The IDF is investigating this Israeli soldier who took a sledgehammer to Jesus’ face. Let's talk about it.

Yeah, so this happened.

The statue belongs to Lebanese Christians in the town of Debel. The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) is currently fighting the Iranian-proxy group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

The IDF quickly responded after the photo started going viral on Sunday. Here's IDF spokesman Nadav Shosahni:

Later on Sunday, the IDF confirmed that the photo is real and announced an investigation has been opened.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also condemned taking a sledgehammer to Jesus' face.

The picture has launched a new round in the Internet flame wars surrounding Israel.

(Hope y'all weren't tired of that yet! 😭)

So ... What should you make of this?

Let me provide some quick food for thought.

First, Israel is a country with a wide variety of opinions and beliefs. Tel Aviv holds one of the world's largest gay pride parades every year. Many Israelis are secular, and culturally similar to Europe or America. But there are also millions of Jews who, well, take their faith and heritage seriously.

In the Bible, the best kings were those who smashed the idols and altars on the "high places" as an act of worship and dedication to the true and living God. Consider how Hezekiah destroyed the bronze snake Moses had made because the Jews were worshipping it.

'Hezekiah relied on the Lord God of Israel; not one of the kings of Judah was like him, either before him or after him. He remained faithful to the Lord and did not turn from following him but kept the commands the Lord had commanded Moses.' - 2 Kings 18:5-6

The Bible says God exiled Israel as punishment for following after tolerance, diversity, and pluralism. They worshipped other gods instead of staying faithful to Him.

After the exile to Assyria and Babylon more than 2,500 years ago, God allowed the Jews to resettle their land and rebuild a new temple. But then several hundred years later, after Jesus Christ had been executed as a heretic, the Romans destroyed that second temple.

Since then, the Jewish people have wandered over the face of the earth. For devout Jews, rebuilding Israel is a sign that God is about to restore their temple and kingdom, with the messiah being a core part of that belief.

The reason the IDF or Netanyahu won't say the name of Jesus is that he is intolerable to them, as He was to their ancestors. I am not being antisemitic here: I am simply saying that devout Jews see Jesus as a heretic, not a Savior.

The Bible addresses all these things, if anyone will actually read it.

• Jesus predicted that the Romans would destroy the temple and the nation of Israel.

• After Jesus' resurrection, His disciple Peter told crowds in Jerusalem on multiple occasions that the Jewish people had fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies in executing Jesus, but warned them that if they refused to believe Jesus was the messiah, that they would be cut off from their people.

• Paul, a devout Pharisee who was zealous for the Law of Moses, came to faith in Jesus after the claim that he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, where he intended to arrest Christians as heretics. Paul longed for the Jewish people to accept Jesus, but said God had partially hardened their hearts until the whole world had heard the good news about Jesus and been given a choice to accept or reject Him.

Whether or not you believe these things or not is between you and God. But the secular Israeli government is not an individual - it holds all these things in tension as any government does. It cannot have soldiers desecrating religious statues that may hurt its war efforts ... but it also cannot alienate the devout Jews in its ranks who support smashing "idols" of "heretics." It walks a line of compromise, public relations, and negotiation that gives it critics on all sides.

A wise person will note that the Israeli politics of the 21st century are as complicated as those in the 1st century. A wise person will also notice that the IDF didn't have to admit the photo was real but DID. A wise person will realize there's no reason to throw everyone in Israel under the bus because of the actions of one man.

In fact, a wise person might say this opens up a new opportunity to show Jews that Jesus is the messiah spoken of from Genesis 3 through the end of Malachi.

After all, Jesus took more than a sledgehammer to the face in real life, and He seems to be doing just fine. ✊

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Not the Bee or any of its affiliates.