There is a depiction of Jesus today that I would label, "the kinder,gentler" Jesus. Although not called a hippie, this Jesus encompasses all the same qualities mentioned previously. It is the,everything is OK if it is done in love, non-judgemental Jesus.
To this I would say that you either don't know the Gospels or you have chosen to to ignore what we call His "hard sayings".
Let me provide some examples of Jesus being anything but non-judgemental.
In Matthew 23:33 we read of Jesus condemning the Scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy saying: "You snakes, you vipers' brood, how can you escape being condemned to hell?"
My advice would be to read all of Matthew 23, Our Lord minces no words in his condemnation of those who have misused their religious position.
To the Jews who repeatedly challenged and tried to use His words to justify having Him killed He had this to say: " You are of your father the devil and the desires of your father you want to do."
One more, from Mark 16:14 which gives a description of Jesus being very critical of His followers. After He was resurrected, He appeared to His disciples and as they sat at the table "He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen."
I could go on and on but suffice to say that a reading of the Gospels will dispel the Jesus was the first hippie myth.To close this all out I will add the following.
This is a quote by Jesus that many people either don't know or have explained away or misinterpreted. It is from Luke 22:36. As Jesus spoke to His disciples regarding their mission to spread His Word to the people He said: "But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack: and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one."
Hold on there, Jesus advocated being armed and potentially dangerous? In a way yes. Our Lord recognized that the areas His disciples were going into could be quite dangerous.The sword was for protection, not aggression. It is amazing how many religious teachers try to explain away this by saying ithe sword was a metaphor for "spiritual" warfare. Utter nonsense.
There has been a tendency over the years to portray Jesus as a benign, almost effeminate man. He was anything but. This was a man who worked as a carpenter with His earthly father Joseph, walked great distances and often slept outside. He was a rugged man.
So Brothers and Sisters, let us not only proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ but also remember that He was of flesh and blood just like us and suffered and died for our sins. Amen
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