"Anemic" is not a word that could be used to describe Jesus Christ or his work. The savior who died and is resurrected healed the sick, raised people from the dead, gave humans fresh purpose, perspective, and changed lives. The power of the Blood is real, and there is nothing lacking in it. As one of my favorite gospel artists, Andrae Crouch, sang, "The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power." 

"Anemic" is the perfect word for the 2025 Super Bowl commercial from He Gets Us. I wrote about their commercial for last year's Super Bowl (which was supposedly "groundbreaking"), saying:

The Jesus that He Gets Us claims to represent is not the Jesus that Christians serve and worship. It is not the Lord and Savior of the world. The organization reduces Jesus to some anemic do-gooder (pun intended) who just wants us to be nice to everyone and offers bromides they base on the work of Jesus rather than work performed through his transformative power. 

It seems that, despite coming under new ownership (the organization Come Near now runs the "He Gets Us" non-profit), the message continues in the same vein: a bloodless gospel and an anemic depiction of good works with a little Jesus sprinkled in. 

This year's He Gets Us ad is titled "What Is Greatness?"

WATCH:

While I love Johnny Cash's cover of this song, the original intent of the Depeche Mode song is mockery of faith, not embracing of it. Frankly, mockery is what this ad deserves.

"What Is Greatness?" After watching this ad, I still don't know. Perhaps someone is inspired by this messaging, but I doubt it. My response is to shrug, walk away, and grab some more hot wings before the next commercial. The Gospel of Jesus Christ always elicits a reaction and a response, but it certainly isn't "Meh." This type of blasé attitude occurs when you lean on progressive, watered-down bromides to translate the power of the singular gospel. You will always miss the mark with that method, and that is the very definition of sin.

I despise HE GETS US commercials. So Weak. So not the Gospel of the Kingdom. Pathetic.

— Pastor Ken Peters - TCAPP (@PastorKenTCAPP) February 10, 2025

And again, "He gets us... ALL of us," as the tag line states, is not the same as what Jesus described himself as a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. 

Then Jesus asked them, “Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord ’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.’ I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit. Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on.”

There is no escaping the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You will either react with surrender to its truth, or be mowed down by that truth. But there's no middle road, and He Gets Us is once again trying to convince you there is.

Hobby Lobby CEO Bob Green was behind the funding of this year's ad. With the weak message, you would have thought it was USAID.

Sunday's Super Bowl LIX won't be the first time a "He Gets Us" ad airs featuring a message about Jesus Christ's love for humanity. The ads have stirred controversy in previous years, with detractors saying they are tied to conservative-leaning individuals and groups who support policies that run counter to the commercials' loving message.

However, David Green, founder of Oklahoma City-based crafts retailer Hobby Lobby, who has helped finance the ad series, said spreading the message of Christ being touted by the commercials is most important, no matter who is funding them, including the ad set to air Sunday.

"It's not a Hobby Lobby thing, it's not a Green family thing," he said during a recent interview.

"We're showing that this is Jesus, and we should also embrace everybody because Jesus did," Green said. "He didn't die for you and me because we're righteous and good. He died for us because of our sins. And, so in this commercial, we're saying, 'Hey guys, he gets you.' It's the same as 'He loves you,' but maybe better."

What the heck does that mean? Nothing in this ad points to sin, righteousness, or Christ's sacrifice. It is a series of disjointed images that are equivalent to a pat on the head. "I'm okay, you're okay." When the gospel tells us that we are not — otherwise, why would we need a savior? 

He Gets Us really doesn't get the Gospel. Christ is the focus. He is the Savior of undeserving sinners. It's always interesting to see a "Christian" message that intentionally emphasizes the sinner through emotional appeal and not Christ the Savior through biblical truth.

— John Mason (@LivingGodsTruth) February 10, 2025

David Green said the ad set to air during Sunday's game will feature an individual from the LGBTQ+ community being hugged by another person, a gesture intended to embody the love of Christ.

What is this nonsense? I hug my LGBTQ friends all the time. Folks, we're a long way from 1980.

The business leader said the He Gets Us commercials are a way of sharing that worldview rooted in Jesus Christ with those who need to hear it.

"Why would we do that — because we're talking to people about their eternal life," Green said.

"Hopefully, by seeing that Scripture (John 3:16), they know he gets you and he loves you. He died for you. Hopefully, we draw people closer to him.

What in that spot alluded to eternal life? John 3:16 has been flashed at football games ad infinitum since I was a kid 50 years ago. If just seeing "John 3:16" transformed lives, then we should have been seeing millions of salvations after every NFL game, and the Super Bowl wouldn't be used as a front for human trafficking.

But I digress.

You know what commercial at the Super Bowl best reflected Jesus and the gospel? The Google Pixel 9 commercial presented more of the heart and love of Jesus simply by telling a story of a father and a daughter and how he was transformed by his act of sacrifice. Perhaps He Gets Us should stop wasting money on heavy-handed (sn)oralizing and "My depiction of Jesus is better than yours" attitude, and let the actual lives that have been transformed by Jesus and the Gospel speak. A year ago, someone produced this ad in response to the 2024 He Gets Us Super Bowl ad. It still holds up. THIS is the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the power of the transformation it brings.

Nothing anemic, bloodless, or "Meh" about it.