Contents
Foreword9
Introduction12
Section 1. “I Am”
1. Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?
2. The Greatest Man Alive 3. The Perfect Combination 4. The Ultimate Thirst Quencher 16
26
33
39
Section 2. Christ and Us
5. First . . . the Bad News 6. Cross Examination 7. It’s Not Over ’Til . . . 8. A Gift for You 52
60
70
79
Section 3. Personal Spiritual Disciplines/Tools for Life in Christ
9. Brand New! 10. The Best Soul Food Ever 11. Can We Talk? 12. The Love Test 13. Get Your Weight Up 89
99
109
120
129
Section 4. Requirements for Members
14. Bodybuilding 15. You Got Served 16. Tell a Friend 17. The Justice League 18. Follow the Leader
140
150
160
171
179
Reflection Questions
188
Notes
194
Acknowledgments204
Chapter 1
Will the Real Jesus
Please Stand Up?
“Will the real Jesus stand up? Wait, there’s eight
of them, nine of them, a whole line of them,
there’s all kinds of them.” — Ambassador1
“What comes into our mind when we think about God is the
most important thing about us.” — A. W. Tozer2
O
n February 8, 1974, America was introduced to the Evans
household—a poor, Black family of five trying to make
ends meet in a Chicago housing project. Based on the life of
co-director Eric Monte, CBS’s hit television series Good Times
also produced one of TV’s most memorable theme songs.
Temporary lay-offs./Good Times./ Easy credit rip-offs./
Good Times./Ain’t we lucky we got ’em?/Good Times.3
As lovable as they were comical, the Evans family proved
that a strong family unit and good friends could overcome
any and all obstacles a person might face living in the ghetto.
The cast of characters revealed something of the reality
indicative of many urban Black families. Despite his sixthgrade education, husband James constantly juggled several
blue-collar jobs to provide for his family. His wife, Florida,
the most spiritual member of the Evans clan, held the home
together.
Quick-witted and sharp-tongued Thelma was the middle
Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up? 17
sibling. Her younger brother, Michael, earned the nickname
“militant midget.” Despite his youth, Michael was always
standing up for social justice for the Black man.
Next door neighbor Willona was a diva, a gossip, and
best friend to Florida. Neighborhood hustler “Sweet Daddy”
Williams, repairman Bookman, Ned the Wino, and child
abuse victim Penny—played by a young Janet Jackson—were
also notable characters on the show.
However, as the series began to form its identity, the sitcom centered on the Evans’s oldest son, J. J., who nicknamed
himself “Kid Dyn-O-Mite.” With aspirations of becoming an
urban Pablo Picasso, the rail-thin, Kangol cap-wearing J. J.
provided many of the show’s funniest moments.
For me, Good Times was must-see TV.
One episode in particular sticks out in my mind. It was
titled “Black Jesus.” The episode begins with Michael discovering J. J.’ s latest artistic masterpiece: a painting of a Black Jesus.
For Black History week, Florida reluctantly allows the family to hang up the picture of Black Jesus right beside the picture
of White Jesus. The decision appears to pay instant dividends
for the family. James gets $140 from the Internal Revenue
Service and a $125 payoff from the neighborhood lottery.
Florida promptly scolds James for gambling.
“This ain’t gambling,” replied James, pointing to Black
Jesus. “With this dude blowing on the dice, ain’t no chance of
me crapping out.”4
The good luck continues. Thelma is asked out on a date,
and Michael gets five dollars of hush money after witnessing
a car wreck. For once, the family is finally experiencing some
“Good Times.” And, seemingly, it’s all thanks to Black Jesus.
As the episode draws to a close, Florida decides to leave
White Jesus and Black Jesus hanging side by side.
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YOU’RE GROUNDED
“We might as well leave them both up there,” Florida said
just before the credits began to roll. “With this family, we can
use all the help we could get.”5
Fast forward thirty years, Black Jesus and White Jesus are
reunited again. And, once again, it’s in the Windy City. This
time, however, it’s not in a sitcom. The reunion takes place in
a Kanye West video.
One of the brightest stars in the hip-hop universe, West
recorded a surprising hit song, “Jesus Walks,” a social commentary on how hip-hop culture reacts to Jesus. The multiplatinum selling Chicago artist made three separate music
videos for the song.
In the third video,6 West wakes up and tries to sneak past
Jesus, whose sleep is interrupted by the rap star. Dressed in
a milky white robe that matches His complexion, Jesus grabs
His crown of thorns and follows West through Chicago.
In one scene, Jesus seems disturbed by the fight breaking out at a dice game, but elects not to intervene in order to
“walk” with Kanye.
At West’s home, the refrigerator is empty except for
a few condiments. With His right hand, Jesus points toward the bare cooling chamber. West opens the door again.
Miraculously, the refrigerator is now stocked with groceries.
As the two prepare to leave the house, Jesus touches one
of West’s family members, who is on crutches. Sensing that a
miracle has occurred, the surprised man drops the crutches
and starts dancing.
At the close of the video, the scene shifts back to the dice
game, where tensions are escalating. But just before the fight
erupts, Jesus breaks it up. However, it’s not the White, sandalwearing Jesus. It’s now Black Jesus with shoulder-length
dreadlocks.
Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up? 19
The video fades out with West standing in front of White
Jesus.
“Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?”
The Good Times episode and “Jesus Walks” video raise
thought-provoking questions about the real Jesus. Does it
matter if Jesus was White, Black, or neither? Will He help you
roll a seven or an eleven (automatic winners) in a dice game?
Can He heal crippled family members and make empty refrigerators full with a simple wave of His hand? And, if He
can, why doesn’t He?
Questions such as these point to a pair of larger questions:
Who is Jesus? And, why does it matter who He is? The importance of discovering the answers cannot be overestimated.
The Source
So then, where do we turn to for answers about Jesus? We
begin the journey of finding out who Jesus is by exploring the
Word of God—the Holy Bible.
The Bible is the God-inspired authoritative book specifically designed to address questions about the significance of
Jesus’ identity. However, regrettably for some, this vital resource is often ignored or merely seen as the book where important family documents are secured.
Needless to say, it’s so much more than that. In fact, the
Bible is the most important book in the world—because it
reveals Jesus.
The Bible tells us about a man named Matthew who
spent several years of his life in a close friendship with Jesus.
Fortunately for us, his biography of Jesus’ life is found in the
Scriptures.
In chapter 16 of his book, Matthew records an encounter
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YOU’RE GROUNDED
in a place called Caesarea Philippi where Jesus quizzes His
followers about His true identity.
The men responding to the question started shooting
back all of the answers they had heard people say. But then
Jesus makes the question personal to His friends.
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 7
Not only does Jesus personalize the question, He also
posed it at a very strategic location. Located on the northern
tip of Palestine, Caesarea Philippi was the center of worship
for Pan, the god who some believed controlled nature. In the
backdrop of this city were also many temples erected to worship Baal, the god that some believed could help them bear
children. Also present was a place of worship established for
Augustus Caesar, the founder and first emperor of the Roman
Empire.
Like Caesarea Philippi, our culture today is jam-packed
with numerous religious views and false gods, often making
it a challenge to find the answer to Jesus’ question.
Reach Records hip-hop artist Trip Lee does a masterful
job of depicting many of these ideas in his video for the song,
“Real Vision.”8 The film centers on a young Black male on a
journey to find spiritual truth. As he walks through the city,
his peers—aided by neon-colored megaphones—shout out
their own opinions on God and religion.
“Faith is a crutch.”
“God doesn’t care about you.”
“It doesn’t matter what you believe.”
“Only God can judge me.”
Throughout the video, the young man is seen scribbling
Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up? 21
notes from his various interactions with people and their take
on religion.
As the “Real Vision” video draws to a close, the large
group of megaphone-carrying people trap and surround the
young man. With the aid of their voice-enhancing devices,
they all bombard him with their religious opinions.
In response, the young guy begins to scribble furiously,
trying to record every thought. Frustrated and confused by the
chaos, he finally pushes his way through the crowd and runs.
When it comes to the subject of God and religion, here
we see a great picture of our culture today: Follow this religious leader. Follow that religious leader. Don’t follow any
religious leader. Awaken the spiritual leader within you. Do
all of the above. Treat religion like a buffet—just take what
you like and leave the rest.
The Right Answer
When all is said and done, every response about Jesus
and religion isn’t a right answer. That is because there’s a difference between truth and opinion. It’s entirely possible to be
sincere—but also be sincerely wrong.
This is the very reason that—in our search to be grounded
in the truth—we must always consult the authority of the
Bible. In fact, it holds the answers that pertain to all of life’s
questions.
After Jesus posed the “Who do you say that I am?” question in Caesarea Philippi, He acknowledged one person’s answer as correct.
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ [the Messiah],
the Son of the living God.” 9
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There in the midst of a culture where the worship of idols
was the order of the day, Simon Peter was divinely inspired
and spoke the truth. Jesus wasn’t just another religious leader.
The world had seen plenty of those. Nor was He just a miracle
worker. The world had seen those too.
What the world had not seen was a savior. People are always searching for the right answer and here Jesus points us
to Himself as the solution to the world’s problems. In fact,
the name Jesus means “the Lord shall save,” which clearly describes the work that He came to accomplish on earth.
Therefore, in our exploration to find out who Jesus is, we
will learn that He didn’t claim to be simply a messenger from
God. Jesus rightly claimed to be Christ—the Messiah—the
Savior and Deliverer of mankind.
Jesus the Messiah
At the time of their meeting in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus
was in the process of revealing His identity and His purpose
to His followers. As He led them to discovery of the truth
about Himself, we must also follow His lead.
First, it is important to understand that “Christ” is not Jesus’
last name. The Greek word Christ is a title that is translated in
Hebrew as Messiah and means the “Anointed One.” In essence,
Christ, the Messiah, identifies Jesus as “God’s special agent
uniquely selected to accomplish God’s purpose in the world.”
Historically, the Jewish people had been awaiting the
coming of the promised Messiah. Because they knew He
would be anointed by God, they were expecting the Messiah
to come in a royal display as the ultimate Prophet, Priest,
and King. Jesus would indeed fulfill those roles, but He also
came as the ultimate Servant who would suffer and die to
save mankind.
Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up? 23
One of the main beliefs of the Christian faith is that the
problem of sin entered into the world sometime after God
created man. Consequently, man needed salvation and God
provided the answer through Jesus. Therefore, for the security of our ultimate destiny, we must look to Jesus to learn of
His character and His role in our lives.
Solely for the benefit of those who will believe in Him,
Jesus arrived on the scene at the appropriate time and made it
known that He is the long-awaited Messiah. Throughout the
course of His ministry, He made known His mission to take
our punishment and restore us in a relationship with Him
and the Father that will never end.
Listen to the way in which Jesus described why He came
to earth.
For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but
to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of
him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has
given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s
will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in
him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the
last day.10
Here we find the precious gift that Jesus brought us when
He came to rescue us. The promise of eternal life is to those
who will trust in Jesus—the Son of God. Truly, eternal life is
the gift that keeps on giving. Because He is the Messiah, our
time with God will never end.
Jesus, God’s Son
The second part of Peter’s inspiration identified Jesus as
the Son of the living God. While the relationship between
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God the Father and His Son, Jesus, shares some similarities to
earthly father-son relationships, there are some unique and
important differences.
One major difference is that when the Bible distinguishes
between God the Father and God the Son, the reference is
to the roles in their relationship and not an age difference. In
heaven, both God the Father and God the Son have always
existed together.
There is another aspect to Jesus’ identity as it relates to
His role in humanity. During His time on earth, Jesus often
used the title “Son of Man” in referring to Himself. He used
this particular title in further defining His mission: “For the
Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” 11
Words cannot express the terrible condition we would
be in if it weren’t for Jesus’ coming to deliver God’s people.
Because He obeyed the will of His Father and brought salvation to a broken world, we are saved. That is exactly what He
came to do and that is what He accomplished. And this is why
we call the Son of God our Savior.
The Godhead
No discussion of Jesus’ identity would be complete without introducing the Godhead. To better understand the relationship between Jesus the Son and God the Father, it’s important to talk about the Godhead, which is also referred to
as the Trinity.
The Bible teaches that the God of the universe exists in
three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They
are the same in their nature, but distinct in their function.
Here is a brief description of the roles that each One plays:
Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up? 25
• God the Father is Creator.
• God the Son glorifies God the Father on earth and
saves mankind from sin.
• God the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, convinces
mankind of the need for a Savior, and communicates
God the Father’s salvation plan to all men.
As our search to be grounded in God’s truth continues,
these distinct roles will be highlighted in more detail.
In conclusion, Jesus, the Son of God and the Messiah,
came as a Man on a mission to be our Savior. In upcoming
chapters, we will explore more in depth the subject of sin and
man’s need for salvation.