Religion, sex, and politics can be divisive issues. Jesus was asked questions about all of these
topics. The key political question is
found in three of the four gospels: “Is it right to
pay the imperial tax to Caesar or
not?” Like headline hungry reporters at
a press conference, those who posed the question were looking for a “sound bite”
that would be like raw meat thrown to the lions. They wanted something that would rile either
the Roman rulers or the faithful of Israel.
Whatever Jesus said, they would attempt to “spin it” in such as a way
that Jesus would find himself in trouble.
With some impatience, Jesus asked for a coin and replied:
[A]nd he asked
them, “Whose image is this? And
whose inscription?” Caesar’s,”
they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is
Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Matthew
22:20-21, NIV)
There is much that could be said about this response but one implication
is the status of the believer as a citizen of two kingdoms. First, there is the temporal government that
makes demands and (hopefully) provides benefits for its citizens. We are too prone to impose a 21st
century American mindset on this situation.
The people of Palestine did not vote for their leaders. They were not part of a democracy. They paid taxes and, in return, found some
stability and order under Roman rule.
They were a conquered people who were making the best of a bad
situation.
Those of us who live in the United States of America have a very
different situation. We not only expect
something from our taxes, we demand it!
When we don’t get what we want, we protest, organize, and vote. This is does not mean that we will get what
we desire, but we jealousy guard the right of dissent even when we might find
it abused on some fronts. This is a citizenship that we cannot take
lightly. There are many who would take
advantage of the openness and tolerance of our nation. There are also many who take its benefits for
granted.
On the other hand, Christians are citizens of the Kingdom of God which
began to be manifested in this world with the coming of the Messiah. Exactly what this means has led to conflict
and bloodshed through the centuries.
Some have interpreted this to mean that the government should be
subservient to the church, but too often political leaders have found ways to
manipulate religious power for their own ends.
Many bloody wars have been fought by temporal leaders in the name of
religion but for their own benefit.
Many of those who came to the North America in the 1600s were trying to
escape some of that conflict but too often they sought to unite the temporal
and the spiritual for their own ends. In
the 1700s and 1800s, some religious groups including Baptists took a stand for
a new approach—a free church in a free state.
This was not an easy concept for many to accept then and many still
bridle at the idea, attempting to rewrite history for their own personal and
political ends.
Believers today are left with the tension of having dual
citizenship. Sometimes this may create a
crisis of conscience for an individual.
It may even bring a person of strong conviction in conflict with the law
of the land. In such situations, we turn
back to the words of Jesus. What belongs
to God and what belongs to Caesar? The
answer is not always as clear as some would like for it to be.
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