Like, subscribe, and spread the good news: Joe Rogan helps gospel go viral

Throughout history, Christians have adopted novel technologies to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ: codices (a precursor to the book), art and music, the printing press, newspapers, the radio, TV and film, and the internet.

Now, that list includes Joe Rogan’s podcast, one of the biggest megaphones today that reaches tens of millions of listeners each month across its platforms.

Joe Rogan’s podcast became an inadvertent evangelistic platform for the best news the world has ever known.

On Tuesday, Rogan released an interview with Wesley Huff, a Canadian biblical scholar. Rogan invited Huff onto the podcast after Huff inadvertently exposed Billy Carson — a self-avowed “expert in ancient civilizations” and “spirituality,” according to a blurb on his website — in a recent debate. Huff, using the winsomeness and grace of a mature Christ follower, proved in the debate that Carson lacks basic knowledge about the Bible and its theology, topics that Carson appeared to have positioned himself as having advanced knowledge of.

For more than three hours, Huff and Rogan discussed ancient Near Eastern history, biblical languages and translation, textual criticism of the Bible, the canon of the Bible, the accuracy and preservation of the Bible, specific biblical stories, and Christian theology.

The magic of the conversation was clear to listeners.

Rogan, who is not a Christian, approached Huff with humility and openness. Huff, meanwhile, spoke with clarity, humility, and technical precision that made complicated topics accessible to Rogan and his audience.

But the most impactful moment came at the end.

After Rogan acknowledged that Christianity “does work” and “is true,” Huff seized the moment to articulate the power of the gospel.

Using Jordan Peterson as an example — saying that Peterson “misses the forest for the trees” — Huff explained why Jesus Christ cannot simply be the “archetype” of a righteous moral man.

“[Peterson] seems to think that the concept of Jesus as an example is more important than the actual flesh-and-blood, first-century itinerant Jewish preacher who was crucified and rose from the dead physically, which is the claim of the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament,” Huff said.

“I actually think Jesus condemns moralism, and ultimately, what I see Peterson doing is looking at Jesus as a moral example,” he explained. “If Jesus is nothing but a moral example, then you can save yourself, and you don’t actually need a savior. I think Jesus actually would have critiqued that because Jesus was very much against moralism.”

Thankfully, Rogan leaned into the conversation and asked Huff to elaborate.

The Gospel stories, Huff explained, show Jesus critiquing the “hypocritical religiosity” of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and other contemporary Jews because Jesus believed they were missing the entire point of God’s law while trying to do everything “right,” citing ancient Jewish interpretations of Sabbath regulations. Next, Huff demonstrated how Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is a critique of such religiosity in which Jesus is not “critiquing the Mosaic Law, but he’s actually getting back to its intention.”

Huff goes on:

What he’s getting to is: What’s the intention? What’s the meaning of the law that God gives to you? Because the law is like a mirror — it shows you how dirty you are. But his critique is like: You guys are trying to clean yourselves with the mirror. That’s stupid. If anything, it’s going to make you more messy. Get in the shower! The law is not what clears you — it reveals that you’re dirty.

In that sense, if Jesus is just a moral example, it actually misses what I think Jesus actually said about what his purpose was: You can’t do enough to live up to the standard God holds you to. And so if you keep striving, you’re actually going to wear yourself out and be exhausted.

The clear implication of Huff’s explanation is that Jesus cleans you: He is the shower.

You cannot clean yourself. You cannot save yourself. You need a savior, and Jesus is the savior of all humanity. Follow him and he will make you right with God. He will give you relationship with the creator God — Abba, the Father — and he will give you eternal life.

Amazingly, Rogan not only understood this, but he immediately identified “atheists” as the worn-out strivers who attempt to clean themselves through their own power as if they are their own god.

Whether Rogan will accept the good news and answer the question that Jesus posed to his followers — “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:13-16; Mark 8:27-29; Luke 9:18-20) — remains to be seen.

But the tides are turning. The vibes are shifting. Aslan is on the move.

Christians everywhere should rejoice that one of the world’s largest platforms was used to share the gospel. In other words, Joe Rogan’s podcast became an inadvertent evangelistic platform for the best news the world has ever known.

May the fruit be good and the harvest bountiful.