---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But Jesus had to speak through a…"
description: "\"“But Jesus had to speak through a public-address system—the only one available—which distorted his words, so that they came forth as the bombastic clai..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b65/alan-wilson-watts-4665_good-news_but-jesus-had-to-speak-through-a-public_2985556.jpg"
---

#  But Jesus had to speak through a public-address system—the…

![“But Jesus had to speak through a public-address system—the only one available—which distorted his words, so that they came forth as the bombastic claim to be the one and only appearance of the Christ, of the incarnation of God as man. This is not good news. The good news is that if Jesus could…” quote by Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b65/alan-wilson-watts-4665_good-news_but-jesus-had-to-speak-through-a-public_2985556.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b65/alan-wilson-watts-4665_good-news_but-jesus-had-to-speak-through-a-public_2985556.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b65/alan-wilson-watts-4665_good-news_but-jesus-had-to-speak-through-a-public_2985556.jpg)

> ““But Jesus had to speak through a public-address system—the only one available—which distorted his words, so that they came forth as the bombastic claim to be the one and only appearance of the Christ, of the incarnation of God as man. This is not good news. The good news is that if Jesus could realize his identity with God, you can also—but this God does not have to be idolized as an imperious monarch with a royal court of angels and ministers. God, as “the love which moves the sun and other stars,” is something much more inward, intimate, and mysterious—in the sense of being too close to be seen as an object.””

[Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Jesus’ message is often distorted by human concepts, but his true identity is intimate love, not a distant monarch.

**In simple terms:** God is love, not a distant ruler.

Key Takeaway

Seek personal connection with the divine.

Themes

spirituality religion identity

Mood

contemplative inquisitive

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal meditation
- interfaith dialogue
- reading sacred texts

Key Concepts

theology personal growth

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we experience divine love beyond doctrine?
- What practices foster inner intimacy with God?

A Different Perspective

Interpretations can become dogmatic, limiting personal experience.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Appearance Christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appearance-christ-4665003/) [Christ Incarnation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christ-incarnation-1548534/) [Good news](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-news/) [Identity God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity-god-1201553/) [Incarnation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incarnation/) [Incarnation God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incarnation-god-1142213/)

## Related quotes

> [I see Christ as the incarnation of the piper who is calling us. He dances that shape and pattern which is at the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-carter/i-see-christ-as-the-incarnation-of-the-piper-who-is-calling-us-he/)

[Sydney Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-carter/)

> [“I don’t really think the standard of judgment, the missing link, you spoke of that you find in my stories emerges from any religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-don-t-really-think-the-standard-of-judgment-the-missing-link-you/)

[Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/)

> [The most destructive criticism has not been able to dethrone Christ as the incarnation of perfect holiness. The waves of a tossing and restless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herrick-johnson/the-most-destructive-criticism-has-not-been-able-to-dethrone-christ/)

[Herrick Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herrick-johnson/)

> [“Prayer is a moment of incarnation - God with us. God involved in the details of my life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-e-miller/prayer-is-a-moment-of-incarnation-god-with-us-god-involved-in-the/)

[Paul E. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-e-miller/)

> [In an age of information overload ... the last thing any of us needs is more information about God. We need the practice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/in-an-age-of-information-overload-the-last-thing-any-of-us-needs-is/)

[Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/)

> [“in his grace, God condescended to care for his creation. He has taken the initiative to bring healing. He entered into the world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-r-kreider/in-his-grace-god-condescended-to-care-for-his-creation-he-has-taken/)

[Glenn R. Kreider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-r-kreider/)

> [The world proceeds from the same spirit as the body of man. It is a remoter and inferior incarnation of God, a projection of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-world-proceeds-from-the-same-spirit-as-the-body-of-man-it-is-a/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [The incarnation of God is a necessity of human nature. If we reap and truly have a Father, we must be able to clasp…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-deems/the-incarnation-of-god-is-a-necessity-of-human-nature-if-we-reap-and/)

[Charles Deems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-deems/)

> [Poetry, and the principle of Self, of which money is the visible incarnation, are the God and the Mammon of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley/poetry-and-the-principle-of-self-of-which-money-is-the-visible/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley/)

> [What we celebrate at Christmas is not so much the birth of a baby, but the incarnation of God Himself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/what-we-celebrate-at-christmas-is-not-so-much-the-birth-of-a-baby-but/)

[R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/)

> [“Christ’s incarnation was less a reaction or response than it was a proactive demonstration of love:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-s-dickerson/christ-s-incarnation-was-less-a-reaction-or-response-than-it-was-a/)

[John S. Dickerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-s-dickerson/)

> [I found my identity in Christ. When everything else around me was falling down I found my identity in God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grayson-allen/i-found-my-identity-in-christ-when-everything-else-around-me-was/)

[Grayson Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grayson-allen/)

> [“Here is the truth: God made us with our eyes open in his “likeness,” which is our true identity. But Satan and people like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-driscoll/here-is-the-truth-god-made-us-with-our-eyes-open-in-his-likeness/)

[Mark Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-driscoll/)

> [“We give God a name. We then equate God with the name we have given him, and in doing so we make ourselves, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-finley/we-give-god-a-name-we-then-equate-god-with-the-name-we-have-given-him/)

[James Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-finley/)

> [“What we need to be rescued from is not our physical nature, our metaphysical finitude, but our personal estrangement from God. Indeed, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-we-need-to-be-rescued-from-is-not-our-physical-nature-our/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More by Alan Wilson Watts

> [“Advice? I don’t have advice. Stop aspiring and start writing. If you’re writing, you’re a writer. Write like you’re a goddamn death row inmate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/advice-i-don-t-have-advice-stop-aspiring-and-start-writing-if-you-re/)

[Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/)

> [“The common mistake of the religious celibate has been to suppose that the highest spiritual life absolutely demands the renunciation of sexuality, as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/the-common-mistake-of-the-religious-celibate-has-been-to-suppose-that/)

[Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/)

> [“Real freedom cannot exist alongside false freedom, but the abandonment of false freedom looks as if it would leave you as good as dead.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/real-freedom-cannot-exist-alongside-false-freedom-but-the-abandonment/)

[Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/)

> [“But it is not that you are something which is just watching what happens. “What happens” is just using your organism to watch itself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/but-it-is-not-that-you-are-something-which-is-just-watching-what/)

[Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/)

> [“Read Theodore Schwenk’s marvelous book Sensitive Chaos (London, Rudolph Steiner Press, 1965),”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/read-theodore-schwenk-s-marvelous-book-sensitive-chaos-london-rudolph/)

[Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/)

> [“Idolatry is not the use of images, but confusing them with what they represent, and in this respect mental images and lofty abstractions can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/idolatry-is-not-the-use-of-images-but-confusing-them-with-what-they/)

[Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/)

> [“The more we accustom ourselves to understanding the present in terms of memory, the unknown by the known, the living by the dead, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/the-more-we-accustom-ourselves-to-understanding-the-present-in-terms/)

[Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/)

> [“We do not dance to reach a certain point on the floor, but simply to dance. Energy itself, as William Blake said, is eternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/we-do-not-dance-to-reach-a-certain-point-on-the-floor-but-simply-to/)

[Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/)

> [“Thought and science are therefore raising problems which their terms of study can never answer, many of which are doubtless problems only for thought.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/thought-and-science-are-therefore-raising-problems-which-their-terms/)

[Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/)

> [“But this is at the same time a vivid way of saying that your soul, or rather your essential Self, is the whole cosmos…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/but-this-is-at-the-same-time-a-vivid-way-of-saying-that-your-soul-or/)

[Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/)

> [“When you no longer make the distinction between the universe and how you are acting upon it, you are really on your own and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/when-you-no-longer-make-the-distinction-between-the-universe-and-how/)

[Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/)

> [“My death will be the disappearance of a particular pattern in the water.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/my-death-will-be-the-disappearance-of-a-particular-pattern-in-the/)

[Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/)

> [“I have always thought that all philosophical debates are ultimately between the partisans of structure and the partisans of "goo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/i-have-always-thought-that-all-philosophical-debates-are-ultimately/)

[Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/)

> [“We are living in a culture entirely hypnotized by the illusion of time, in which the so-called present moment is felt as nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/we-are-living-in-a-culture-entirely-hypnotized-by-the-illusion-of/)

[Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/)

> [“Where there is to be creative action, it is quite beside the point to discuss what we should or should not do in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/where-there-is-to-be-creative-action-it-is-quite-beside-the-point-to/)

[Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/)

[Explore all 106 Alan Wilson Watts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/)

## More Good news quotes

> [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/)

[Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/)

> [The tax code is 10 times the size of the Bible with none of the good news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ryan/the-tax-code-is-10-times-the-size-of-the-bible-with-none-of-the-good/)

[Paul Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ryan/)

> [It is not good news, but we have to face reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-lamy/it-is-not-good-news-but-we-have-to-face-reality/)

[Pascal Lamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-lamy/)

> [“I remember a man, a very lonely man, coming up to me at the end of a reading and looking into my face and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/i-remember-a-man-a-very-lonely-man-coming-up-to-me-at-the-end-of-a/)

[Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/)

> [“What I can tell you is that yoga is about removing the muck by shining the light of awareness on it. That is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/what-i-can-tell-you-is-that-yoga-is-about-removing-the-muck-by/)

[Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/)

> [“Frequently, when I suggest to people that they detach from a person or problem, they recoil in horror. “Oh, no!” they say. “I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-beattie/frequently-when-i-suggest-to-people-that-they-detach-from-a-person-or/)

[Melody Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-beattie/)

> [“Darling Daddy, This is Rose. Very good news. Caddy is going to marry Micheal. In case you have forgotten because you have not been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mckay/darling-daddy-this-is-rose-very-good-news-caddy-is-going-to-marry/)

[Hilary McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mckay/)

> [If the gospel isn't good news for everybody, then it isn't good news for anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-bell/if-the-gospel-isn-t-good-news-for-everybody-then-it-isn-t-good-news/)

[Rob Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-bell/)

> [“The good news is that there is one kind of food you can never have too much of. The best way to fully recover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-wicker/the-good-news-is-that-there-is-one-kind-of-food-you-can-never-have/)

[Kate Wicker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-wicker/)

> [In the business world, bad news is usually good news - for somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/in-the-business-world-bad-news-is-usually-good-news-for-somebody-else/)

[James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/)

> [“Some, in an effort to protect and preserve the gospel message, have become like the guards in that museum, fueled by fear that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-hipps/some-in-an-effort-to-protect-and-preserve-the-gospel-message-have/)

[Shane Hipps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-hipps/)

> [“Grace gave Emma's arm a gentle squeeze and curved her mouth into a thoughtful smile. "That's what God does for its, honey; He takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharlene-maclaren/grace-gave-emma-s-arm-a-gentle-squeeze-and-curved-her-mouth-into-a/)

[Sharlene MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharlene-maclaren/)

> [“Cultural criticism always attacks the mass media. I don't think that makes sense. We should look more closely at the work of deformation that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sloterdijk/cultural-criticism-always-attacks-the-mass-media-i-don-t-think-that/)

[Peter Sloterdijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sloterdijk/)

> [It's good news that he is proposing to restore budget cuts that he made, but the reality is that he is still proposing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-rosapepe/it-s-good-news-that-he-is-proposing-to-restore-budget-cuts-that-he/)

[James Rosapepe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-rosapepe/)

> [The good news is that even if your early crepes have funny lumps and bulges or aren't paper-thin, they're still gonna be plenty edible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-kenji-lopez-alt/the-good-news-is-that-even-if-your-early-crepes-have-funny-lumps-and/)

[J. Kenji Lopez-Alt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-kenji-lopez-alt/)

[Browse all 1,193 Good news quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-news/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“But Jesus had to speak through a public-address system—the only one available—which distorted his words, so that they came forth as the bombastic claim to be the one and only appearance of the Christ, of the incarnation of God as man. This is not good news. The good news is that if Jesus could realize his identity with God, you can also—but this God does not have to be idolized as an imperious monarch with a royal court of angels and ministers. God, as “the love which moves the sun and other stars,” is something much more inward, intimate, and mysterious—in the sense of being too close to be seen as an object.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Alan Wilson Watts"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/but-jesus-had-to-speak-through-a-public-address-system-the-only-one/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Good news"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/but-jesus-had-to-speak-through-a-public-address-system-the-only-one/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b65/alan-wilson-watts-4665_good-news_but-jesus-had-to-speak-through-a-public_2985556.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b65/alan-wilson-watts-4665_good-news_but-jesus-had-to-speak-through-a-public_2985556.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b65/alan-wilson-watts-4665_good-news_but-jesus-had-to-speak-through-a-public_2985556.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“But Jesus had to speak through a public-address system—the only one available—which distorted his words, so…” — Alan Wilson Watts",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Alan Wilson Watts",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“But Jesus had to speak through...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/but-jesus-had-to-speak-through-a-public-address-system-the-only-one/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/but-jesus-had-to-speak-through-a-public-address-system-the-only-one/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
