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Jesus and Politics
by T. J. Smith
This article appeared in the
2024 Fall issue of Fulfilled! Magazine
Politics is heating up in Facebook preterist groups. I’m
reading both sides and decided to add my two cents. This is
taken from Vol. 3 of my series on “Understanding the
Bible for Average Christians” available at
www.tjsmithministries.com.
In 2014, some members of our
church gathered at the pastor’s home for a small dinner with
some of the young adults. One of the millennials (28 at the
time) and I were having a conversation about politics.
I will call this young man “Bob.”
Bob did not believe Christians
should be involved in politics. He maintained that we serve
a King, and His kingdom is spiritual. Therefore, Bob was
flippant about where the nation was heading.
I pressed him about who he voted
for. He admitted he had never voted in any election. Now, he
had been eligible to vote for the previous 10 years, yet
never once exercised his right. That’s three presidential
elections, plus mid-terms, state and local. Ok, fine. His
choice. Leave that to the informed, concerned citizens who
care about the country they live in.
I should add a disclaimer: not
all millennials think this way. All four of our adult
children and their spouses vote and participate in the
political process.
Bob had a college education and
spent his 20’s traveling in the World Race, being financed
by churches, Mom and Dad. He visited foreign countries,
staying in hostels, experiencing the local culture and
cuisine. I got the feeling his idea of Christianity was
seeing Jesus as a social justice superhero, out to right the
wrongs of our society (as he interpreted right and wrong).
Bob preferred not attending
church, but rather hanging out in boutique coffee shops
discussing the cool things Jesus did and the principles He
stood for.
Bob did enjoy worship and I
admired him for that. Yet, his preferred choice of worship
was to go to the church by himself and worship alone. Again,
nothing wrong with that. We all need quiet time with God.
However, most Sunday mornings he would arrive either late to
corporate worship or walk in after worship time was totally
over. I know because I was leading worship and would see him
shuffle in.
I do see the same attitude among
other millennials. This ideology has been bred into this age
group by Rockefeller’s public education system and radical
leftist factions that have us currently sitting at #31
globally for best education. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
even stated on August 15th, 2018, “America has
never been that great.”
I’m sorry if you disagree, but
you can read more about this in my book “Where Now? The
Church and Homosexuality” (www.tjsmithministries.com).
In it, I describe how Critical Theory has undermined our
freedoms and patriotism.
Bob’s only reference point to
this magnificent and majestic exceptionalism of America was
shaped during his formative years under the Obama
Administration and the most liberal, anti-American
educational system in history. It was no surprise that he
held the concept of American pride and nationalism at such
an appallingly anemic level of indifference. It just didn’t
matter to him what was going on in his country. He served a
much higher King.
The next day I chatted with the
pastor about the conversation, and he too was surprised to
hear Bob nonchalantly express disdain for the political
system.
This got me thinking about
Yeshua. What did the Messiah really believe about the Good
News? Sure, He taught that they should give honor to Caesar
and to God, but neither of those episodes should inspire a
millennial to reject casting a vote. Maybe Bob took his cue
from the events that arose while Jesus was standing before
Pilate? Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world
. . .” (John 18:36 MLV).
Building a belief about politics,
using the statements that Christ gave about His kingdom,
does not affirm political dodging.
A major reason for the decline
and reversal of victories won and bestowed on America via
Christianity can be directly linked to the vacuum created by
Christians snubbing politics. You may have been taught that
we should just sell flowers at the airport and leave the
democratic process to the wicked.
Ok, enough about the current
problems. Did Yeshua and His disciples include governments
in their evangelistic playbook? I hope you will conclude
that your child or grandchild could serve God by running for
office and continue cleaning the swamp for future
generations. Here we go!
The following verses are from the
MLV Bible:
“And you will also be led in
front of governors and kings because of me, for a
testimony to them and to the Gentiles”
(Matt 10:18).
If Jesus wasn’t concerned about
leaders ruling under the influence of Yahweh, why would He
care one way or the other? Why would He be concerned with
earthly governments? Here is what John Gill commented about
this passage:
Meaning Roman governors;
as Paul was taken before Gallio, Felix, and Festas;
for judgments relating to life and death were to be taken
away, and were taken away from the Jewish Sanhedrim; and as
they themselves say. As Herod, Agrippa, Nero, Domitian,
and others, before whom one or other of the apostles were
brought; not as thieves, or murderers, or traitors, and
seditious persons, or for having done any wrong or injury to
any man’s person or property; but purely for the sake of
Christ, for the profession of their faith in him, and for
preaching his Gospel; of all which they had no reason to be
ashamed, nor were they.
Here is Albert Barnes’ commentary
on this same passage:
Peter is said to have been
brought before Nero, and John before Domitian,
Roman emperors; and others before Parthian, Scythian,
and Indian kings. They were to stand there to bear a
testimony against them; or, as it might be rendered, to
them. That is, they were to be “witnesses to them” of the
great facts and doctrines of the Christian religion; and if
they rejected Christianity, they would be witnesses
“against” them in the day of judgment. The fulfillment of
this prophecy is a signal evidence that Christ possessed a
knowledge of the future. Few things were more improbable
when this was uttered than that the fishermen of Galilee
would stand before the illustrious and mighty monarchs of
the East and the West.
Let’s look at some more passages:
“But the Lord said to him,
Travel on, because this one is a chosen vessel for me to
bear my name in the sight of the gentiles and kings
and the sons of Israel, for I will be showing him how much
it is essential for him to suffer on behalf of my name” (Acts 9:15-16).
Why did Jesus have to go to such
extremes just to prove to Paul how much suffering he would
have to go through? And why kings? Again, what’s up with
Jesus and governments? Lighten up, bro!
“For there stood beside me
this night a messenger of the God, whose I am, to whom I
also am giving divine service to, saying, ‘Do not
fear, Paul; it is essential for you to stand-before
Caesar. . .”’ (Acts 27:23-24).
“And from thereon, they asked
for a king. And God gave to them Saul the son of
Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And
having removed him, he lifted up David to be king to them;
to whom he also testified and said, I found David the son of
Jesse, a man according to my own heart, who will be
practicing all my will” (Acts 13:21-23).
Wait! Hold on! Why is God
concerned about some government leader who would “practice
all HIS will?” I thought YHWH didn’t want us involved in
politics? Yet, here He is, interfering and giving the people
Saul, then taking him out and placing David on the throne.
“But Paul said, ‘I am
standing in front of Caesar’s judicial-seat, where it is
essential for me to be judged. I did not wrong the Jews, as
you also fully well know. For if I indeed am wronging
anyone, and have practiced anything worthy of death, I do
not renounce to die, but if there is nothing of what these
are accusing me; no one is able to grant me to them. I
myself am appealing to Caesar.’ Then Festus,
having spoken together with the council, answered, ‘You
yourself have appealed to be in front of Caesar, then you
will be traveling to Caesar’” (Acts 25:10-12).
“‘King Agrippa, do you believe
the prophets? I know that you believe.’ But Agrippa
said to Paul, ‘Are you persuading me to become a Christian
in few words?’ But Paul said, ‘I would pray to God,
that both in a few words or in many words, not only you,
but also all who hear me today, are to become such:
what sort of person I am, except-for these bonds.’
And after Paul said these things, the king and the
governor and Bernice and those who were sitting together
with them stood up’’ (Acts 26:27-30).
Here is yet another example of
Paul’s understanding of the call to influence those in
charge.
“Greet every holy-one in
Christ Jesus. The brethren who are together with me greet
you. All the holy ones greet you, especially those
who are from the house of Caesar” (Phil 4:21-22).
This passage shows that Paul was
doing everything possible to reach those considered
influential to policy making, leadership, and cultural
shaping.
Let’s move to John’s
understanding and the instruction he was given:
“And they are saying to me,
‘It is essential for you to prophesy again over many peoples
and nations and languages and many kings’” (Rev
10:11).
Why would “kings” be a point of
focus for John to witness to if it weren’t important to the
Father?
In conclusion, it appears
governments are pretty important to God as a place for the
Gospel to be shared and dominate. Maybe God knows something
we don’t. Maybe He expects us to get involved and make a
difference. Maybe the fact we have been horse-whipped by the
anti-Christian agenda to stay out of politics is the very
reason we have lost the battles of prayer in schools,
education, movies, entertainment, morals, the right to life,
trans “equity,” homosexual preference and protection, cake
bakers, and the list grows.
Maybe taking a raincheck on
responsible civic duties (e.g., voting) has given us exactly
what we deserve: an ungodly nation. The ungodly love it when
young people don’t vote, unless they vote for socialism and
anything anti-Christ. To ignore, withdraw from, and avoid
politics is the equivalent of futurists “circling the
wagons” and praying the mothership raptures them out of
this. “Let them have it all! The worse it gets, the closer
Jesus is to splittin’ that eastern sky on that there White
Horse.”
As believers, we should be
inundating every career field possible: legal, law
enforcement, military, retail, medical, construction, IT,
television broadcasting, news networks, entertainment,
education.
The next time someone pipes up
and says they don’t get involved in politics because they
serve a Higher King, remind them that the Higher King has
always been concerned with who runs governments.
“The king’s heart is a stream
of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he
will” (Prov 21:1).
Comments:
Your honest review will help others in their search for truth. If you must leave a negative review please be gracious.
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every
way into him who the head, into Christ . . . .
(Ephesians 4:15)
