Jesus or Caesar

Jesus refused the political power of Rome when Satan offered it. So, why do we insist on seeking the very thing our Master rejected? The teachings of Jesus and his Apostles in multiple ways summon Christians not to be “unequally yoked together” with this world and its values. What humanity needs is the Good News of the Kingdom of God and the salvation provided by Jesus Christ. Since the “forms” of this present age are in the process of “passing away,” the Church should not waste its efforts on “working for the meat that perishes”?

The choice between embracing the Cross of Christ or submitting to the awesome power of Imperial Rome has faced the followers of the Nazarene from the beginning, and so it remains to this very day, and perhaps especially so for our contemporary churches.

[Colosseum Photo by Dario Veronesi on Unsplash]

Attempting to reform a culture that was judged on the Cross defies biblical teachings and common sense. The reaction of Jesus when he faced the political realities of his day provides us with a compelling argument for engaging this fallen world in the same manner that he did. Are we listening?

When Satan offered Jesus political power, he rejected it. So, why has the Church time and again adopted the very thing refused by its Lord and Messiah? The Devil tempted Christ by offering him “all the kingdoms of the world.” All he needed to do to gain such power was to “fall down and swear fealty” to the Tempter as his Overlord - (Matthew 4:8-9, Luke 4:5-7).

In contrast to the Crucified Messiah, many church leaders and “ministries” eagerly adopt the political methods of this age, a system that expects them to accommodate their lives and values to those of fallen humanity, just as Satan demanded homage from the Son of Man as the price of political power. Acquiring and wielding the power of Caesar requires accepting the Devil as our overlord.

According to Satan, the political powers of this age “have been delivered to me and I give them to whomever I will.” Very strikingly, Jesus did not dispute the Devil’s claim. This exchange begins to explain why human governments so often exhibit beastly and even satanic behavior.

Nevertheless, imagine all the great good Jesus could do if he sat on Caesar’s Throne. Would righteousness not soon prevail across the Earth if the Messiah possessed Rome’s economic might? Who better to wield the power of Rome’s legions than the Prince of Peace?

THE SERVANT

Instead of Satan’s path, Jesus embraced the way of the Cross. In God’s Kingdom, victory is achieved through humble obedience and the denial of our “rights” when necessary. Christ’s domain is characterized by self-sacrificial service and acts of mercy rather than force, corruption, or violence. The greatest individuals in His Kingdom are those who become “servants and slaves of all,” like their Master who “gave his life a ransom for many” – (Mark 10:45).

Satan’s political intrigues did not end with the incident in the wilderness. Following his rebuff by the Son of God, the “Devil departed from him until an opportune time.” Jesus faced the same challenge again after miraculously feeding a multitude. Certain members of the crowd “were 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 that so many expected. The closer he came to Calvary, the more the fickle crowds rejected him and the kind of Kingdom proclaimed by him. Jesus of Nazareth chose the road to Calvary and death on the Cross rather than Caesar’s imperial throne.

Later, the representative of Rome inquired whether Jesus was “the king of the Jews.” He 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 own 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).

Christ did not claim that his kingdom was “spiritual” or otherworldly. The source of his sovereignty was not the kind of political power that characterizes this sinful world. The coming “Kingdom of God” was of an entirely different nature, and it had nothing to do with Rome or Caesar.

The Roman governor found no fault with 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.

The priestly leaders preferred a violent political revolutionary over the ‘Suffering Servant of Yahweh’, the same Messiah who “took on the form of a slave” and became “obedient unto death, even death on a cross.”

And thus, it remains today. We dislike the Jesus described in Scripture, so we create and proclaim a “different Jesus,” the ever-popular ‘Roaring Lion of Judah’ rather than the “slain Lamb,” a political operative rather than the humble Crucified Messiah. And that clever deceiver is coming soon, according to Scripture, namely, the “Man of Lawlessness, the Son of destruction,” the one who will seat himself firmly in the House of God – (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12).

Institutional Christianity has a long blood-stained history of mixing Church and State, and History provides multiple examples of the folly and criminality that result from this toxic mixture. Advancing the Gospel through the political system necessitates resorting to the coercive power of the State, something Jesus never did. By doing so, we repudiate all that he did and suffered for on the Imperial Cross – Love, mercy, self-sacrifice, forgiveness, reconciliation, righteousness, and justice.

The choice is whether to walk the cruciform path of Jesus or travel the smooth superhighway of Satan that ends in Rome, the power center of the Empire. In other words, Christ or Caesar, Golgotha or Rome. We must choose one or the other. There is no third option.

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SEE ALSO:

• His Unique Kingdom - (Jesus proclaimed a new and different political reality, the Kingdom of God, and it bears little resemblance to the governments of this world)

• Greatness in His Kingdom - (The submission of Jesus to an unjust death is the pattern of the love and service to others that his disciples are called to imitate)

• Christ ou César? - (Jésus a refusé le pouvoir politique de Rome lorsque Satan l'a offert. Alors, pourquoi insistons-nous pour chercher la chose même que notre Maître a rejetée?)

• Venerating Caesar - (The World Empire’s propagandists encourage men and women to give allegiance to and venerate Caesar, the Beast from the Sea)