American Idols Series

In one of our previous churches, one of our members was transferred to another community, and before leaving, he wanted to donate something significant to the church. Since he was from a country where Christians are persecuted, he presented us with an incredible portrait depicting Jesus Christ created by an artist from that part of the world. The image was quite impactful – it stood six feet tall and four feet wide and took two years to complete.

Amazingly, the artist drew this picture using every word in the New Testament! In the top left corner, you could see the first word from the Gospel of Matthew and in the bottom right, the last word from the Book of Revelation. Using shading and other techniques, this portrait of Jesus was stunning. Surrounding the depiction of Jesus were 27 angels, representing the books of the New Testament.

We were grateful for this gift but struggled with where to put it. The first place we chose made us uncomfortable because we were concerned people might start worshipping the image. We decided to move it to a hallway. Later, when renovating our facility, we transferred the picture to our Life Center.

The next day, I was blindsided by a phone call from a long-time member who was extremely upset. This is a summary of what she said, “I don’t know if I can remain a member because you’ve removed Jesus from my church!” I was greatly grieved by this comment. Somehow, she had equated an artist’s image with Jesus Himself.

Pictures are powerful, aren’t they? For instance, many of us think of Jesus with fair skin, long blond hair and blue eyes. As a Jewish man from the Middle East, He likely had darker skin, dark hair and brown eyes.

Beth and I have two images etched indelibly on our minds from when we served as missionaries in Mexico City.

As part of our attempt to understand the culture, we made it a practice to visit various churches. One day, we found an open church; and as we walked toward the front, we saw a huge statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe displayed directly above the altar. This image was probably 40 feet high! As we walked closer, we noticed a small statue of Jesus, only about two feet high, placed at the feet of Mary. We just stared with our mouths open in disbelief while our eyes flooded with tears.

For the next three years, we lived in Mexico. We were amazed and grieved by all the attention given to the Virgin depicted through statues and paintings. In early December each year, hundreds of thousands make pilgrimages to the Basilica in Mexico City from all over the country, many of whom crawl on their knees. Beth and I have been to this shrine to Mary on several occasions and have observed people climbing the rough cement stairs on their knees, leaving bloodstains behind. Worshippers couldn’t wait to get inside to kneel before the supposed image of the Lady of Guadalupe imprinted on a cloak.

Please understand I am not a Catholic basher. That’s my heritage and I care deeply for those who are Catholic. However, it must be clearly said – Mary has no place in our redemption. It is only by the shed blood of Jesus that you and I can have forgiveness of sin and open access to God the Father. Mary is not a co-redemptorist or a mediator. She needed to have her sins forgiven, just like we do. We must never give to Mary worship which belongs only to Jesus.

We come today to the second commandment found in Exodus 20:4-6: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

Here are some observations.

• This command does not forbid religious works of art. After all, there are two golden cherubim carved into the cover of the Ark of the Covenant and angelic images were also woven into the temple curtains. There is nothing wrong with religious artwork unless the symbol becomes the substitute. For example, God commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent in Numbers 21:6-9 but later, according to 2 Kings 18:4, the people started worshipping it as an idol.

• The second commandment is similar to the first commandment. The first word deals with whom we worship; the second with how we worship. Philip Ryken says it like this: “The first commandment has to do with worshipping the right God…the second has to do with worshipping the right God in the right way.”