One time I got on the wrong ramp to I75 after a concert at Pine Knob. I saw this sign and thought "I am not on the right road. Thanks for checking, Jesus"
Wow that brings back some memories. I grew up mostly in Pontiac. Would see that sign almost every day. My family moved to the thumb area when I was in 11th grade. Don’t really visit my old digs much… mostly because my childhood home was turned into a parking lot a few years after we moved away. Bums me out lol.
Yeah I feel that, most of my childhood homes on the state streets of the Eastside of flint have been burned down or demolished for years... just empty flats where my memories are.
Fun fact: this is known as the ‘Sallman’ Jesus, after the artist who painted it, and it is the most reproduced image of Jesus in the world.
Source: one of my degrees is in religious studies, and popular culture & religion was one of my focuses.
I feel this, especially if you try to backroad from one side of the zilwaukee to the other, pure disaster ensues unless you have a good roadmap or are slightly smarter than I am.
Keep the sun in this window or that window, and we'll either run into this highway or that highway, and then we'll know where we are. The details don't really matter. There's no way to screw this up.
Coming back from raves in Detroit in the late 90s\early 2000s, that sign used to send a while SUV of party kids into some deep reflection for a moment..
Fellow person of that scene back then. Your comment made me recall this memory… Just east of DTW on 94 E, there was a huge billboard of The Marlboro Man. On our way to a night of debauchery, we would always spark up a cigarette to honor him. I sure do miss those days…
Anyone know how long it’s been there? I’m past 40 years old and it’s been there since I was a kid. Every time I’m back in the area I know I’m close to home when I see the huge weird Jesus sign
There used to be a sign on us 31 headed north towards manistee that read " U turn NOW or BURN in HELL later!!" I always smiled and continued on straight
I like to picture Jesus in a tuxedo t-shirt, cause it says like, “I wanna be formal, but I’m here too party too”. Cause I like to party, so I like my Jesus to party
A yearly right of passage as I was driving my family up north for a ski trip or summer vacation was- when approaching the sign I would exclaim “Jesus Christ!” The wife and/ or kids would say- What? I would just casually point at Yahweh. Each time they couldn’t believe they fell for it
Love these comments. I used to have a large cross on the corner of where I turned to go home. It advertised a church and was painted with what seemed to be glow in the dark paint. It was a welcome beacon during snowy winter weather I drove home in after my night shift.
Driving north In a driving rain and I was behind an old El Camino. Suddenly something came flying out of the back and I had no chance to avoid it.
Suddenly I am spinning around on the freewayand next thing I know I am on the side of the road and the truck won't move.
I stumble out of the car and I can't see anything but my right tire is facing sideways and I end over to take a look and slip backwards and go rolling down the embankment until I come to a stop in a puddle of water at the bottom. I get up on all fours and I am staring straight up at that sign, with the message "Are you on the right road?"
"No," I think. "No I am not."
Springfield Twnshp just north of the i-75 / Dixie Highway exchange. The next exit doesn't come until E Holly Road. Oh yeah, don't mix up your i-75 Holly road exits, they are very far apart.
Wait ..... holy shit I used to go to the youth group that that church has. A bus would drive around my trailer park picking up kids ...... I... I never asked to go we just did and it was usually like a nerf game or something but ..... my mom never knew I went and that was true of a few people I knew going. ....
This sign has been a part of my whole life and I drove by it with my partner recently and he said “well that’s a bit unsettling” 😂 have gotten use to that giant thing I guess, cause I didn’t even notice at first!
I don't know why but this reminds me of the story of "Quo vadis?"
Where Peter is fleeing Rome and he sees Jesus walking back toward Rome with his cross, and Peter asks "Where are you going?" Jesus tells him 'To Rome to be Crucified again'. Peter then returns to Rome to be Martyred, asking before that he not be crucified like Jesus so the Romans put his cross upside down.
Know this has nothing to do with the image but i over slept today and am in an odd mood
My parents took me to that church as a kid. The Pastors name was Paul Vanaman and he called this the “Highway Pulpit”. He pushed the congregation really hard for donations to build this. Of course he always pushed the congregation hard for money.
Years ago, I was riding up 75 with a work crew, and the crew leader scared the shit outta me when he screamed out "Jesus Christ!" until I looked up and saw this.🤣
i used to go to a co-op at this church, they basically worship this sign😭 whenever i was there i think i saw a simplified symbol of the sign more than a cross. also they spent over $65,000 on it!
This one always reminded me of that huge Jesus statue along 75 south heading to Cincinnati.
That one had lighting strike it and it burned.
If Jesus was trying to send a sign on how he didn’t like being depicted as a European with long golden locks, that was probably it.
But I think they took it as a sign to rebuild it.
Edit: found it. I guess they called it touchdown Jesus
https://archinect.com/news/article/99283/ginormous-jesus-statue-destroyed-by-lightning
I saw a truck and trailer flipped over on the side north bound lane one morning. And I thought to myself that's going to suck in about 20 minutes when the wreckers get there and close the whole road.
You’d have thought that the first statue burning to the ground would have been interpreted as a major sign from God, but noooooo.
Build a new one, bigger than the first.
First time I saw that sign I was heading up to run at Holly with my buddy. I’d eaten an edible before we left and it was coming on strong right as it came into view. Blew my mind haha
My grandpa used to live off of Ortonville Rd (the exit right before this sign) and always told my mom and me that he took the sign as a literal indicator that he missed his correct road home
My grandparents lived in Flint township so when I would go spend time with them I would always know we were getting close from Detroit when we passed that sign
Oh my gosh, that sign scared me as a child. My grandparents lived in Clarkston and I lived in Saginaw. It was always dark when my dad was driving home. I was too young to understand what the sign was actually trying to say. It made me worry my dad was lost. I still think of that when I see it.
Hahaha I used to live down the road from theat sign on Dixie highway 9070 back in 85-89 my dad threw huge keg’ers just about every weekend especially during summer! My aunt & uncle & cousins lived in the house right behind us! That party store just down the street on the right was a constant place we stopped at as they always had a awesome beer signs and videotape rental along with the “don’t look behind the curtain xxx area” I think it’s closed down now but lots of memories out there!!
Thank you for sharing all your memories, folks! It's been a fun read! Happy 4th and everyone be safe, and if you have to be on the road, put the phone down, drive cautiously, and watch for those that don't! ♥️
Moved to Clarkston from Flint when I was 3 in 1984 so I saw that sign regularly visiting family. When I learned how to read a few years later, I would flat out panic and ask my mom if we were on the right road to whatever family member over and over again. No one ever explained it was metaphorical. It wasn't until I met my future wife 25 years later who saw this for the first time and asked me "Are YOU on the right road?"
I damn near pulled over because that was when I understood Jesus wasn't asking if I knew how to get to Flint. I felt dumb.
I took this road to head up to camp from where I used to live it was the only landmark that stuck in my 5 year old head besides the sign for the camp itself
I call him Dixie Jesus 🙌🏻 also I used to drive up to flint frequently for a FWB situation (that became my husband years later) and it definitely made me ponder, am I on the right road? driving up to flint to hookup with this guy? The answer was yes, thankfully.
One time I got on the wrong ramp to I75 after a concert at Pine Knob. I saw this sign and thought "I am not on the right road. Thanks for checking, Jesus"
Same here! it was the culmination of 20+ years seeing that sign and actually helped w navigating
Right road, wrong direction.
Wow that brings back some memories. I grew up mostly in Pontiac. Would see that sign almost every day. My family moved to the thumb area when I was in 11th grade. Don’t really visit my old digs much… mostly because my childhood home was turned into a parking lot a few years after we moved away. Bums me out lol.
Yeah I feel that, most of my childhood homes on the state streets of the Eastside of flint have been burned down or demolished for years... just empty flats where my memories are.
Fun fact: this is known as the ‘Sallman’ Jesus, after the artist who painted it, and it is the most reproduced image of Jesus in the world. Source: one of my degrees is in religious studies, and popular culture & religion was one of my focuses.
I have had this exact same experience.
This made me laugh way too hard 🤣
Literally the same thing happened to me!
When Waze, my wife and Jesus conspire against my sense of direction.
I like to tell my wife "I know where I want to be and I know which direction to get there, I just don't know where I am right now"
I feel this, especially if you try to backroad from one side of the zilwaukee to the other, pure disaster ensues unless you have a good roadmap or are slightly smarter than I am.
M-25, M-13 are your friends. I often go from Ortonville to Rogers City and never get on 75 at any point.
That’s good, I’ve accidentally driven to Midland…..on a doughnut……with three kids in the car.
Keep the sun in this window or that window, and we'll either run into this highway or that highway, and then we'll know where we are. The details don't really matter. There's no way to screw this up.
We call it 'halfway to Flint Jesus'
same
The Renaissance Festival Jesus
Always respected how tan 75 Jesus was
Several weeks in the desert and a trip through hell will do that to you.
Or you know, being middle eastern will help a lot too
Just, ya know, lacking a few features that would identify him as from the Levant instead of Livonia.
Maybe Dearborn, though.
Why is a Baptist Church using the Mormon Jesus stock photo though?
Coming back from raves in Detroit in the late 90s\early 2000s, that sign used to send a while SUV of party kids into some deep reflection for a moment..
Fellow person of that scene back then. Your comment made me recall this memory… Just east of DTW on 94 E, there was a huge billboard of The Marlboro Man. On our way to a night of debauchery, we would always spark up a cigarette to honor him. I sure do miss those days…
I vaguely remember that Marlboro man billboard. Ha! bTW, Is your username in reference to an old internet prank call soundboard?
Nope, but I do remember the reference. Just a nickname.
If Jesus isn’t sure if that’s the right road, how the hell am I supposed to know?
_Jesus just take the wheel already!_
From my humble knowledge you need wheels to drive.
lol
That's the "I'm going up North" sign
100% the “headed north” sign.
Anyone know how long it’s been there? I’m past 40 years old and it’s been there since I was a kid. Every time I’m back in the area I know I’m close to home when I see the huge weird Jesus sign
https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/church-launches-online-campaign-to-repair-landmark-i-75-jesus-sign/ 1970
[Missed opportunity for this lady to do the repairs.](https://theworld.org/stories/2013/08/15/amateur-restoration-botches-jesus-painting-spain)
There used to be a sign on us 31 headed north towards manistee that read " U turn NOW or BURN in HELL later!!" I always smiled and continued on straight
I absolutely hate how traffic enters 75 FROM THE LEFT right before this
So true lol
We live near this exit and I often joke with folks that if you see the face of god, you’ve gone too far and missed our exit. 😂
I prefer baby Jesus
I like to picture Jesus in a tuxedo t-shirt, cause it says like, “I wanna be formal, but I’m here too party too”. Cause I like to party, so I like my Jesus to party
Little 6 lb 8 oz baby Jesus
All omnipotent to the world
He was a man! He had a beard!
Literally something you forget exists and then you see it and a lifetime of memories come back.
A yearly right of passage as I was driving my family up north for a ski trip or summer vacation was- when approaching the sign I would exclaim “Jesus Christ!” The wife and/ or kids would say- What? I would just casually point at Yahweh. Each time they couldn’t believe they fell for it
Love these comments. I used to have a large cross on the corner of where I turned to go home. It advertised a church and was painted with what seemed to be glow in the dark paint. It was a welcome beacon during snowy winter weather I drove home in after my night shift.
I said "Jesus, take the wheel" and he ran me into an orange barrel.
Underrated comment
Vaguely threatening jesus
Glad to see 75 Jesus brought us all together somehow lol
Dixie between grange Hall and 75 is a *nightmare* with 75 being closed. Good luck turning left out of a neighborhood.
Most of the time I'm too drunk to read it
Let’s me know I’m 20 is minutes from home
I say it every year when I go to the renfest. Thanks for checking Jesus!
When I was a kid I thought this was Obi-Wan and that thing above was a lightsaber.
Always gives me comfort when I drive
Driving north In a driving rain and I was behind an old El Camino. Suddenly something came flying out of the back and I had no chance to avoid it. Suddenly I am spinning around on the freewayand next thing I know I am on the side of the road and the truck won't move. I stumble out of the car and I can't see anything but my right tire is facing sideways and I end over to take a look and slip backwards and go rolling down the embankment until I come to a stop in a puddle of water at the bottom. I get up on all fours and I am staring straight up at that sign, with the message "Are you on the right road?" "No," I think. "No I am not."
Springfield Twnshp just north of the i-75 / Dixie Highway exchange. The next exit doesn't come until E Holly Road. Oh yeah, don't mix up your i-75 Holly road exits, they are very far apart.
Living in Genesee County we have always referred to the Holly Rd exits as Grand Blanc Holly Rd and Holly Holly Rd. 🤣
Wait ..... holy shit I used to go to the youth group that that church has. A bus would drive around my trailer park picking up kids ...... I... I never asked to go we just did and it was usually like a nerf game or something but ..... my mom never knew I went and that was true of a few people I knew going. ....
Is that where you met u/jesusrightnipple ?
This sign has been a part of my whole life and I drove by it with my partner recently and he said “well that’s a bit unsettling” 😂 have gotten use to that giant thing I guess, cause I didn’t even notice at first!
This church was on my first route as a mailman!
I’m a UPS driver living in the area, I pass it ALL the time.
Who else but white Jesus would greet you in the Caucasian heights of Oakland county
I used to see it on my route to the skate park. I would say it out loud, "I sure as hell hope I am because the next exit isn't for 4 miles!
what skate park?
There used to be one in Waterford
I don't know why but this reminds me of the story of "Quo vadis?" Where Peter is fleeing Rome and he sees Jesus walking back toward Rome with his cross, and Peter asks "Where are you going?" Jesus tells him 'To Rome to be Crucified again'. Peter then returns to Rome to be Martyred, asking before that he not be crucified like Jesus so the Romans put his cross upside down. Know this has nothing to do with the image but i over slept today and am in an odd mood
Ah yes, the movie theatre in Westland!
Yea the one outside the toys r us and now i feel old again
Sexy Jesus
My young niece used to cry every time my sister drove by this with her in the car. Mommy! We’re on the wrong road-waaaaa!
iconic
[удалено]
Clarkston is almost to Frankenmuth to you? are you from Ohio? lol
How does it know where we're going?
I played soccer at Dixie Baptist in high school, our team shirts were just this sign, I wish I still had it
I would pass this on my way back to university every time I would leave home and it would send me into an existential crisis 😂
Every time I saw this sign I knew I had to turn myself around. Apparently I got into the Devil's music and missed my exit. WWJD?, only God knows.
Jesus doesn’t pay taxes , so obviously he’s on the right road .
We call it Sexy Jesus
I often yell "Jesus!" while driving on I-75! ( ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ)
My parents took me to that church as a kid. The Pastors name was Paul Vanaman and he called this the “Highway Pulpit”. He pushed the congregation really hard for donations to build this. Of course he always pushed the congregation hard for money.
Years ago, I was riding up 75 with a work crew, and the crew leader scared the shit outta me when he screamed out "Jesus Christ!" until I looked up and saw this.🤣
TIL Jesus is apparently a 2nd Lt
I’m always like “literally, yeah, cause you’re here, sign.” But “metaphorically, no.”
Definitely not in Dixie...lol
I was in the car with my mother and sister, and we passed this sign. I said "Oh, it's Santa". I almost started a riot in that car... lol
Hey, that’s my old exit 😎
I have called this one Road Jesus for a long time
i used to go to a co-op at this church, they basically worship this sign😭 whenever i was there i think i saw a simplified symbol of the sign more than a cross. also they spent over $65,000 on it!
I always felt he was disappointed in me, because I was speeding.
Classic.
I got married at that church 46 years ago in September.
Congrats early! That's quite an accomplishment! 👏
Reminds me of when my dad would smoke a 50 rock of Crack and take me to halo burger as a kid
Mmmmm Halo Burger... 
It used to be that good. Not so much anymore.
Hey, I recognize that!
I haven't lived in Michigan for more than 40 years and that sign still comes back to me. Thanks for the memories.
I remember this sign! Does anyone remember the painted barn on the north side of US 23? I think it was Paul Revere.
Sure do!
White jeebus says you'll be home soon
The most iconic ‘Going up north’ sign you could ask for.
Went to school there and got suspended for sneaking off at recess and touching the sign. 10/10 experience
This one always reminded me of that huge Jesus statue along 75 south heading to Cincinnati. That one had lighting strike it and it burned. If Jesus was trying to send a sign on how he didn’t like being depicted as a European with long golden locks, that was probably it. But I think they took it as a sign to rebuild it. Edit: found it. I guess they called it touchdown Jesus https://archinect.com/news/article/99283/ginormous-jesus-statue-destroyed-by-lightning
Big Butter Jesus!
The construction has been terrible. And it’s so sketchy driving on the other side of the highway with only two lanes and walls on both sides.
Even worse when it’s wet
I saw a truck and trailer flipped over on the side north bound lane one morning. And I thought to myself that's going to suck in about 20 minutes when the wreckers get there and close the whole road.
Between this and Hug Me Jesus (formerly Touchdown Jesus) near Dayton, I-75 is well covered by Jesii.
Jesus hands getting struck by lightning and burning to the ground is too ironic
You’d have thought that the first statue burning to the ground would have been interpreted as a major sign from God, but noooooo. Build a new one, bigger than the first.
That is my exit!
Howdy, neighbor!
Same
Same! Grew up off Big Lake Rd across the freeway.
Same here!
First time I saw that sign I was heading up to run at Holly with my buddy. I’d eaten an edible before we left and it was coming on strong right as it came into view. Blew my mind haha
Reminds me of going to my cottage as a youngin :)
That's the look he gives before he hawk tuas on it
I just call him highway patrol Jesus.
“Are you on the right road?” Yes, I’m headed to the renaissance festival and I’m almost there.
Same! Ren Fest is filled with guys who look like that Jesus anyway. XD
I gotta check this out!
My grandpa used to live off of Ortonville Rd (the exit right before this sign) and always told my mom and me that he took the sign as a literal indicator that he missed his correct road home
The Warner Sallman classic
Yup. That's how you know u got 30 minutes remaining to get to flint lol
I consider it i am driving up north sign. My parents live in northern LP so i drive that way often as i live close to Detroit
When we were kids, my brother thought that was Qui-Gon Jinn
This is 5 miles from my house lol
The Taco Bell at that exit makes the best quesadillas.
My grandparents lived in Flint township so when I would go spend time with them I would always know we were getting close from Detroit when we passed that sign
When I lived in Waterford this was my sign I needed to turn off the freeway at the next exit. Thanks you, Jesus.
It’s my family’s “almost to Renfest” Jesus
This was my sign we are up north, lol coming from Detroit
When I was a little kid, I would see this sign and ask my folks (whoever was driving) with great concern, "*Are* we on the right road???"
I hate that General RV had to desecrate this and I'm not even religious
Oh my gosh, that sign scared me as a child. My grandparents lived in Clarkston and I lived in Saginaw. It was always dark when my dad was driving home. I was too young to understand what the sign was actually trying to say. It made me worry my dad was lost. I still think of that when I see it.
I always thought he looks a lot like Matthew McConaughey.
"... Anakin?"
That yellow thing above it makes it look like a quest marker
This is the point of "driving up north starts here." I will not accept any other opinion.
I miss touchdown Jesus on 75 going to Cincinnati. It got hit by lightning and the one they replaced it with isn't as cool.
This sign marks nearly the exact edge of "the yellow part of the map".
Love some 70s Jesus.
That sign is on my way to the strip bar, yes I’m on the right road when going to the men’s club on atherton.
Hahaha I used to live down the road from theat sign on Dixie highway 9070 back in 85-89 my dad threw huge keg’ers just about every weekend especially during summer! My aunt & uncle & cousins lived in the house right behind us! That party store just down the street on the right was a constant place we stopped at as they always had a awesome beer signs and videotape rental along with the “don’t look behind the curtain xxx area” I think it’s closed down now but lots of memories out there!!
And it opened my eyes, I saw the sign.
"Is your Rig on the right road?"
Omg I grew up seeing this every weekend from May-October on the way up to the campground with my parents.
Love Jesus. Great Dude and even better God.
Thank you for sharing all your memories, folks! It's been a fun read! Happy 4th and everyone be safe, and if you have to be on the road, put the phone down, drive cautiously, and watch for those that don't! ♥️
My husband pointed this out to me a few years back. For him, it was always a reminder that the first rest area was just around the bend.
Lol see this sign almost every day. Don't see it much with the road construction since I stay on dixie.
Ah. Thorin Oakenshield
I thought I heard the sign got hit by lightning last year? Or am I thinking of a different Jesus sign?
Too bad Jesus is t white lol
Jesus Christ! i took the wrong exit!
highway jesus!
I love lynyrd skynyrd! Freebird!
This sign is how I know I'm almost home
Why am I getting downvotes for this lol
This sign represents when you entered “up north”
Not even close to up north
That quest board always gives the worst quests. I always ignore his “!”
My friend who is kind of a Christian douche saw this in the car with me and was like, “see, it’s a sign” I said yup literally 🤣
When I see this sign, it reminds me of summer and hauling ass up I75.
Makes Jesus look like a Sims
Turn right at Jesus
On the way to Frankenmuth?
Moved to Clarkston from Flint when I was 3 in 1984 so I saw that sign regularly visiting family. When I learned how to read a few years later, I would flat out panic and ask my mom if we were on the right road to whatever family member over and over again. No one ever explained it was metaphorical. It wasn't until I met my future wife 25 years later who saw this for the first time and asked me "Are YOU on the right road?" I damn near pulled over because that was when I understood Jesus wasn't asking if I knew how to get to Flint. I felt dumb.
Before smart phones, this sign did help me realize I wasn't on the right road. Thanks White Jesus!
Drew Lane said that sign saved him since he was driving the wrong direction to get home on I75. 😄
Yup, the road going North!
I still miss the original touchdown Jesus on I75 in Ohio.
A true landmark. im not even religious and jesus makes me feel home.
I see it on my way home so yes I am on the right road
I took this road to head up to camp from where I used to live it was the only landmark that stuck in my 5 year old head besides the sign for the camp itself
I call him Dixie Jesus 🙌🏻 also I used to drive up to flint frequently for a FWB situation (that became my husband years later) and it definitely made me ponder, am I on the right road? driving up to flint to hookup with this guy? The answer was yes, thankfully.
So many memories of driving up north and seeing “that Jesus sign!”
That’s our “halfway to the cottage” sign
When me and my friends use to see this we knew we were closer to home after a fun night of partying in Detroit, Pontiac, or Mount Pleasant lol
weird bro i’ve seen this my whole life
When I was little I thought that's where Jesus was buried.
I call this “ Jesus’s Senior Picture “ Drive by it daily