This phrase "Jesus was a community organizer, Pontius Pilate was a governor" must have had it's origins among the community organizer crowd back in the 60's. For a bunch of leftists (I'm not sure I have ever heard of a conservative community organizer) who were often demonstrating and fighting against the establishment government, the phrase probably sounded cool. I never heard it though before this past week (thankfully I have never been a leftist) when it was used several times by Democrats in comparing Obama (= Jesus = community organizer) with Palin (= governor = Pontius Pilate). I believe it is a very offensive comparison, both to Jesus, who I doubt would be happy having his divinity stripped down to a community organizer, and to Sarah Palin, who I doubt would appreciate being compared to a man who is mostly known for his connection with Jesus' death. But there is a larger, more important question that I find much more compelling: just who is Jesus?
You might think it would take a book to answer that question, but I believe the answer is really quite short and simple: He is the Son of God. Now some people are happy just calling him an honored teacher, while others look at him as a great prophet, and apparently some see him as a community organizer. But these perspectives of Jesus are flawed. C.S. Lewis probably said it best when he challenged people with this thought: either Jesus is a liar, or He is a lunatic, or He is Lord. Jesus made it very clear who He thought He was: that He was God, that He was here to die on a cross for the sins of mankind, and that He would be resurrected from the dead. Now, if anyone else made those kinds of claims, that person would either be locked up as a crazy person and not really knowing what they were saying, or they would be seen as a liar, knowing full well what they were claiming, but trying to deceive people. If Jesus was lying or was a lunatic, then there is no way anyone could call Him an honored teacher or a great prophet. It makes no sense. So, if you cannot accept what Jesus says about Himself, then you really cannot and should not view Him as a teacher or as a prophet. On the other hand, if you do accept what Jesus claimed about Himself, then that must mean that you believe He is God . . that He really is who He claimed to be. There is a big difference between defining Jesus as a community organizer and defining Him as Lord and Savior.
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