The consensus on Facebook seems to be that Jesus would absolutely get vaccinated for COVID. It follows that everyone who wants to be like Jesus would also get vaccinated. I’m not interested in offering my opinion because I don’t think I’m capable of predicting what Jesus would do. Christ often did unexpected things.

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

(Luke 12:13)

Dividing inheritance seems a pretty straightforward thing to do. Obviously, the brother should do what’s right and split things equally. But Jesus asked, essentially, “Why do you think this is my decision to make?” The man who gave sight to blind people and raised dead men back to life had no opinion on splitting up an inheritance. Instead, He warned against greed.

Who was being greedy? Was it the brother who refused to divide the inheritance or the brother who wanted his fair share? Jesus doesn’t say. Instead, he tells the parable about the rich guy who built himself a big barn to hold all his stuff. The guy was convinced his possessions would sustain him for many years but Jesus explained that wasn’t the case. His precautions would do nothing to save his life.

I wonder if Jesus would have a similar response when someone on Facebook says, “Tell my brother to get vaccinated.” I wonder if Christ would sidestep the triviality of physical well-being and focus on the spiritual aspect of that demand. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that Christ would ask a question that would make EVERYONE uncomfortable: “Why does it matter to you what your brother does?”

I don’t know if Jesus would get vaccinated. I do know that Jesus said to guard against greed. And he left it to each of us to figure out how to do that.