Jesus isn’t white — let’s go ahead and get that out of the way. However, Jesus also isn’t a dreadlocked black man who spouts profanity and reduces his life to identity politics and Black Lives Matter talking points. But that’s exactly how a sketch comedy troupe from England portrays him in an attempt at political and religious satire.
The sketch comedy show Famalam, which airs on BBC 3, aired a sketch in which a white man has his prayers for help answered by the appearance of the black Jesus character. The white man appears confused. Gesturing towards a picture of Jesus on the church wall, the black Jesus responds: “Oh, I see you thought I’d be white.”
The premise of the video rests on the notion that white people believe Jesus is white. Hence, Jesus has to lead racist white people into wokeness. Except, while I don’t doubt that there are a few idiots out there who believe that Jesus is white, I don’t know a single white person who thinks that. And I know a lot of white people. Let me repeat that — I don’t know any white people who believe that Jesus is white.
Using the life of Jesus as an object lesson, the sketch devolves into a diatribe about identity politics and Black Lives Matter talking points. After asking the white man if he’s heard his story, the black Jesus says: “I was arrested by a mob of angry government officials. Beaten for a crime I didn’t commit, and that s*** doesn’t happen to white people.”
Regardless of where you stand on Black Lives Matter, even a cursory reading of the Gospels should tell you that the arrest and trial of Jesus doesn’t hold any parallels with that narrative. Jesus was betrayed by a member of his inner circle, and then arrested by his own religious leaders who convicted Jesus after a mock trial. Those same religious leaders then turned Jesus over to the secular authority — who tried to release Jesus. It was only after the threat of mob violence by Jesus’ own countrymen that the secular leader gave in and ordered Jesus to be executed.
Unless Famalam is saying that blacks are being betrayed by their friends, arrested by the pastors of their own churches, and turned over to secular authority figures who try to release them, I fail to see what the story of Jesus has to do with identity politics.
Watch the video, and let me know if you too think that Famalam is ignorant of the Gospel accounts of Jesus:
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