This Easter week, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) decided to mark Maundy Thursday with a particularly fitting Bible passage — the passage instructing Christians to celebrate Communion. This Bible quote appears to have triggered many prominent leftist commentators, who responded to it by branding the senator a “fake Christian” and “Not a man of God.”
“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, & after he had given thanks broke it & said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ 1 Corinthians 11:23-24,” Rubio tweeted.
Thursday, April 1, 2021, marks Maundy Thursday, the day that Western Christians commemorate Jesus’s Last Supper before His Crucifixion on Good Friday and His Resurrection on Easter Sunday. During the Last Supper, Jesus instituted the practice of Communion, instructing His disciples to eat bread and drink wine together in remembrance of His death and Resurrection.
Rubio, who has a longstanding practice of posting Bible verses on Twitter, cited the passage due to its historic significance on Maundy Thursday, not as a political point.
Yet many on the Left seized on this Bible tweet as if it were somehow nefarious or constituted hypocrisy on Rubio’s part.
Actor Kirk Acevedo insisted that Rubio’s Bible tweet must be an “April Fools joke” because Rubio “is not a man of God.”
“This is an April Fools joke, right? Marco Rubio is not a man of God. Don’t think Jesus would approve of U helping to pass laws suppressing the votes of people of color. Don’t think Jesus would approve of you voting no to pass a stimulus package that would help your fellow man,” Acevedo tweeted.
The actor’s attacks involved Georgia’s voter integrity bill — which does not target “people of color” but rather institutes protections for voting such as requiring ID for voters to request an absentee ballot — and the recent extremely partisan COVID-19 “relief” package, which included bailouts for state pension funds and did little to directly address the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, Republicans had tried to negotiate with Biden on the COVID bill, but Biden rejected their clean proposal.
Acevedo can disagree with Rubio’s political stances all he wants, but that does not make Rubio “not a man of God.”
This is an April Fools joke, right?
Marco Rubio is not a man of God.
Don’t think Jesus would approve of U helping to pass laws suppressing the votes of people of color.
Don’t think Jesus would approve of you voting no to pass a stimulus package that would help your fellow man. https://t.co/wssEmZVUTz
— Kirk Acevedo🇺🇸 (@kirkacevedo) April 1, 2021
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ Is the Most Important Event In History
Anthony Charles Williams II, a singer/songwriter better known by his stage name B. Slade, also responded to Rubio’s tweet. Williams quoted Proverbs 25:21-21 (and Romans 12:20), saying, “‘If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the LORD will reward you.’ Your ENEMY deserves better than what you stand for. Have several.”
“If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the LORD will reward you.” Your ENEMY deserves better than what you stand for. Have several. https://t.co/rmWHWKdAQa
— B.⚡️LADE (@BSladeNow) April 1, 2021
Many other Twitter users attacked Rubio for this tweet, calling him a “fake Christian” for supporting conservative policies. Some went even further.
Leftist commentator Tara Dublin seized on Rubio’s tweet as evidence that the senator “sounds really scared” that he will “face prosecution” for “hanging out with Matt Gaetz or something.”
“Invisible Sky Daddy & the Buddy Christ can’t save you from Earthly prosecution, [Fake Christian] Florida man,” Dublin added.
Dublin was referring to the unfolding scandal around Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), whom the Department of Justice is reportedly investigating for claims of sexual assault. Gaetz has denied the accusations and claims he is being blackmailed. Rubio’s connection to this scandal remains unclear, and it seems some Democrats are rushing — apparently without evidence — to suggest that the scandal may implicate other Republicans.
Somehow, Tara Dublin read deeply into Rubio’s regular practice of tweeting a Bible verse and saw premonitions of “prosecution” for complicity in Gaetz’s as-yet-unclear crimes. Either she’s astoundingly clairvoyant, or she’s concocting an extremely bizarre conspiracy theory.
Sometimes, a Bible verse tweet is just a Bible verse tweet. On Maundy Thursday, it makes a great deal of sense to tweet about Jesus instituting Communion at the Last Supper. Anyone with a basic familiarity with Christianity should immediately grasp this.
It is both telling and tragic that prominent leftists seem unable to do so.
Tyler O’Neil is the author of Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Follow him on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
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