The Jesus Way of Political Engagement

“If Jesus is not Lord of all He is not Lord at all.” The call to discipleship is the call to submit all arenas of one’s life to the Lordship of Jesus. Jesus not only embodies for the world the nature of God, He also reveals what should be normative for humanity. There is, therefore no question – no corner of living that should not be surrendered to what Jesus’ life demonstrated as God’s way of Wisdom within this unjust world. Consequently, we should always be asking, “What does the way of Jesus reveal about how I should live in this situation?”

In Matthew’s gospel we are blessed with a record of Jesus’ encounter with the world around Him and are reminded there is no sphere to which Jesus does not speak. The narrative I am considering can be found in Matthew 22.15-45 and can be divided into four segments.

The Empire: How Disciples Relate to Caesar (22.15-22)

Eternity: How Disciples Should Regard the Resurrection Life (22.23-33)

The Law: What Do the Scriptures Require of Disciples (22.34-40)

Christology: Disciples and the Lordship of Jesus (22.41-46)

I think one of the areas of life Jesus addresses, in which we often fail to appropriate His teaching, is the issue of how we engage civil and/or political authority. The attempted assassination of Arizona Congresswoman Gabriella GIffords, vividly reminds us of one wrong way to engage political authority. In fact, I think Jesus is pretty clear that followers of Jesus should never engage another with violence. Inappropriate ways of engaging civil authority can often be more subtle. A basic question each should ask is; “How does Jesus inform the way I engage the political system?” We must remember Jesus offers us authoritative teaching for the most basic issues. Does Jesus inform the way we talk about politics? Does Jesus inform the way you address those with whom you disagree politically? Furthermore, do you submit to the Lordship of Jesus as you talk about politicians whose policies you don’t support?

In Matthew 22.15-22 Jesus establishes for His followers a wisdom principle of respect and peaceful cooperation with political authority. As Jesus teaches, Matthew records the presence of the Herodians and the Pharisees, two powerful groups of people. The Herodians were friends of Rome and believed the purposes of God could be fulfilled through political power. The Pharisees, on the other hand, were anti-Rome and wanted the religious power of Israel to increase in such a way that Rome could be overthrown or at least weakened. Jesus accepts neither of these options as an appropriate way of being human in this unjust world. The way of Jesus is a bit more complex. Among his followers He endorses peaceful respect for government: Give back to Caesar those things that are Caesar’s. In other words, faithful followers of Jesus contribute to the good of society – they pay their taxes. The Pharisees, on the other hand, advocated a rebellion against Rome that included not paying taxes. So while Jesus advocated peaceful co-existence with government (something that did not sit well with the Pharisees), He also did not find any fans with the Herodians, by saying, “render to God those things that are God’s.” While Jesus is perfectly comfortable giving taxes to the government, He is certainly uncomfortable with rendering to the government only those things that should be rendered to God. It is no coincidence that immediately following this section of the narrative, Jesus concerns himself with loving God above all else (22.34-40) and His own unique lordship (22.41-46). I am amazed at the relevance of Jesus’ teaching for the thorny questions we face here in America? A good questions to consider is do we find ourselves tempted by the Herodian error – giving too much loyalty to political systems and theory, or the error of the Pharisees – not behaving with peaceful respect for the governement? From this narrative, a few application questions arise.

1. When we engage the political scene do we do so with peace and respect for all human beings involved?

2. Do we understand responsibilities like paying taxes as a means of following Jesus and contributing to the stability of society?

3. Are we sufficiently guarded as we consider political “groups” who may desire from us an allegiance that should only be devoted to Jesus and His eternal Kingdom?

The Apostle Peter, who was ultimately crucified upside down by the Roman government, summarizes Jesus’ teaching with these words. “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the King” (1 Peter 2.16-17, NASB). May each of us submit to Jesus as Lord over all aspects of our lives, including political engagement.