One common claim I hear from some liberal theologians, thinkers, and politicians is Jesus supported universal healthcare.

Somehow, Jesus healing people gets equated with universal healthcare insurance. I’m never sure how that leap is made.

If those liberals actually believed in Jesus’ healthcare methods and practiced them, I might be more convinced of their arguments.

As it is, even if I grant the premise that Jesus supported universal healthcare coverage because he healed people, it is still an inaccurate statement because Jesus’ plan was not universal.

There are two very loud passages that show this: John 5 and Acts 3. In John 5, Jesus walked past all kinds of sick people to heal one then walked past all the sick again to leave. In Acts 3, the lame man at the gate was older, so Jesus would have passed by this man.

I am not trying to make light of healthcare and the deep brokenness of this system. This current debate is something I have followed since the election of Barack Obama and conservatives and liberals alike have only left me utterly frustrated.

What I do wish to point out is that Jesus will frustrate any theology. You can’t line Jesus up and say, “See! He’s a liberal!” Nor can you line him up and say, “See! He’s a conservative!”

Jesus will frustrate both sides if you are honest in your assessment of Jesus.

I get frustrated as well. Jesus just won’t fit in my box!

But that is the Jesus that is mean and wild, which will not fit our nice pictures of Jesus “meek and mild.”