He Gets Us

During the Super Bowl, two ads stirred up a conversation about Jesus. The “He Gets Us” campaign has been active since 2022. They have posted other videos at hegetsus.com.

Spokesman Jason Vanderground told CNN, “Our focus is on helping people see and consider Jesus as He is shown in the Bible.” One of the Super Bowl ads features a series of still images of people yelling, arguing, and fighting. It closes with the tag, “Jesus loved the people we hate.” This ad is called “Love Your Enemies,” words straight from Jesus’ mouth.

It didn’t take a minute for a feisty political influencer to diss the video as “making fascism look benign.” Some of the images apparently show people she disagrees with, and everybody knows you don’t love someone you disagree with. But that’s the point, isn’t it? Jesus loves those people anyway.

You can see reflections of that kind of love if you look. Parents love like that. They may endure loud objections from their child, but they refuse to let him jeopardize his health or let her be exposed to risk. Having a child’s buy-in is helpful, but not a prerequisite for parental love.

Jason and Travis Kelce love each other despite disagreeing. They were the first brothers ever to play in the Super Bowl on opposite teams. Naturally, each wanted his own team to win. After the game, Jason congratulated Travis, cracked a smile and said, “Go celebrate!” Then they both said, “I love you.”

Jesus loves people before they agree with Him or change their mind about Him. You hear that in His lament, “Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling” (Matt. 23:37).

As tough as that kind of love is, it’s the love He expects of His followers, “so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:45). It’s a love that “does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Cor. 13:7). To encourage people to embrace a harmful lie is not love, but a ruinous empathy. To love like Jesus means respecting someone’s value as a person while kindly offering to show her or him the Kingdom of God is near.

Jesus is attractive because He loves sinners, not just saints. He has compassion for people even if their positions, opinions, and beliefs hold their souls in bondage, and even if they disagree with Him. Why? Because His way is true and brings peace to a troubled soul. And because He gets us.

“While we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son” (Rom. 5:10).