POLITICS AND RELIGION #2

It is very clear that Jesus was not interested in the kind of philosophy and theology that mixed religion and politics. Conservative Christian is not our position. Kingdom is our position and was the position of Jesus. The two mixed in culture or politics do not always match. This happened in the days of Jesus as well. Up until the very end his disciples were asking, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts of the Apostles 1:6) The early followers wanted an earthly king and a king like David. Jesus spent his entire time on earth trying to explain his Spiritual Kingdom and his Father. This explanation included the idea of not confusing politics and religion. Trying to defuse this thinking Jesus said, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.” He downplayed the role of king but also wanted to fulfill prophecy (Isaiah 62:11, Zechariah 9:9).

Even before Jesus was arrested his disciples were pressing him: “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” (John 6:15) But Pilate had no interest in Jesus as a lawbreaker or politician. However, the religious Jews did: “From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”

We cannot solve spiritual problems and issues in a political court or arena with political answers…still can’t.

“My kingdom is not of the world.” Jesus