Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said she did not believe that Jesus would support Super Bowl commercials that she claims make fascism "look benign."

Something tells me Jesus would *not* spend millions of dollars on Super Bowl ads to make fascism look benign

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 13, 2023

According to "He Gets Us," however, the goal of the ads is anything but fascist.

"He [Jesus] cares about our problems because he has experienced them.  He gets us.  We believe that investing in efforts to ensure more people consider his life and movement as inspiration for their own, will in turn, help improve the lives of those listening — and begin to create the kind of cascade of love Jesus himself sought to generate," spokesperson Jason Vanderground said.

The Christian group spent approximately $20 million on two Super Bowl advertisements that portrayed Jesus as someone empathetic toward immigrants and the poor.

The group touted itself as a "movement to reintroduce people to the Jesus of the Bible and his confounding love and forgiveness."

It was not clear which commercial Ocasio-Cortez was referencing.  One of the "He Gets Us" commercials, named "Love Your Enemies," showed a man shouting at a police officer in riot gear.  Other images of unrest then appeared, followed by the line "Jesus loved the people we hate."

Regarding "Love Your enemies," Vanderground emphasized that we should love our enemies the same way Jesus did.

"What could possibly be louder and more powerful than hate?  Love can.  But not just any love.  Confounding love.  Unconditional love.  Sacrificial love.  The love we see in Jesus.  What if we tried to love our enemies the way Jesus loved his?  How would it change the tenor of our conflicts and our conversations?" he said.

The other commercial, called "Be Childlike," describes a theme in Jesus' teachings. The campaign stated that Jesus used the term "childlike" to "refer to a humble and trusting attitude." The ad showed children being helpful and kind to each other and animals.

Overall, the commercials were an effort to spread the message of Jesus to LGBT people and other communities that have felt unwanted by Christianity.

Despite the message of love and inclusivity, Ocasio-Cortez was not happy.

In response to her attacks, He Gets Us said:

Our research shows that many people's only exposure to Jesus is through Christians who reflect him imperfectly and too often in ways that create a distorted or incomplete picture of his radical compassion and love for others, we believe it's more important now than ever for the real, authentic Jesus to be represented in the public marketplace as he is in the Bible.

The ads were aired during Super Bowl LVII's matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.

Image: Dimitri Rodriguez via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.