Political principles and ideas in the Gospels
Part 1 of a Political Narrative of the New Testament
Introduction
Without any question the central message of the New Testament was the death of Jesus on the cross so that individuals may be saved from their sins. Salvation gave a new start in a person’s life and the natural result would be outward transformation not only in their personal life but in the world around them. This transformation was to be comprehensive of every sphere, including politics and government. This was the basic idea in the central message of Christ: the good news of the Kingdom. Kingdom was mentioned countless times in the Gospels, whereas church was only mentioned twice. The church was to be the agency for the kingdom to come, but it was not to be the goal. Unfortunately, many pastors and most believers today read the Bible through a lens reducing everything to church and individual needs. The result is that they do not see the political ideas of the Bible as important and often interpret those passages in a pietistic or religious way. In this series of blog posts I will try to look at the political principles and ideas of the New Testament for their own value. I hope to publish a Bible commentary with this focus in the future that will be more technical and cross-referenced than I will do in these posts. A primary tool will be to paraphrase certain terms by how it was understood at the time. For example: the word church had no religious meaning at the time; it simply was understood as a citizen assembly. To them kingdom was equivalent of saying the government (because every nation had kings). So when presenting a verse of scripture, I will insert the paraphrased idea to help us see the primary message that was intended.
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The Government of God
When Jesus began His ministry, one of His first acts was a public protest in the Temple [John 2], turning over tables and cracking a whip in opposition to the corruption. His central message emerged soon after: “He….began to proclaim…, "the kingdom of heaven is at hand...[and] went about… proclaiming the good news of the kingdom" [Mt 4]. To them kingdom meant government and heaven meant supreme or highest.
For sake of space I will henceforth give a paraphrased scripture with these ideas inserted without further explanation. I will simply state that he proclaimed “the supreme government is at hand” and “the good news of the government [of God]” that was coming. Indeed, many people chafed under bad human governments and so multitudes thronged to hear more of a higher and better government. People did not hear this message as only a future or an internal spiritual government.
Also in Christ’s messages were mentions of “liberty” [Lk 4] and "justice to the Gentiles...." [Mt 12]. These terms need no redefinition. Jesus did not limit this to only inward freedom or justice only for Israel, but for all nations.
In Matt 5-6 Jesus said "‘…whoever does and teaches...the commandments...shall be called great in the supreme government...” He then quotes a few: “'You shall not murder,...commit adultery ...[nor] swear falsely...[etc].” The commandments referred to the preamble of their nation’s constitutional law code in Exodus 20. The Ten Commandments were a summary of transcendent political priorities of Israel’s national government.
In Matt 5-6 Jesus also spoke of their requirement that rulers must evenly apply penalties: ‘An eye for an eye’ [Ex 21]...and for all citizens to 'love your neighbor [Lev 19].’” He urged all to “Seek first the government of God...” and to...pray: ‘Your government come on earth...’’”
The Agents of God’s Government
Jesus then chooses (elects) twelve apostles (emissaries) to “‘...go and proclaim the supreme government of God” but especially teaches them what to do when government leaders violate their rights to preach. He said “....When they (deliver you up to councils,...governors and Heads of State and) persecute you in this city...flee [Lk 9; Mt 10].’” To flee meant to resist that authority by separating from its jurisdiction. After that in Luke 10 “[He] elected seventy others....[saying to do the same] ‘[And] whatever city... [government abuses] you, go out into its streets and say, '...we wipe off [i.e. protest] against you....’”
Public protest and flight were tactics, not for religious salvation, but for resisting and changing bad government on earth. These are political ideas of value in their own right. Because this exhortation was so welcome to the masses, soon after this we hear that some “were about to come and take Him by force to make Him Head of State, [so] He departed [Jn 6].” He wanted them to peacefully resist tyranny themselves but they wanted Him to lead a coup. They wrongly thought He would support an external revolution and wanted to be king, so He separated from them. But Peter then proclaimed Jesus was the Christ in Matt 16 which to people at that time meant one anointed or endorsed to rule. That is how messiah was understood by the masses. It did not mean only a religious leader. Jesus never denied this messianic identity for Himself but did not want it to spread publicly.
Instead of a coup or external revolution, Jesus explains how His government will come by using a Greek term often translated “church” but which at that time was clearly understood as a gathering of citizens in a council for solving social and political issues in a community. The historic Greek ekklesia gave to each member a vote. In Matt 16 Jesus clarified His strategy for transformation of society: “‘...I will build My citizen assembly…” This is the real meaning of ‘church’ and is our paraphrase henceforth. The political expression of God’s kingdom would not come from a coup or immediately changing who is at top of human governments, rather it would come from the bottom up through active citizen councils representing Christ’s values and principles.
Jesus then asserts the outcome: “…and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” The word ‘gates’ were symbolic of the government center in their cities [Dt 21:19] where legal processes occurred. Jesus adds that “I will give you the keys of the supreme government...’” and that “...[In] the citizen assembly...whatever you bind…or loose [prohibit or permit] on earth will be [also] in the highest realm...[Mt 18].” In other words, the citizen councils working in earthly matters will have real authority from God, not just human. But this is not just a church or prayer meeting that we think of today. It was a promise to Christians who meet together intentionally to discuss and decide on relevant social initiatives for their cities and nations.
Transcendent Political Priorities
Now we come to some of the most controversial and ignored teachings of Jesus. What is the standard for decisions in the citizen councils? Jesus affirmed Moses’ law in Mark 7 "'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death [Ex 21:17].’" This verse is troublesome to modern Christians and scary to non-Christians. Jesus never refutes the laws and penalties of Israel, but the modern lack of understanding and context causes some people to react negatively.
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