Jeremy L. Berg

In this 4-part series we ask, “How would Jesus conduct himself on social media?” Listen to this adaptation of Jesus’ most famous teaching — Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7) — applied directly to online interaction. Here is part 4.

TRANSCRIPT

Matthew 7:21-29 The Message [my adaptations in brackets]

21-23 “Knowing the correct password—saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance—isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we [posted Christian memes and Bible verses on our Facebook page], we bashed the demons [and online trolls], our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking [and tweeting about us on social media].’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’ 

24-25 “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life [and positive social media presence] on. If you work these words into your life [and online interactions], you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. 

26-27 “But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t practice them in your [social media interactions], you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards [or a hacked account or fried hard drive]. 

28-29 When Jesus concluded his address, the [world wide web] burst into applause [and the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ was the #1 trending topic for an entire hour. They had never heard teaching like this. It was apparent that he was living everything he was saying—quite a contrast to their religion teachers [and political pundits]! This was the best teaching they had ever heard. 

Let all who have ears to hear, tweet this!