
“And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,
And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:
And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables;
And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.
And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.”
Furthermore, in Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, he advises discretion and discernment in sharing sacred or valuable teachings with those who may not appreciate or understand them:
“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”
Matthew 7:6 (KJV)
In real life, we discriminate between believers and non-believers. Those who ridicule Christ and Christians we leave alone. We don’t push or force our beliefs on others.
The message “He Gets Us” is trying to sell an all-forgiving Jesus who loves everyone in a non-threatening, feel-good way no matter what. Come one, come all. But that is not His message at all!
He doesn’t want us to be indiscriminate or undiscerning. He wants us to beware of false prophets, judge actions without being judgmental, and be ever inward-looking. As we hear in Matthew 16:2-3 (KJV):
“He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?”
In this passage, Jesus criticizes the people for being able to predict the weather based on visible signs while being oblivious to the spiritual significance of the events happening around them. He uses the term “hypocrites” to emphasize the inconsistency in their ability to observe natural signs while being ignorant of the spiritual realities.
“He Gets Us” ignores the spiritual reality of love. It is a bait-and-switch proposal they are promoting. All love, no discernment. That’s not Jesus. That’s not Christianity. Christianity takes self-assessment:
“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”
Matthew 7:3-5 (KJV)
In this teaching, Jesus emphasizes the importance of self-examination and humility before attempting to correct others. The imagery of the “plank” or “beam” in one’s own eye illustrates the need for personal reflection and improvement before attempting to help others with their shortcomings.
And after self-reflection, there must come repentance, the key to receiving God’s grace, which, like love, is not free but is freely given, even repeatedly, but only to those who repent.
Here are a few verses from the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible that highlight the connection between repentance and God’s grace:
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”
Acts 3:19
“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.”
Acts 17:30
“For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”
2 Corinthians 7:10
“And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Mark 1:15
“I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
Luke 13:3
These verses emphasize the need for repentance as a response to God’s call, leading to the forgiveness of sins and the reception of His grace. Repentance involves a genuine turning away from sin and a turning toward God in faith and obedience.
Let’s see “He Gets Us” make some commercials out of this.
Believers have testimonies, stories of the epiphanies that drove them to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, be born again of the water (Baptism), repent, and then strive to live a Christian life, sincerely and wholeheartedly.
This is the Great Commission, the final instructions given by Jesus to His disciples before His ascension into heaven. It is considered a central mandate for Christians, guiding them in their mission and outreach. These instructions are recorded in both the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, but the most well-known version comes from Matthew 28: 18-20 (KJV):
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
This commission is a call to spread the message of the Gospel and make disciples, emphasizing the global scope of the Christian mission.
“He Gets Us” needs to repent and then seek God’s grace and a way forward that follows the Gospels and teachings of Christ.
Their approach, which excludes repentance and the Great Commission, is sinful as it insinuates a Jesus who doesn’t exist and has never existed.
Traditional churches that teach righteous Christianity are dividing because of this dangerous approach to Christianity. The United Methodist Church, the Anglican Church, and most recently, the Catholic Church are being pressured to accept same-sex marriage (blessings), openly gay clergy, and welcoming without repentance members of the LGBTQ community.
This is wrong and hateful towards Christ, the Word of God.
If you want to know more about Jesus, read the Bible, go to church, go to Bible study, and research on your own. Repent of your sins and then join the Great Commission. Amen.
MAJ Granger was the ranking US Army Medical Department officer with the Joint Detainee Operations Group, Joint Task Force 160, from February to June 2002 at Gitmo. He is the author of the memoir, “Saving Grace at Guantanamo Bay,” and narrator of the short documentary YouTube film, “Heroes of GITMO,” based on his book.