The Olympic Committee’s decision to mock the Last Supper with drag queens was disgusting – here are 3 ways followers of Jesus should respond

Like many Israelis, we watched the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris with great interest and anticipation.

Yet, like many Christians around the world, we were disgusted and outraged when those Games opened not simply with a traditional display of its country’s history and culture, but rather with a ceremony reminiscent of Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous painting depicting the Last Supper.

With the eyes of millions of watching – among them, many children – the beloved painting showing Jesus and His disciples was twisted into a grotesque display of “drag queens.”

After an eruption of widespread outrage and condemnation, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) somewhat lamely apologized, stating, “There was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group.”

Rather, the ceremony “tried to celebrate community tolerance,” an IOC spokeswoman said, adding: “We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence, we are really sorry.”

If?

Yes, many followers of Jesus – ourselves included – were both disgusted and offended by the Olympic Committee’s decision to publicly insult the world’s largest religion.

There are more than 2 billion Christians in the world.

Doesn’t mocking our Savior and our faith go directly against the IOC’s stated values?

Isn’t the aim of the Games to celebrate “sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play?”

Yet, more and more, mocking Christians seems to be “fair play” all over the globe.

Increasingly, we see woke ideology celebrating a type of “diversity” that seems to eschew discrimination against all religions and creed except for believing Christians and Jews.

Instead, Christians and Jews who take their faith seriously are ridiculed, marginalized, painted as “bigoted,” and excluded from the hallowed halls of “inclusivity.”

It is not by chance that the liberal and progressive rejection of traditions and limitations seem to target Christianity the most readily.

Yet, this should serve us as a reminder to take our faith with the same seriousness as those who hate it seem to do.

Among the most widespread reactions to the opening ceremony was the simple question: Would they have similarly mocked any other religion?

Can anyone imagine mocking a scene from the Muslim Quran?

The answer is of course no.

Why not?

Out of fear of violent backlash in the streets of Europe.

No one fears that Christians will take to the streets and engage in violence.

Nor should they.

Jesus taught us to love our neighbors, as well as our enemies.

He taught us to “turn the other cheek” when we are publicly slapped in the face.

As such, we, as faithful followers of Jesus, don’t believe in violent retribution.

That said, we need not be silent.

We hold free speech to be a value derived from biblical teachings. So it is fitting and just to raise our voices and express criticism against the public mocking of our Savior.

In the once-Christian West, open hostility and derision of our faith and its values have become all too commonplace.

The suspiciously high number of church burnings in France concerns us because it suggests that increasing verbal hostility to Christianity in France is increasingly turning to violence.

Can direct violent attacks on Christians be far behind?

After all, it is not just woke progressives who hate Christians. Radical Islamists hate us. So do far-right extremists, neo-Nazis, and the like.

Indeed, such far-left, Islamist, and far-right extremists are increasingly united not just in their hatred of Christians but also of Jews, and aim to stoke further hate against them at a time that antisemitism has risen across the West.

We have noticed, for example, that far-right and Islamist accounts on social media have claimed that several of the drag performers, as well as the ceremony’s director, are Jewish. 

They are busy reviving the old tropes of Jewish conspiracies to destroy Christendom and the West.

What, then, should be our response?

Not violence, of course.

But not silence, either.

First and foremost, we are commanded in the Bible to pray for those who hate us, those who persecute us, those who mock us.

Let us, therefore, be faithful to pray for the Lord to be gracious to them, to open their eyes and hearts to the good news that Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah who died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and rose from the dead to conquer death and prove to all that He truly is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” and everyone who wants a personal relationship with God and the assurance of eternal life must repent and follow Jesus and Him alone.

Second, rather than becoming consumed with outrage, let this incident be a lesson and a challenge to us: What Christ are we preaching to a lost and confused world?

Are we preaching a weak Messiah, who can’t help Himself?

Or rather the Mighty Lord of Hosts, who in His infinite power, chose to descend to our level, to endure mockery and torture, and take our punishment?

While our outrage may be justified, we know that Jesus offered Himself as a willing sacrifice on our behalf.

“When He was abused, He did not return the abuse. While suffering, He made no threats. Instead, He kept entrusting Himself to the One who judges righteously.” (1 Peter 2:23)

Third, let us speak the truth in love.

Let us expose the spirit behind such reprehensible acts – as well as be clear about the consequences of blaspheming Christ and celebrating sin.

God is loving, kind and patient.

But the Bible tells us that blasphemy has consequences if left unchecked.

It is an invitation to judgment, an invitation to bring a curse upon the individuals and the society that celebrates immoral behavior and rejects God and His Son.

As the Apostle Paul wrote: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” (Galatians 6:7)