MONROE — To some it was a landmark. To others, a punchline.

But to many, the 62-foot-tall “King of Kings” Jesus sculpture along Interstate 75 was a powerful and vibrant religious symbol of Jesus and his message.

The aftermath of the fire that incinerated the southwestern Ohio icon Monday, June 14, attracted scores of people snapping photographs and paying tribute, including Darrell Lawson of Middletown, who recently brought visiting relatives to the site.

“He will be back,” Lawson said in a trembling voice as a tear trickled down his cheek. “Keep your faith strong. He will be rebuilt ... if everybody in the United States would quit driving down this highway and calling him Touchdown Jesus. He’s not Touchdown Jesus, he’s our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Lawson said he looked at the sculpture and saw Jesus being baptized in the Jordan River. For his wife, Debbie, it held similar connotations.

“To us when we saw it, we saw Jesus reaching up to heaven, wanting God to take us all up to heaven someday,” she said. “To us it just symbolized faith.”

The religious symbolism that has grabbed hold of Protestant culture in some instances, such as a giant statue of Jesus, is something that Martin Luther, the German leader of the Protestant reformation, would have abhorred, according to Liz Wilson, chairwoman of Miami University’s Department of Comparative Religion.

“Luther’s idea of ‘only through scripture’ ... means that you really don’t want to clutter up your religious space with images, and yet there’s Paul Bunyan when you drive up (Interstate) 75 and, oh no, it’s not Paul Bunyan, it’s Jesus,” she said.

Kevin Mansdorfer of Monroe said joining Solid Rock Church’s Bible study group in 2003 while incarcerated helped him kick his addiction to drugs and alcohol by 2005. He said the statue held deep religious meaning for him. “It meant that God was here; Jesus was here for everybody who needs help out in the world,” he said.

The statue’s destruction was “a little sad, a little depressing,” he said.

“It’s heartbreaking,” he said. “Heartbreaking. Hope they rebuild it.

"Jesus helped me to get clean and sober, to give me the guidance and strength to overcome my problems in life I had.”

Area pastors had differing opinions on the Jesus statue.

The Rev. Lamar Ferrell, pastor of Berachah Baptist Church in Middletown, called the statue just a 62-foot, wood and Styrofoam replica of Christ.

“That wasn’t Jesus. Jesus is alive and well,” he said.

Ferrell was “saddened” by the fire, but thankful no one was injured.

The Rev. Mitchell Foster, pastor of Tried Stone Baptist Church, who had attended a Friday service at Solid Rock Church, said he was “shocked” when he heard the statue was destroyed.

He doesn’t understand why the statue became a target of punch lines and insults.

Because of its size and location along I-75, Solid Rock used the statue as “bait” to attract possible members and grow its congregation. He laughed, then added: “They have caught some big fish.”