Would Jesus Participate in Politics?

Introduction

“Would Jesus participate in politics?” This has been a common question posed among followers of Jesus Christ since he was asked about paying taxes to Caesar. It came across my Facebook feed a few weeks ago, so I thought I’d take some time to prepare a careful answer. Some Christians believe that a theocracy should be established on earth, while some other Christians believe that we should not have anything to do with politics. The rest of us believe that the correct position falls somewhere in the middle, and we struggle to find where. While I do not claim to know exactly where the correct balance is located, I do want to offer some observations and reflections that may help us identify an acceptable range of options.

Foundations of Politics

Politics usually focus on laws- laws that are legislated because the legislators believe the moral duties that they reflect are objectively true and that those governed by the laws are morally responsible beings. Without objective morality, laws have no objective foundation; this results in “might makes right” as the ultimate governing principle of morality. Under that principle, whoever has the most power, whoever has the loudest voice, and/or whoever has the most money makes the laws. Without the Image of God, man is not a morally responsible being thus is not morally responsible for keeping the moral duty of obedience to the laws (given that the laws in place do not violate objective morality). That means that even if “might makes right,” without the Image of God, humans have no moral duty to obey the laws. Without objective morality and the Image of God, laws are pointless beyond the sophomoric desire to control everyone and everything.

Scripture reveals much about morality (including its objective nature, grounded in God’s eternal nature) and human beings’ intrinsic value and moral responsibility (being created in the Image of God). The Bible very much has a lot to say about morality and ethics, thus it has a lot to say about politics. Jesus is God (as the second person of the Trinity), and since we are created in God’s Image, our moral responsibility to obey laws is grounded in God. It is only if morality is objective and man is created in God’s image that politics is logically inseparable from Christianity. Since Christianity is true, both of those conditions are met, thus politics and Christianity cannot be separated from one another. Because they are inseparable, we are not permitted to live a political life uninformed by the reality of Christianity.

Jesus and Politics

Now, while this is true, we have to remember two things about Jesus: First, He did not come to abolish The Law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17), and second, His ultimate Kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). The tension between these two must be recognized and accounted for in our political lives. While we do not necessarily need to concern ourselves overly with the politics of earthly kingdoms, we do need to be concerned enough to protect the lives of God’s Image bearers by promoting the legislation and enforcement of laws designed to do so. By protecting God’s Image bearers, we give them more time to hear and accept Jesus’ sacrifice for them on the Cross and for them to become a member of the future Kingdom that is “not of this world” (Matthew 28:19). So, since our view of the future Kingdom informs our interaction with and effects on earthly kingdoms, we keep both truths of Christ in mind and in practice.