The "He Gets Us" Commercial: Ambassador Action Steps

Jesse:
Well the Super Bowl was won for the ages, and I'm not even a sports fan. If you watched it, you might have seen a commercial about Jesus with the tagline, He Gets Us. Not surprisingly, this commercial has been the center of a lot of talk.

both positive and negative. The bros jump into the conversation with this question in mind. How can we be Christ's ambassadors concerning this ad?

What can we say? How can we say it? And why does Doug inherently trust anything that Mr. T sells?

All that and more as we go mad.

Brad:
Welcome back everyone to another episode of GoMad with Doug and Brad and Jesse. We're excited to be here today. We're gonna be talking today about the He Gets Us ad.

Now you may not know what this is. We're going to talk a little bit about that, but for most people you are aware because it's been all over social media and even news reports about this recently. uh since the Super Bowl.

But the reality is, you know us here by now. We're not gonna spend a lot of time talking about the positives and negatives. We'll give a little glimpse of kind of what people have been saying.

But really what we want to talk about is the takeaway as ambassadors of Jesus Christ that we can apply to our everyday lives on this. So We're going to dive in here, Doug. And Jesse, I do have to ask.

We know that people tune into the Super Bowl for commercials. First and foremost. Well, first Travis Kelsey and Taylor Swift.

Doug:
What is the Super Bowl?

Brad:
Right. I Is this a show that was on review? It's a sporting event with sports teams. Ah Oh, that one. It is the

Doug:
Brad is a real fan here because he's wearing our favorite team. He goes Yay sports whenever there's something like riot sports. Not all riot sports.

Go. But uh yeah, the Giants And one of my favorite players, Mark Bavaro. Yes, he was he was awesome.

Neither of our teams were in the Super Bowl, but uh but a team that's sort of close to us uh won the Chiefs. Um yeah, Brad, I love the idea of I would like to hear what your favorite what was your what was your best commercial this year, yeah.

Brad:
And maybe ever. Like what what was your favorite from this year? I'm gonna do a horrible impersonation that will hopefully give you what my favorite commercial was this year.

I uh like the one about the car and the people impersonating Christopher Walken. So that was impersonating. I I love that because Christopher Walken is fascinating to me and the fact that it was making fun of people trying to impersonate him and he just kept being like Okay.

Do you have a favorite one ever? I do, but I learned something about it this year. My favorite ever is me and Joe Green and the uh Coke Cole Zossing.

Jesse:
Yes.

Brad:
But I my kids saw it this year. It was one of the top two on kind of a Super Bowl countdown thing. And I was like, man, why was that number two?

And they're like It was good, but people nowadays don't know mean Joe Green was mean. He wa I mean that the fact that he was called Joe Green for the nickname. It wasn't ironic.

I mean he was so it was the fact that He was this big tough guy, the little kid, the Coke, the swigging it all at once. So anyway, that is probably my favorite one of all.

Jesse:
Jesse, you got favorites? You know, uh because I'm twelve actually. Yeah.

I I almost cringe as I say this. There was this Reese's commercial this year where there was no plot, there was no it was the probably the least thought out commercial and is the only one I actually find myself chuckling at. Like What was in it though?

No, and this guy like puts his face into a pot of chili. That was a good thing. I should not be la why am I laughing?

And yet I am laughing and I can't help it. So there it is.

Brad:
The guy he also did the head in the wall, the other guy Yes, I'm The person jumping out the window No, that was that was pretty good. I like that. I'm ashamed.

Doug:
So apparently um the the commercial that quote won this year, like had the biggest audience reaction, was that one for Paramount? Uh it's got had like Picard in it and some cartoon pig called Peppa Pig. I need to catch up on things.

Brad:
I do not know what Peppa Pig. is we live in the land of the wiggles. That's why.

Brad:
That is we remember the wiggles and then we moved on.

Brad:
So but my favorite man, my Arnold Schwarzenegger in the state farm commercial, he cannot say neighbor

Doug:
You know, though like like a good neighbor. Like a good neighbor. And he can't try and he can't do it.

Uh or Mr. T Doing whatever. I don't even know what he was selling. Sketchers.

But it was Mr. T, whatever you want me to buy. Sure. There's your Mr. T. My favorite all time, 2011.

You guys remember that Volkswagen commercial? with the little kid trying to be Darth Vader. And he was trying to like get the f the force to work and and finally he tries it to like remote starts the the car and he's like shocked that it it's so that is so funny.

That's kind of endearing. We're gonna talk about the he gets us commercial this year Seven million dollars for thirty seconds this year, so a lot of money to put it on. If you didn't see it, yeah, a hundred million people watching the Super Bowl.

Brad:
Um so one of the biggest ratings things ever. So whoever was watching TV saw these commercials. I think so you hear the song from NXS Never Tear Us Apart.

Doug:
Some really beautiful, highly stylized photos, um, various scenes of people washing each other's feet. Visuals are beautiful. Um, images showing sorrow, brokenness, um, over uh this piano ballad that like I said was in excess, Never Tear Us Apart.

Um, and then uh it seems to cover every social issue, kinda under the sun there, and includ including some of the tough ones, abortion, transgenderism. Then uh on the screen it says Jesus never taught hate He washed feet. Uh and this is from a group called uh Come Near Inc.

, they're a nonprofit. And they say they are committed to sharing the life and love of Jesus that believes Jesus was human and divine. He rose from the dead and more.

So I'm about to shock you guys. You're not going to believe this There were some strong responses on Twitter and online and on social media. People actu were sharing strong opinions about something.

Online? Like in public? Uh Yeah.

Brad:
In not not in line. Not in lines online, Jesse. Oh so maybe in lines as well.

And I will say that Uh for those who were watching the Super Bowl, you know that there was also the uh, you know, kind of the other he gets us at that was Loving a childlike kind of love. I I forget exactly what the tagline was there, but this is the one you mentioned, Doug, that was creating the reaction. And you're right, it created a reaction from People who love Jesus, people who don't like Jesus.

I mean, it was across the spectrum. Across the spectrum. People were talking about this.

Doug:
Some of the positive responses. Um, you know, uh uh uh people thought it was great from a marketing standpoint. That's true.

It really gets your attention. Oh yeah. I mean the room we were in got totally silent, lots of people in there, well executed message uh artistically really beautiful.

Um what did you guys what did you guys read about it that were some positive responses.

Brad:
Well I I will say my social media did blow up with this one. Uh the next morning It shifted from Kelsey and Swift to he gets us. It was it was the wrong thing that knocked them out of the of the top trucking spot, I think.

So The I as I was looking though, I I mean the positive that people shared that I saw were that uh, you know, it did get people's attention. It got people talking. In fact, I will say this.

Someone did share how the previous years he gets us ad, because they they had ads in the in last year's Super Bowl as well. Uh one person shared that there is someone that started coming to their church because of the interesting questions that started from the He Gets Us ad. Wow.

And that person now is a follower of Christ. Now that was one person is one person story, but it does show that it does get people's interest.

Doug:
I'm sure that's the hope of of the folks that are um that are putting on this commercial on the Super Bowl. And yeah, I mean again, we're not gonna be uh s screaming. Um love or hate here.

We're just going to be talking about um the some of the responses and then kind of our personal takeaways. But I think it does. It oh probably holds an a welcoming door open to nonbelievers.

They're they're trying to say um get people's attention. Um and and if if you're not thinking about Jesus at all Then you're thinking about him, um, and and probably trying to combat um some of the uh misconceptions that people can have, because let's be honest. Christians don't always get this right.

I hate to shock you guys, but um but like you said, Brad, that's uh that's very interesting. that someone saw it, got interested, went to a church, gives their life to Jesus. My guess is that's not the only time that's happened.

Brad:
Yeah. If if I can just share this from Heat Gets Us directly, just kind of what they say as far as the pocket. Yeah, they do.

Uh they uh said that the Hope that our latest commercials will stimulate both societal discussion and individual self-reflection about who is my neighbor. And how each of us can love our neighbor even as we have differences and serve one another with more kindness and respect. So I that that's from them as far as what they hope the positive takeaway will be from this.

Doug:
So there's uh you know, people um are uh in some of their criticisms are assuming that it's a commercial that's aimed at unchurched people that don't know Jesus, but I actually think the audience, whether they intended it to be or not, was more for Christians or church people that respond interesting. Yeah, because if you watch it, it it is it is kind of giving a picture of um Christians that in if from their perspective and yeah this can happen sometimes. can respond to people living in sin with real venom and and can say hateful things um when we're supposed to be an ambassador to them for Jesus loving them.

And a a another positive thing that I saw and I kind of agree with Anything that gets people looking towards Jesus is a good thing. So even if it's not said perfectly And even if there are some things you might disagree with or wish that had been said, and we're going to get to that in a minute here, uh, it can't be bad that that all you were thinking about was Doritos and um and when the the chicken wings are gonna get there. And then all of a sudden you're you're going, man, Jesus.

So If if bridged, if used correctly, if an ambassador of Christ actually uses it correctly to bridge to the gospel

Brad:
Then you're then you got a winner. And we're gonna dive into that in a couple minutes here. As Doug has pointed out, they what we don't want you to walk away from this episode with is Man, they are all for this, all for that as far as the commercial, as far as he gets us.

This isn't about that. This really isn't. This is something that has stimulated conversation and we see some things in this that can really bring about something in us as ambassadors. Now I don't know if you guys noticed Uh there were.

Well you mentioned it before. It was harder to find the negative reactions. Nope.

No. I had to dig for the positive reactions. I'm gonna be honest. I was scrolling.

It took more scrolling to get to those. But there definitely were some negative uh just putting people on blast out there.

Doug:
Yeah, it it's funny you put it that way. I was thinking like So I don't know if uh and you guys watch Star Trek, but there's like when when they're going and trying that. Yeah, Skywalker and solo was that either that or um Sky Wars.

That sounds right. Sky Wars, that's right. Skywars.

And so I get so alright, so I watched an episode and they're like and they're using their uh the little what it the guns they use. Come on, oh goodness, phasers. As you can tell I'm quite the trekky.

Um and and uh they put it on stun, you know, to so they hit someone with it just to the and and it's so that they will get hit with it and just be completely shocked. And it it seems like some believers unfortunately go through their life with their mouth and their keyboard unstun. Um and some people actually make their living That's true.

Getting clicks and and giving folks the benefit of the doubt doesn't typically get you lots of clicks. And let's be honest, some of the folks saying you're preaching hate aren't always talking so lovingly themselves But with that being said, let's let's uh there are some I think some fairly legitimate uh criticisms. Let's let's jump into those a little bit.

Jesse:
You know, I've I've pretty much just skimmed headlines. But when I when I look at the headlines I go, it it's it's interesting. Um it seems to be focused on Christians outraged by Super Bowl commercials, evangelicals upset with and that surprised me because um uh that's who is making the headlines when it seems that, as you were saying, Doug, the commercial's supposed to be aimed outward But the headlines are all about how Christians have reacted. I thought that was just unusual.

Brad:
That is, that is. I I you know, and I also have seen as far as the substance, some have also been critical that this is basically a partial gospel. And that's been a challenge that it doesn't represent the real or the complete Jesus.

It does also represent some of who Jesus is. Right. And and that's kind of the the tricky balance there.

But it's not, it is not certainly uh one of the criticisms is correct, that it is not a full gospel and doesn't indicate that he has come to save us, not just that he gets us.

Doug:
I I think the problem is when you're committed to kind of sharing a nice Jesus, I'm not Uh, you know, uh whether the commercial does that or not, there does seem to be a movement these days. Jesus is nice and Uh you read in Revelation 2, uh uh Jesus is the risen Savior. He's coming back to defeat his enemies, and yes.

He loves us. That's the Bible says that he chose to die on the cross for us because he loves us. Um, but this was interesting.

I went to the website And uh like I said earlier, it it said um he gets us a nonprofit organization committed to sharing the life and love of Jesus that believes Jesus was human and divine, their words, he arose from the dead and more. I'll be honest with you, I looked all through that website and they really do seem to go out of their way to not mention sin.

Brad:
So if you're gonna mention where the gospel's presented and if you're gonna mention why Jes w that Jesus was on the cross, why not mention why he was on the cross

Doug:
Um, and they said uh if you're wondering what our agenda is, this is a quote, our agenda is to rediscover the love story of Jesus. Well, God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, there's really there isn't a way to really discuss the love of Jesus without going the whole way. Should you expect a thirty second commercial to share the whole gospel?

I think there's a way. I really do think there's a way. And they used sixty seconds uh for the during the whole uh during the whole uh Super Bowl.

But I think there's a way to say Jesus isn't the misconceptions you think he is. And yes, Christians have been mean sometimes in in those misconceptions But at the same time, there's a God who loved you enough to to uh pay your price, to pay our price. for us running our lives our way.

And the reason and and God calls that sin. The reason I know that can be done is I've seen our dad do it for his whole life in thirty seconds. Share the gospel on sixty seconds share the gospel.

So I think that's that's fair because if you're going to if you're going to have an ad that is starting the conversation about Jesus. Hopefully, when you go and and go to their website, which is obviously what their hope is, when you get to that website, you're going to continue the conversation with the gospel.

Brad:
You know, uh something else that uh hits me in this is that there are uh I want to switch back real quick to a Positive, that's a takeaway from me. And then I wanted to mention one other thing that people have talked about online, but we do need to be prepared to share the gospel. I actually thought this morning as I was thinking through some things uh about the uh commercials.

What if they they did two commercials? What if first half had been the one part of he gets us and the second part had been the gospel as far as even though it to be continued at the end of the first commercial where it's like there's more coming because you grab the interest Anyway, that's either Well, you're doing the commercials next year. Yeah, that would have been under hires.

Well, one of the things I am grateful for is that let's be clear. Jesus does get us. And that's represented.

Hebrews 4, 15, and 16. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses. But we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet he did not sin.

Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. The reality is that verse there shows that yes, we have a God who gets us, a savior who gets us, but You have to bring sin into the equation because he was without sin, and there is a full gospel message as far as he was without sin, and that's what makes it a true love story because of what he did for it.

Jesse:
Now to play Angel's Advocate, because I'm not gonna play devil's advocate. Wait, do I have I see Jesse on my shoulder now?

Doug:
Like you know, on the Tom and Jerry commercial that's a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little Yeah, the angle he's got only a little bit of a

Jesse:
Don't you see him? You've got a halo. So being that Angels Advocate, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Uh i one could argue Um it's all about contextualization. Um you think about Paul um speaking in Athens. He doesn't mention sin, he doesn't mention the cross Um because his audience would go, What?

What are you what are you even talking about? He comes to them on their level, speaking their language, quoting their poets, not the Old Testament. That's right.

And so um What would you say someone goes, well, this is contextualized for a politically polarized America. An America that goes, oh, you're a Christian, you must be a hateful bigot. Um and this is addressing that.

What would you all say to someone who comes with with that?

Brad:
You know what? Um, it kinda goes to the someone did a flip side of this commercial that uh took off on it that was He Saves Us and I there were some good things in there, some things that probably went too far and everything, but the reality is that he does save us and I think that's where it's a leaning into not just trying to be didactic in our approach of of kind of just throwing scripture at someone, but tying that into our experience. So in this situation I would say you're focusing it's kind of that two commercial to if it's a part one and part two thing where it is tying in the fact that Jesus does get us in this way and referring to these cultural touchstones, these cultural things around us, but tying it back by using your story or using someone else's story to be able to say as Paul does, and that's who I once was.

Paul tells us his story over and over. I mean as far as referencing back, that's who I once was. But I found Jesus.

You look at John Newton and amazing grace. I once was lost, but now am found from the things he had been rescued from. So I think it's a tying together of knowing what's going on in the world around you.

Right. Contextualization. Yeah, that that's very important.

And being able to apply the Bible, the Word of God to that situation in a personal, loving, and caring way. And I do think that's part of what the Uh what this ad campaign is trying to do is we talk a lot uh in different ministry things about the pendulum swing, that you go one way And then it's like man that's too bad that way so we're going to all the other things. Yeah, and I so I think this leans towards the other extreme of Hey, we are going to just, there's been too much anger associated with Christianity, with the Bible, with the Word of God.

So we're gonna go the other way and show people that Jesus is love and and this is how he loves. And the reality is that it is about Love and truth, that Jesus loves us by showing us who we really are and showing us that there is a way that we can be forgiven.

Doug:
Yeah, it is very true that Paul, he went pretty far with trying to contextualize the gospel. He'd probably be criticized by a lot of people today. Greek poets.

He he was um he quoted at one point a Roman comedian that was um known for for kind of having a filthy mouth and filthy jokes. Uh but here's the thing he still got to the gospel. He he said, Hey look, uh look at those gods over all those gods you guys worship.

There's even an unknown one over there. Well, that unknown one You're right. You don't know him, and that's the true one.

That is Jesus. So he the the thing is he didn't stop there. He didn't it it it wasn't enough to Paul for just to say, hey, um what you think about God isn't isn't completely right He also eventually turned a corner.

And of course, we're talking about a 30-second commercial here. And so even if you're not expecting the corner to be turned in uh that those 30 seconds. Uh I love that idea of Brad's um part two a little later on.

Turn it there, or at least when you go to their website. Yes. Let there be something that it it you guys have to go there to check it out and and but it does seem they're going out of their way to never mention sin or why Jesus was on a cross or why the resurrection matters.

Brad:
We know uh not personally in most cases, there are a couple people we know, but we know people who are behind he gets us who are supportive of this, who are helping give us a child. And they love Jesus. They love Jesus.

They love the gospel. So we we want to be clear. I agree, Doug, that the website is just it's too hard to figure out kind of who what the gospel is there, but the people behind it love Jesus and want the gospel out there, which is part of what makes it so strange.

Because it's just like, man, I know the people's heart behind this is that people experience Jesus. That's why we're bringing it up.

Doug:
Thank you, Brad, because these people, these folks do love Jesus. If you go and look um who is uh who who pays for these There these are folks that love the Lord, and so this is what we hope is constructive with the the fancy Bible word exhortation, and believe me, This this isn't the first time that they would have heard this. I'm sure they've had these conversations, but um if you're gonna bridge there Get to the ultimate love of our sin being paid for. Jesse, you look like you may have something on your mind. Do I I think I just have that kind of face.

Jesse:
I didn't know if you were leaning in there, so that was just turned really red. Okay. Um So no matter how it comes across to you, no matter how you feel about uh watching this commercial, uh the fact of the matter is uh we are on the other side of it now.

And a lot of times our job as Christians is not so much to critique or approve of what is out there, but to engage it to say, okay, now we are in it. Um How can I use this for God's glory? So if I um I was watching the Super Bowl with uh I believe I think it was all believers I was around.

If I was with an unbeliever m I could have easily just gone, what you think about that? And immediately a conversation has started. So even if I looked at it and went, uh, I don't really like it It's a conversation starter.

I remember I hearing of this may be going too far, but in uh in Great Britain there was an ad campaign of maybe a few years ago. uh an atheistic ad campaign that said something like God probably isn't real so just get on with your life. And I heard about a Christian leader who contributed to that campaign because he's like Hey, people are talking about God.

Wow. It's an easy entry point. All I have to do is say, hey, what do you think about this billboard?

And we're talking about God. And so my thought is now, how do I respond now that it's out there? Thank you, Jesse.

That

Doug:
And let's be clear, it's an incredible conversation starter. And let's face it, if you're an ambassador for Christ, And Jesus said, we are his representatives. We're the ones that's supposed to be sharing the gospel, not necessarily commercials.

So take what's out there, like you said, uh, Jesse. Uh yeah, the Super Bowl lad, he gets us It's probably flawed, but can it be useful to an ambassador? Absolutely.

This is the t a tool. This is a tool in the hands of an ambassador. It's an easy connection to go from, hey, did you see that commercial about Jesus washing feet.

He was always doing stuff like that. He was always blowing people's minds. He was always challenging their misconceptions.

In fact He has done that for me. Can I tell you about that over some coffee? At the end of the day, a big takeaway from me is that we've got to be careful to not immediately condemn or judge an effort by other Christians to share Jesus that we don't completely agree with.

Okay? Yeah, we need to be discerning. Don't hear me wrong here.

We gotta be discerning and uh and even share what's right in the right form and situation and even point out issues. But there are so many things in our culture. that are effective springboards into a conversation about our Savior.

If one of those things is a commercial or a movie that comes out that actually talks about Jesus for once, hey, even if it's not in the way we would have done it, all the better go and ambassadorize and jump from that into a conversation with someone you love about the gospel.

Brad:
I was looking at some of the things that came out about this. Yes, there were a lot of articles about kind of the friendly fire. Christians kind of aiming their guns at other people talking about Jesus and everything and criticizing and critiquing.

And I I understand that. I I get why people were wanting want this to be right because they're passionate about Jesus. But there were people Like Congress people, people in Congress and Senators and people who are well known saying, hey I'm talking about this.

I'm angry about this because these people love Jesus. And they're talking about they're they're anti these different groups. And here they are selling this message of love.

How could they do that? So people are talking about it. People are asking the question why they spend seven million dollars on a Super Bowl ad instead of what they could have done with it.

Don't get me started because I've seen what Christians spend their money on, including myself. So let's not go down that road. But When Christian controversy comes up, we can either spend a lot of time talking about it and pointing fingers.

Or we can be ambassadors and ask, how can I use this opportunity to make a difference? Now, the by the time you hear this podcast, the reality is that the momentum of this ad has kind of shifted and and you know there's the news cycle but what about next time the reality is millions and millions and millions of people saw this ad Ask those in your life, what was your favorite Super Bowl commercial? Did you see the one about he gets us?

And then like you said, Doug, use it as a bridge to share how Jesus does get us. and the difference he's made in your life. This is one of the easier bridges to make to the gospel talking about such a cultural touch point.

And for me the other takeaway here is Are you loving like Jesus? One of the points of the ad campaign is are we loving like Jesus? Which means that we've got to walk in truth And you've got to walk in love.

Don't pick one or the other. Figure out the look at how Jesus balanced those and be like Jesus in those things. And when I say that, Yes, I certainly mean towards people who don't know Jesus.

I certainly do mean that because the reality is they need to experience the love of Jesus from the Jesus followers. much more than they do, but I am also talking about, are you loving the body of Christ like Jesus does? He directly talks about this in the Word of God over and over.

Let us not grow weary of doing of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone. And especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Oh. He doesn't just say love those outside the church. He says, love the body of Christ like I love the body of Christ.

And when all of a sudden we just start aiming our guns at each other and spending our time talking about how we would do something differently, instead of saying, hey, someone is talking about Jesus, let's dive in and talk about Jesus too. Ma'am, we've got some work to do when all the when it comes down to that.

Doug:
Love is patient, love is kind, keeps no record of wrongs, it believes all things, it gives the benefit of the doubt. Well, this has been quite the conversation. And by the way, I want to make clear, you can get to the gospel from Mr. T. The Mr. T commercial.

I don't I feel like we've left him out a little bit here, but he's a believer. He is did you know BA from the A team loves Jesus? And then your you got your coffee conversation right there.

Brad:
But I will say that the reality is I uh uh once again, we hope you've heard our hearts on this that Know what is going on in the world around you, be aware of it, and always be looking for how you can point others to Jesus. Through those things that are happening in the world.

Doug:
And as we've made abundantly clear here once again, we do not have all the answers But we hope that the conversation was uh enlightening to you. Hey, would you uh wherever you get this podcast, would you leave a review? Um, hopefully it's five stars.

Not out if it's out of ten stars, please make it ten. Um and but if you write a review, it's even better. That really gets people more eyes, more ears.

So if you believe Um in in the things we're talking about here in the in the God that's behind um being uh saying we're his ambassadors, would you leave a review, tell a friend about this?

Brad:
And uh until we see you next time, we've got something real important to say, and that would be Go Mad! Make a difference.