Sugar Sammy claims to be Jesus Christ
13 min read
Montreal-born comedian Sugar Sammy purchased a billboard on Montreal's Autoroute 40 highway to advertise his new show, You're Gonna Rire 2. The French billboard heading says, "Le petit Christ", which means "Little Christ" or "Baby Jesus".
In doing so, Sugar Sammy is making fun of the billboard that he just replaced, which said "Be ready for the return of Jesus Christ" in French. On Instagram, Sugar Sammy said that he chose this billboard placement because it was a while that they've been waiting for him. He announced that he's now arrived. He presented himself as "the return of Jesus Christ" that the previous "Christian" billboard claimed to be waiting for.
Sugar Sammy is right, the so-called "Christian" billboard that preceded his was up there for a long time. Many Christians were fine with the previous billboard but now have a serious problem with Sugar Sammy's billboard. However, I think that both billboards are wrong.
The "Christian" billboard
Why would anyone waste money to put up a so-called "Christian" billboard that says, "Be ready for the return of Jesus Christ?" I doubt that anyone decided to follow Jesus because of that billboard.
The billboard was just a prideful self-promotion by Eglise le Chemin du Paradis. In fact, their billboard advertised the church's Sunday service time and their website.
A threatening advertisement
Those who choose not to follow Jesus will not start following him just because they drove by a billboard that says, "Be ready for the return of Jesus Christ." They don't care that Jesus came to earth the first time. They surely don't care that Jesus will return to earth a second time.
"Be ready for the return of Jesus Christ" sounds like a threat. It's like saying, "If you're not getting ready, you'll be punished." Threatening someone to turn to Jesus is wrong. Jesus didn't threaten anyone to follow him.
Quebecers have more unfavorable views of all faiths than the rest of Canada. Using fear tactics, warnings, and threats will only turn them off even more to the message.
Using "church" language
"Be ready for the return of Jesus Christ" is not based on a specific Bible verse. It's just something people who go to church say to warn others who also go to church.
A big problem with the billboard is that they are using "church" language to reach a population that has no idea how to understand "church" language. It's like trying to speak to someone in a language they don't understand. If you grew up going to church, you might understand what they are referring to. However, if you didn't grow up going to church, you probably won't fully understand it.
A poor incentive
"Be ready for the return of Jesus Christ" implicitly conveys the threat of Hell. It's a very poor incentive to get anyone to read a Bible or attend a church. Parents know that one of the worst ways to motivate their children is by using threats. Instead of issuing warnings and implying condemnation with our messages to the world, we should be emphasizing the most unconditional love ever.
If the consequences of not being ready for the return of Jesus Christ are so serious, why are they reducing it to a highway billboard that people only see for a few seconds? Why isn't something more being done? It's easy to pay for a sign as a way of convincing your conscience that you've done enough to reach people. The truth is it's not enough.
Jesus didn't use billboards
If you really want to reach people with the message of Jesus, focus on your personal relationships. That's what Jesus did. Jesus made friends and shared his message with his friends. Then, they became his disciples. Jesus did not pay for billboard advertisements. As a carpenter by trade, Jesus could have built billboards all by himself, but he didn't. Jesus never even built a church building. Jesus built relationships.
Unlike Jesus, religious people are so fixated on the external. "Let's build a church building, then let's pay for advertisements to get people in the building. Let's ask the people who come into the building for money because we have to pay for the building. We should pay ourselves too, so we don't have to go to work!" Where is God in all this nonsense? He's not in it at all. Religion is so opposite to Jesus. That's why religion hated Jesus and crucified Jesus.
A misuse of donation money
The way a church spends its donation money says a lot about that church. Spending donation money on billboard ads is ineffective and wasteful. Why not donate that money to hospitals, medical research, or foundations that help the less fortunate? At least they'd be making a positive impact in the society they seem so interested in reaching. Those are the types of actions that end up speaking louder than words and drawing others to the positive message of the Bible.
God doesn't live in buildings. God doesn't need human hands to serve him on Sundays, or any other day of the week. God doesn't need billboards or advertisements. God desires that we would seek him for ourselves, and feel our way toward him, apart from all the religious confusion, so that we can find him. He's actually closer than we might think.
Sugar Sammy's billboard
Sugar Sammy's billboard makes the joke that he is the "little Christ" or "baby Jesus" that the previous billboard announced would return. Obviously, this isn't true. Even if it's meant to be funny, it makes a mockery of Christ and his return.
While Sugar Sammy has returned for the second coming of his You're Gonna Rire tour, he is definitely not the second coming of Christ.
Some consider the billboard to be funny, while others consider it to be offensive. Like all advertisements, the billboard is meant to get people's attention - specifically, those who were fed up of seeing the so-called "Christian" billboard that was there before it.
What does Christ even mean?
What does Christ even mean? Is it a swear word? Or, is it something more? Christ is actually not Jesus' last name! Christ comes from the Greek word Christos, meaning "anointed one" or "chosen one." It's the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Mashiach, or Messiah.
Jesus was his human name, but Christ is his title. Jesus Christ means "Jesus the Messiah" or "Jesus the Anointed One." Christ, or Messiah, means that Jesus was sent from God to be the King and Deliverer of humanity. Even the Quran calls Jesus the Messiah, calling him Isa al-Masih. How ironic is it the Quran doesn't even give Muhammad such an elevated and glorious title!
Little Christ
The term "Christian" comes from the Greek word christianos, which means "little Christ." Many centuries ago, the term "Christian" was used as a derogatory term to insult followers of Jesus. Romans in the Roman Empire made fun of those who followed Jesus by calling them tiny versions of their Savior - as in, "Look at those little Christs!"
After mocking them as "little Christs", Romans threw them into the Roman Coliseum where they were eaten alive by lions and beaten to death by gladiators. Innocent people were killed for sport because of their faith in Jesus.
Mocking persecuted people
On Christmas day, while most were celebrating, more than 100 Christians were violently massacred in Nigeria just because they were followers of Christ.
Eyewitnesses said that when the Christmas attacks started, it took up to 12 hours for help to arrive. This was because government troops were working together with the attackers. The government armed forces in Nigeria are not neutral, they side with the criminals that murder Christians.
It's a never-ending massacre of Christians being "killed for sport" in Nigeria. Since 2009, more than 52,000 Christians have been butchered or hacked to death for their faith. Entire villages are burnt. Thousands of churches have been destroyed. Children and women are hunted. Countless Christians have been kidnapped.
The massacre of innocent life is no laughing matter. Sugar Sammy's billboard could not have come at a worse time. It's very insensitive to the terrible tragedy that took place in Nigeria.
Sugar Sammy may not have known about the news in Nigeria when he paid to have the billboard put up around Christmas of 2023. However, Sugar Sammy knowingly chose to mock a faith that is heavily persecuted throughout the world. Even if it's just comedy, it should have moral boundaries and show respect for human life.
A sign of Christ's return
In Matthew chapter 24, the disciples asked Jesus, "what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?" Jesus answers them, "See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray."
One of the signs that Jesus gave us for the end times and his return is that many will claim to be the Christ. This is exactly what Sugar Sammy does with his billboard. In claiming to be Christ, Sugar Sammy is misleading Montrealers into thinking that Christ and his return are one big joke.
While Sugar Sammy's billboard mocks the return of Christ, it is actually a sign that confirms Christ's return is getting nearer. How ironic!
Baby Jesus
The miracle and majesty of Christ' birth was not that he was a cute little baby, but that he was God in the flesh. God became a human so that he could be "God with us". The beauty of the birth of Christ is that the God who created us, chose to step into this world to be with us and for us, even if it meant horrible suffering.
Jesus came to us as an infant, but he wasn't a baby before he came to earth. Colossians chapter 1, verses 15 to 20, describe Jesus as the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. It says that all things were created by him and for him, that he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Lastly, it says that he reconciled all things to himself, making peace by the blood of his cross, and that he will come to have first place in everything.
This glorious Jesus is the same Jesus who came to us via a humble birth in a manger, lived a perfectly righteous life, healed the sick, the deaf and the blind, and delivered those possessed by demons. This same Jesus gave his life for the sins of humanity, was crucified, died, and was raised from the dead three days later (1 Corinthians 15:4). He now sits at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55–56). Jesus isn't done with earth just yet. Jesus will return in an awesome way.
A glorious return
Jesus is no longer a little baby to make fun of. Contrary to how some "Christians" use him, Jesus is also not a genie in a bottle. Jesus is the one who came to serve us by doing for us the one thing that we couldn't do for ourselves. He came to pay our debt of sin to save us from the wrath and judgment of God that is coming.
Jesus will come again, not as a cute baby in a manger, not as a humble servant to save us, but as an awesome and powerful King who will be revealed "from heaven in a blazing fire."
Jesus' presence will be so overwhelming that at the mention of his name, "every knee will bow, in heaven and on the earth, and under the earth, and every tongue will acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord." (Philippians 2:10-11)
We are all free to resist acknowledging and honoring Jesus in this life. However, when he returns, we will all be compelled to confess that he is the Lord of the universe. We won't be able to resist his majesty any longer. He will not come to terrorize earth, but for those who refused him in this life, it will be both an awesome and yet terrifying day.
Peter predicted Sugar Sammy's billboard
The apostle Peter predicted Sugar Sammy's billboard. Peter wrote that in the last days, there would be scoffers and mockers who would make fun of the return of Jesus.
In the last days, scoffers will come. Scoffers are people who like to mock and make fun of things, especially faith and moral values. Scoffers follow their own sinful desires rather than Jesus. Jesus is a burden to them because he gets in the way of their sinful desires.
In the mind of scoffers and mockers, Christians have talked about Jesus coming for over two thousand years and he still hasn't come back yet. Since Jesus hasn't returned yet, they think he'll never return. They're tired of hearing about the return of Jesus. It sounds like a scam that they don't want to fall for.
Scoffers and mockers argue that things have always been the way that they are right now, and nothing new will ever happen.
2 Peter 3:10 compares the return of Jesus to the breaking in of a thief in the night. When all is quiet and all are asleep, Jesus will surprise everyone with his return when they don't expect it.
If the homeowner had known at what time in the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into (Matthew 24:43).