It took me a long time to find the real Jesus, the stench of organized religion kept me away from the truth for far too long. It upsets me. Knowing Jesus felt the same way, about the same problems that I have with religion. Religion doesn’t talk about that part though. To me, it almost felt like Jesus was a bad guy. You have all these bad people pretending to be good, talking about him nonstop. All the while wanting you to throw your money in their bowl that’s passed around. Meanwhile, they are passing around kids in the back if you know what I mean (we all know what I mean, unfortunately). For me, that noise cast a dark shadow around the Lord’s Light for a long time. That’s how well they co-opted this man. Just know basically everything wrong with the church and institutions, he was not down with, and again they fail to mention this.
Once you separate religion and just look at the real Jesus, that’s someone you can follow. You realize you can follow him without religion, and that’s actually how its supposed to be. All of these cults that have co-opted his image/message for their own gain and to justify the very things he preached against have done a major disservice. I can’t help but draw comparisons to Gary Oldman’s character in the book of Eli.
Because of these cults, I fear majority of people don’t even know the real Jesus.
Here’s a breakdown of what Jesus opposed:
False Religion/Hypocrisy/Weaponized Tradition: Jesus condemned religious leaders who appeared holy on the outside but were corrupt and exploitative underneath. (the men below don’t even appear holy on the outside, corrupt and exploitative inside and out). Jesus exposed how religious leaders used traditions and laws as shields for greed and to justify neglecting their families and others.
Gospel singer and bishop #MarvinSapp is under fire for his unorthodox way of asking church members for donations … because he’s on video telling ushers to close the doors until a huge goal is met. Full story in bio!
Jesus criticized religious leaders for misusing traditions to exploit others, conceal greed, and neglect core moral and familial duties. This is most clearly illustrated in his rebuke of the Corban vow, found in Matthew 15 and Mark 7.
The practice of “Corban” (“a gift devoted to God”) was a specific tradition that Jesus condemned.
The practice: Religious traditions allowed an individual to dedicate their possessions or money to God with a vow.
The abuse: Corban was a convenient legal loophole used by some to declare their assets as “dedicated,” thereby avoiding their financial obligation to care for their aging or needy parents. This was considered acceptable under human tradition, even though the person often retained control of the property until their death.
The hypocrisy: Jesus exposed this as a perversion of God’s law. By using a religious tradition as a shield, the leaders appeared holy but were actually motivated by greed, ignoring the fundamental commandment to honor one’s father and mother.
Jesus’s critique extended beyond this single example to the broader issue of the religious establishment elevating their own rules and interpretations above God’s divine law.
The confrontation: In Mark 7, when Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem confronted Jesus about his disciples eating with “unclean” hands, Jesus turned the criticism back on them. He challenged their meticulous focus on ceremonial washing traditions, which were man-made rules, rather than genuine purity.
The deeper issue: He quoted the prophet Isaiah, calling the leaders hypocrites for honoring God with their lips while their hearts were far from him. Their worship was “in vain” because they were teaching human traditions as if they were divine commandments.
A contrast in priorities: This confrontation served to highlight the difference between external displays of religiosity and true, heartfelt righteousness. For Jesus, true faith was centered on justice, mercy, and faithfulness, not on following an ever-expanding list of human-made rituals.
Jesus warned that such hypocrisy had devastating consequences for people, who were burdened by impossible rules and exploited for personal gain.
Exploitation: He accused the religious leaders of using their status and faith to control and manipulate others, silencing those who questioned them while showing off their own “holiness”.
Spiritual neglect: By making salvation dependent on their own strict traditions, they shut the “doors of the kingdom” in people’s faces.
Inner corruption: In Matthew 23, Jesus delivered the “woes” against the Pharisees, condemning their hypocrisy with scathing metaphors. He called them “whitewashed tombs”—beautiful and clean on the outside but filled with “death and everything unclean” on the inside. This was a direct accusation that their inner spiritual lives were full of greed and wickedness, hidden behind a pious facade.
Legalism: He criticized the belief that one could earn God’s righteousness through human effort, which often ignored true faith and reliance on God.
Virtue-Signaling: Jesus warned against practicing religious acts like giving, praying, and fasting to be seen by others rather than for genuine devotion.
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them… when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets… when you pray, go into your room, close the door…” — Matthew 6:1–6, 16–18
Excluding the “Sinners”: He was critical of religious people who set up barriers to the kingdom of heaven, making it difficult for outsiders to experience God’s love and grace.
This is why echo chambers have become a problem, everyone wants to exclude those they see as sinners or doing something “wrong” or just thinking different. We need to show our opponents that there is a better way by leading them to paradise. We must wade into the darkness to spread our light. Only way we can actualize the kingdom of god.
“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” — Mark 2:16–17
I see a lot of people waiting around for Jesus to come back so he can save the world instead of acting in his stead.
is it possible that this mentality is the barrier to his return?
Look I don’t pretend to know all, perhaps Jesus is coming back, that would be pretty cool, we could use bro right about now, hopefully we don’t kill him this time. While we wait for Jesus and his literal return, we can bring about his metaphorical return, through us. That is how we bring about the kingdom of god. So when he do get back he doesn’t have much of a mess to clean up.
Remember, organized religion is spiritual government.
and the only difference between a cult and a religion is the number of people.
Learn more about Jesus?
Read the gospels/bible for yourself instead of letting others “interpret” it for you.
