Religion and Politics, Part II

As far back as recorded history goes, religion and politics were intertwined. In the ancient world priests played critical roles in advising political leaders. Political leaders turned to priests to divine the will of their gods, even seeking to manipulate the gods for their purposes. In many ancient cultures the king was considered a divine figure, such as the pharaoh of Egypt. However, ancient Israel was different.

The leaders were not divine, and unlike most other ancient nations where kings had ultimate authority, the kings of Israel were subject to the laws of God given at Mt. Sinai, known as the Torah. In essence, the Torah functioned as a type of national constitution. In addition, ancient Israel had a version of checks and balances in government. During Israel’s first commonwealth (1050 BC – 586 BC) the kings had executive authority. The priests, among other things, functioned as a judiciary. Finally, the prophets served as the social conscience of the nation, often reprising the leadership for injustices against the poor and needy.

During the Second Temple period (530 BC – 70 AD), Jews inside and outside of Israel were, for the most part, subject to foreign rulers. The priesthood took on a more prominent role for Jews living in the land of Israel, effectively governing the people. Even by the late Second Temple period, the Sanhedrin, the ruling entity of the Jews, primarily was comprised of priests.

Towards the end of the Second Temple period, Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah came. His teachings marked an apparently different path for his followers in relationship to politics and government. When asked, Yeshua disregarded political questions. A classic case occurred when he was questioned about paying taxes. At the time, the Roman government imposed a heavy tax burden upon the population. The taxes, in part, paid for the Roman occupation of the land. The taxes and the concomitant military occupation caused deep resentment in the Jewish populace, ultimately leading to a huge revolt forty years later. The question about taxes was designed to entrap Yeshua in one of two ways. If he argued for not paying taxes, he would be branded as a political revolutionary, leading to his probable arrest by Roman authorities. If he advocated paying taxes, he likely would be accused of being a traitor to his people.

But Yeshua’s response made a distinction between worldly kingdoms and the kingdom of God. He asked the questioners whose image appeared on a coin. When they said Caesar, he responded, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s.” What did he mean? The governments of the world have their systems, and as participants in those systems, people under those governments were subject to the systems’ rules, e.g., paying taxes. However, God was building His own kingdom, and ultimately His followers owed their allegiance to Him. At times these kingdoms would clash.

Yeshua expanded upon this view in his confrontation with the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. After being handed over to Pilate for judgment, Pilate asked Yeshua if he was the king of the Jews. This was a political question. But again Yeshua made a differentiation. He responded that his kingdom was not of this world. “My kingdom is from another place.” He concluded by saying he came into the world to testify to the truth. In other words, yes, Yeshua is the king. However, he is not a political ruler. His kingdom is the kingdom of God, which supersedes all earthly kingdoms. The earthly kingdoms and the kingdom of God interface. However, it is clear from Yeshua’s teachings that the goals and practices of those belonging to the kingdom of God will differ from those of earthly kingdoms.

Next time: Let history be the judge