One of the most unlikely people is sweeping the City of Brotherly Love: former drug addict Michael Grant, also known as Philly Jesus. Who is Philly Jesus? Grant has been arrested several times throughout his life and was a satanic rapper named Opal Weaver. Since giving up heroin, Grant has found Jesus and become a character that tries to personify Him. He is known to the public as Philly Jesus and can be seen around Philadelphia, rolling a cross with wheels or even ice skating at a rink.
Go to Philly Jesus’s Twitter page, @phillyjesus, and you can see what he is all about. He tweets and retweets encouraging tweets about God. His Twitter bio says that he “bring[s] the story of Christ to the streets of Philly” and that he shares the Gospel. Philly Jesus has also been known to take pictures with anyone who wants a photo with him. Many people throughout Philadelphia and the tri-state area have a positive opinion about him.
However, not everything has been easy for Grant once he became Philly Jesus. On Friday, November 14, he was arrested at Love Park. Philly Jesus was accused of begging, and when asked to leave he refused.
According to Grant’s attorney, Charles Gibbs, Grant is not looking for money, but he will accept a tip if offered. After the arrest, the local Twitter-sphere was abuzz as #FreePhillyJesus was tweeted by people all over the area. After Philly Jesus was released, he tweeted, “I am free my dudes..y’all Dnt need to say free philly Jesus no more.”
He later tweeted a picture of the cop arresting him and tweeted “HATERS GONNA HATE John 15:18 If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. #phillyjesus.” Regardless of your opinion on Philly Jesus, one thing is for certain: he has inspired an avid following and turned his own life around.