SO WHAT DOES JESUS THINK OF BRUCE JENNER?
That seems to be a pretty significant issue to most people in the debate. Some are convinced that Jesus is disgusted and would completely turn His back, some are convinced that Jesus would refrain from judging and welcome him unconditionally.
I certainly don’t care to weigh in on the decisions of one human being, but in this case it seems the debate has escalated to such an extent that the clarity of the gospel and the message of salvation hang in the balance. Whether you are a devoted follower of Jesus, one who adamantly disregards the need for Him, or somewhere in between, understanding Jesus’ stance on something like this is of the utmost importance.
No, there are no instances in Scripture were Jesus specifically encountered a man who felt that they were a woman trapped in a man’s body, who then had an operation to correct the perceived wrong. So a direct case study won’t happen. However Jesus did deal with His fair share of societal rejects. We could look at John 4 and read about Jesus’ interaction with a Samaritan woman. She had been married 5 times and was now living with a man who was not her husband (vs. 17-18). To make matters worse, (from the perspective of a Jewish man) she was a dreaded Samaritan. (If you want more input on her, listen to our recent sermon: “The Kindness of Jesus”) To make a long story short, you just need to understand that in John 4 Jesus was in a conversation with a person of different gender, different race, different moral code, and different religion. How did Jesus respond to her? Well, He was obviously kind, striking up a conversation with her, and one that even shocked the lady (vs. 9). It must be noted that Jesus’ kindness even shocked those who followed Him (vs. 27). And based on that, we would expect nothing from Jesus toward Bruce Jenner except for kindness. Jesus seemed to reserve His wrath for the self-righteous (hence the “judge not” passage we’ll get to in a moment). However, Jesus also refused to turn a blind eye to her sin. Yes she was a sinner. Yes she had fallen short of God’s perfect plan for her life. And yes, we all have. Jesus brought up the issue of this woman’s immoral past, Jesus exposed this woman’s problem of false worship, and Jesus offered this woman eternal life. He was kind, He was compassionate, He went further than any other Jewish man would have gone, but that does not mean He was willing to allow this woman to remain in her sin. The beauty is that this woman embraced the conviction of Jesus (she even bragged about it – vs. 29) and responded to Jesus. If we were to apply this to the case of Bruce Jenner we would assume that Jesus would be kind, compassionate, and that He would expose all of Bruce’s sin, and offer him that same eternal life He offered this unworthy woman. After all, Jesus came to save sinners.
We could turn to John 8 and read about a woman who was caught in the very act of adultery. This woman was dragged before Jesus as a test to see if He would be merciful or righteous. The mob was ready to stone the woman and Jesus intervened. No, we don’t know what He wrote on the ground, so don’t guess, but we do know what He said to the crowd. He uttered the infamous “let he who is without sin cast the first stone”. Please notice that the issue of whether or not the woman sinned was not in question. She was a sinner, as was the entire crowd. Jesus’ solution was to stone all the sinners right here and now. Of course no one really wants to play the game that way so they dropped the stones. Jesus’ response to the woman is very telling for our study. “Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you? She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go. From now on sin no more.” (vs. 10-11). Jesus didn’t come to condemn sinners, but He also didn’t come to leave them in their sin. It is important that our society understand this. I don’t think for one second that Jesus would approach Bruce Jenner and hit him with stones or seek to throw him alive into hell, but I am also under no misconception that Jesus would let him comfortably remain in his sin. That’s just not how Jesus operated.
And the stories continue. Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners, why? Well according to Him “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.” (Matthew 9:12). Now please understand that. Was Jesus compassionate? Yes, He was eating with these guys despite what the religious elite thought about it. However, don’t miss the fact that Jesus called their sin a sickness that was in need of healing. Watch Jesus do the same with Zaccheus in Luke 19, or with a woman of shady reputation in Luke 7. (Also a woman whose “sins” had to be forgiven).
I hope you get the point. Jesus would not have gotten on Facebook and vented how “sickened” He was about Bruce Jenner. Jesus would have met with him at his house. But don’t assume that Jesus would have smiled and looked the other way regarding Bruce’s sin, He would not have. Jesus would have compassionately confronted it, required Bruce to repent of it, and then…and this is huge, Jesus would have died to pay the penalty for Bruce’s sin. Jesus’ goal would not to have been to embarrass Bruce, but to save him. He would not have just let him remain in sin. In fact Jesus won’t let any of us do that.
It is apparent to me that some people are adamant that Jesus accepts people like Bruce because their theology requires it. They need for Jesus to accept Bruce just the way he is, so that they can reassure themselves that Jesus will accept them just the way they are. To put it another way. If Jesus doesn’t require Bruce to repent, then He won’t require me to repent either. I’m sorry to burst that bubble, but it simply isn’t true. Jesus’ first message was repentance (Matthew 4:17) as was John the Baptist’s (Matthew 3:2). Peter preached it (Acts 2:38) as did Paul (Acts 17:30). Regardless of who you are, and regardless of whether you have a sin that is shocking to society or one that is more of the “Good Ole Boy” nature that everyone is comfortable with, Jesus will respond the same. He will deal kindly and compassionately with you (Matthew 12:18-21) but He will confront your sin, require you to repent of it (i.e. leave it) and then offer you forgiveness through His own death. That is true for Bruce Jenner and it is true for you and it is true for me.
So what about (as previously promised) when Jesus said, “Judge Not!”? Yes, He really did say that, and I’m not sure any words that He did say ever get quoted more. But if no one has ever explained it to you, then please pay attention, you need to understand this.
“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2 “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3 “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5 “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1-5)
In this passage Jesus is addressing hypocrites (vs 5). He is addressing those who use the sin of others to make themselves feel better about their own lives. Incidentally there are plenty who are doing this with Bruce Jenner, and those on both sides of the argument. There are for sure religious people who beat down Bruce Jenner because it makes their own sin (things like gossip and slander) seem not so bad. There are also people who defend Bruce Jenner for the same reason, his sin makes theirs feel a little less condemning. There are hypocrites on both sides of the argument, and that is who Jesus is addressing. But if you will simply read what He said you will recognize that Jesus was NOT telling people to leave sin alone. Jesus didn’t do this, why would He request it of others? In fact if you’ll read verse 5 you’ll see that Jesus is all for taking the speck out of your brother’s eye. His request is that you make sure you are seeing clearly before you do it. And you can’t see clearly if you have a log in your own eye. Who wants to go to an eye doctor for eye surgery who has to squint to make out your face? The point of Jesus here was not to overlook sin. In fact the point was just the opposite. Jesus point was to sharpen your gaze and make sure you get ALL of the sin. Starting with yourself and then addressing your brother.
There are plenty of people on Facebook who have posted about Bruce Jenner who need to be read this very verse, because their condemnation has been done in a spirit of self-righteousness and hypocrisy, but don’t let their failure cloud the gospel or the salvation of Jesus. Sin is still wrong (all sin, everyone’s sin) and unrepentant sinners will not inherit eternal life. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Galatians 5:19-21). However the glorious message of the gospel is that Jesus offers forgiveness from sin and freedom from sin. He will forgive and He will change you. Did you hear that? He will change you! (2 Corinthians 5:17). That means that Jesus changes the way sinners feel about their sin. I don’t doubt for a second that Bruce Jenner legitimately feels the way he feels, just like any other sinner feels about their own sin. We are in fact born sinful (Psalms 51:5) we inherited that from our father Adam (Romans 5:12-14). And our sin reveals itself in different ways in different people. Some people’s sin manifests as greed, others as lust, others as hatred, and others as homosexuality, but it is all sin and Jesus can handle all of it. He can both forgive the sinner and so change their heart that they no longer even desire that sin. It is the miracle of salvation!
So the message for you and for your sin (which is really what the debate is about); your sin (and my sin) is not ok. It may feel natural, it may even be enjoyable, but it is grievous to God, and it brings a penalty of eternal death in hell (Romans 6:23). However the glory of God is that He loved sinners (Romans 5:8) and sent His perfect sinless Son to take their punishment and offer them forgiveness. You can be forgiven…You can be set free…You can be made new…You can inherit eternal life. Just repent of your sin, place your faith in the sacrificial atonement of Jesus, and submit your life to His control!
“that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10)
