What's this about Jesus having a tattoo?!

So with the Hot Metal Bridge folks on board for the second year and Hot Metal Volunteer for 4 weeks, all kinds of interesting subjects came up. Last year, the wife of the bible school director was literally scared for her safety because all the tattooed folks showing up to stay on campus! All that she'd ever heard about anyone with tattoos was that they were all in criminal gangs, and people like that scared her. But by explaining the Christian significance of some of their tattoos, the Hot Metal folks were able to calm her fears a bit last year. The rest of us came to see their tattoos as "marks of faith" and to recognize how the tattoos create missional or evangelical opportunities to share their faith.

This year, the Hot Metal folks went to Matzam for most of their trip, so they did not have an encounter with the new director. Oh, but Derek did! I noticed one night between groups that Derek was "holding court" as my grandmother would say. He had all the bible school students, the new director and his wife gathered around a table in the school's dining room. I must confess, my thoughts were "uh oh."

Soon afterwards, Derek emerged to explain that he'd been trying to convince them that "when Jesus comes again, he'll have a tattoo!" I heard later from some students that the director certainly didn't buy Derek's argument but it did make me look.

What do I mean when I say that it "made me look?" Well, Derek is quick to cite scripture, especially when it's related to more outlandish ideas like Jesus having a tattoo. So...he made me look in my bible to find the scripture, and sure enough....

From Revelations 19:11-16 in my NRSV bible....
Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! It's rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed that no one knows but himself. He is clothes in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, "King of kings and Lord of lords."

Now, most would agree that Revelations is a literary work filled with metaphor, and I've never been much of a literalist. But, that part about Jesus having the name inscribed on his thigh does sound like a tattoo to me! See here's the thing. The bible is so rich that we cannot possibly know every scripture and every reference. But when someone can cite the scripture to back their argument, I hope it'll "make you look." You may not agree with them after you look it up, but I hope you will keep your mind open long enough to read the scripture, consider the argument and then decide whether or not you agree. For quite often, as we are drawn back to our bibles, we find something new, something challenging, or something profound that we'd never noticed before.

So, who knows? Jesus may have a tattoo after all!