Calvary or Rome?

Jesus refused the political power of Rome when offered it by Satan. So, why do we continue to seek what he rejected?

I was taught not to be “unequally yoked together” with this world and its values. Conditions around the globe may be tragic, but what do we expect from a system enslaved to sin and under Satan’s boot? Humanity needs the Good News of the Kingdom of God, not another flawed political philosophy. Since the “forms” of the present age are already “passing away,” why do we waste time “working for the meat that perishes”?

[Photo by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash]

Did not Jesus command us to proclaim the Gospel “to all nations”? To invest our time and resources in reforming a society judged already on the Cross makes no sense. Far more compelling than the arguments of many preachers are the examples of Jesus when he faced the political realities of his day.

Popular preachers often summon believers to engage in partisan politics so they may use the power of the State to purify the culture, restore society to some mythological pristine state, and otherwise stop wickedness. However, resorting to that solution invariably means doing evil to accomplish some purported greater good.

When Satan offered him political power, Jesus rejected it. Why do we presume to embrace the very thing that he refused? The Devil tempted him by offering him “all the kingdoms of the world.” All he needed to do was to “swear fealty” to the Tempter - (Matthew 4:8-9, Luke 4:5-7).

In contrast to the Crucified Messiah of Scripture, many church leaders and “ministries” adopt the political methods of this age. However, the State expects us to accommodate our lives and values to its demands, just as Satan required homage as the price of political power. Acquiring and wielding the power of the State means accepting the Devil as your overlord.

According to Satan, the kingdoms of this age “have been delivered to me and I give them to whomever I will.” Very strikingly, Jesus did not dispute his claim! This exchange explains why human governments so often exhibit beastly and even satanic behavior.

Imagine what great good Jesus could do if he sat on Caesar’s throne! Would not righteousness prevail across the Earth if he possessed Rome’s military and economic might? Who was better positioned to wield the power of Rome’s legions for the “greater good” than the Prince of Peace?

IT BEGAN ON THE CROSS

Jesus embraced the way of the cross. In God’s Kingdom, victory is achieved through humble obedience and the denial of one’s personal “rights.” His domain is characterized by self-sacrificial service and acts of mercy, especially to one’s enemy, rather than force, corruption, or violence.

Satan’s political intrigues did not end in the wilderness. Following his rebuff, the “Devil departed from him until an opportune time.” Jesus faced the same challenge again after miraculously feeding a multitude when the crowd “was about to seize him, that they might make him king” - (Luke 4:13, John 6:15).

Rather than accept kingship imposed by the mob, Jesus walked away, an act that turned many minds against him. He refused to become the militaristic messiah so many expected and wanted. The closer he came to Calvary, the more the fickle crowds rejected him and his Kingdom.

Later, the representative of Rome inquired whether he was “the King of the Jews.” Jesus did not deny his kingship - “You say that I am a king. I was born for this … But my kingdom is not from (‘ek’) this world. If my kingdom was from this world my officers would fight that I should not be delivered up to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here” - (John 18:33-36).

He did not claim that his kingdom was “spiritual” or otherworldly. The source of his sovereignty was something other than the kind of political power that characterizes this sinful world. The “Kingdom of God” was entirely different. It had nothing to do with Rome or Caesar.

The Roman governor found no fault in Jesus and was about to release him. However, at the instigation of the Temple authorities, the crowd demanded that Pilate release Barabbas instead, a ‘léstés’ (Greek) or “brigand,” and a known murderer and insurrectionist.

The priestly leaders preferred a violent political revolutionary over the ‘Suffering Servant of the LORD’, the same Messiah who “took on the form of a slave” and became “obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” Thus, also, it remains to this day. We dislike the Jesus described in Scripture, so we create and proclaim a “different Jesus,” the popular ‘Roaring Lion of Judah’ and political messiah rather than the “Slain Lamb.”

Institutional Christianity has a long blood-stained history of mixing Church and State, and History provides a multitude of examples of the folly and criminality that result from this poisonous mixture. It seems we do not comprehend exactly what state power is, how it is exercised, and who the power is behind the throne.

To advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the political system necessitates resorting to the coercive power of the State and compromising Christian morality and principles, something Jesus never did. Doing so would repudiate all that he did and for which he suffered on the Roman Cross.

The choice is whether to walk the cruciform path trod by Jesus or the smooth highway offered by Satan that ends at Caesar’s throne. Should we, his disciples, embrace what he rejected?

By its nature, the political ideologies of this age are incompatible with the proclamation of “Christ Crucified” and the way of the Cross. Our immersion into partisan politics will result in our corruption and that of the Body of Christ. A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

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SEE ALSO:

• Fleeting Power - (Only God’s kingdom will prevail and endure in the end. All other political powers are transitory. Already they are passing away)

• His Path - (Jesus proclaims a new political reality, the Kingdom of God, and it bears little resemblance to the political regimes of this world)

• Whomever He Pleases - (Yahweh, the God of Israel, changes the times and seasons, removes kings, and sets up kings as He to achieve His purposes)