During the height of Beatlemania, John Lennon did an interview for an English publication. During the lengthy interview ranging over a wide range of topics, Lennon made the following quote:
Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I know I’m right and I will be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now. I don’t know which will go first – rock & roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It’s them twisting it that ruins it for me.”
The resulting uproar in the United States almost derailed the Beatles’ popularity almost overnight, particularly among the evangelical and other Christian groups. Radio stations in heavily religious areas stopped playing Beatles songs (for a time), and groups sponsored events where Beatles memorabilia were gathered together to create large bonfires.
The resulting tour shows a very different type of press conferences than met them in 1964. Gone were the light-hearted boys from Liverpool who were clearly enjoying themselves and their new-found popularity in the Americas. Now, they found themselves under siege, having to explain again and again what was said and what was meant.
This might seem a perfect time to call into the question the influence celebrities have on us or some other rant, but this is neither the time, place nor purpose of this writing. Instead, we need to look at the phrase, “We’re more popular than Jesus now” with an open mind and a candid approach.
What, exactly, was Lennon saying about Jesus? Nothing really, except that Jesus wasn’t as popular as the Beatles were in the mid-60’s. It wasn’t a question of who was better, or about the validity of Christ and His teachings. Lennon is dismissive of the Christian faith, yes, and his “Jesus was all right” is flippant at best, but Lennon was simply expressing his opinion on Jesus and Christianity based upon what he had seen up to that time in his life.
Should we be offended that someone might consider another person more popular than Jesus? Not really. After all, Jesus told us that popularity was not to be expected as a part of following Him. “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you” (John 15:18-20). Jesus goes on to tell the disciples to expect persecution because of their faith in and obedience to Him.
He also tells His followers, quoting from Micah 7:6, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household’” (Matthew 10:34-36). Jesus is here speaking about the call to discipleship, but His words let us know that conflict will arise between those who follow Him and those who reject Him.
If popularity is not the centerpiece of following Jesus, what is? It is the assurance of a right relationship with God through Christ. “Since we have been justified by His blood how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!” (Romans5:9-10). “Peace I live with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). “If anyone loves Me, He will obey My teachings. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23). “To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13).
The benefit of following Christ is reconciliation with God through Christ, being justified (freed of the ultimate consequences of our sins), being transformed from enemies of God to becoming the children of God. As we express our love for Christ through our obedience to and faith in Him, we are rewarded with the living presence of God with us through His Holy Spirit.
Conclusion
Almost everyone wants to be popular; almost everyone wants to be liked. But when it comes to the right relationship with God through Christ, popularity is a distant consideration. We find that our faith walk with Christ results in our becoming popular with the only One who matters—we become popular with God.
© 2018 Glynn Beaty