On the right, critics disliked the message for being “woke” — some observed that no scene shows, say, a black person washing the feet of a white cop, or a leftist washing the feet of a MAGA-hat-wearing Trump supporter. And they saw in the ad a spiritual complacency about sin and a kind of pride bordering on blasphemy. Jesus does more than “get us,” they insisted — he saves us. An alternative commercial began to circulate on social media in which the characters featured were introduced as a former prostitute, a former jihadist, a former abortionist etc., all of whom had repented, left their life of sin, and become Christian.

True, becoming a follower of Jesus demands charity, chastity, obedience in a world that normalizes — and even celebrates — greed, lust, and the whims of the ego. But Mark Wahlberg’s ad was marketed as “Intermediate Christianity,” for those who already consider themselves Christian. It was especially meant as a reminder for Catholics to go to Mass on Ash Wednesday and during Lent, when they’re called to meditate on the high stakes and urgency of Christ’s message. Wahlberg’s ad offered something concrete and actionable, an app you can download.

By contrast, the “He Gets Us” ad was an attempt at “Entry Level” Christianity, offering not a Christian-oriented product but Christ himself as the product. It lacked Jesus’s message of “repent and believe.” But the presentation of his mysterious love was not, in my view, a mischaracterization. It was designed to get people to think for 60 seconds about why disciples of Jesus would wash anyone’s feet. For conservatives and those who are already Christian, the message largely missed the mark. But for progressives, perhaps it didn’t.