Jesus Elected Not to Get Political

So here we are in our election season again.  I've already written once in this blog discussing a couple of reasons why people should vote "No" on the Minnesota Marriage Amendment.  But I continue to see some Christians arguing that we are called to oppose sin, and since they think it's a sin for same-sex couples to engage in, well, same-sex sex, they have decided that same-sex marriage must be opposed.  And they believe this is something Christ would want them to do.  The Catholic Archbishop vocally opposes it, as do other church leaders.

So I thought I would point something out.  Something which these Christians seem to have forgotten.

Jesus, given the opportunity to get involved in politics, elected to stay out of them.  I'll give four examples.   Any Christian who thinks I am "cherry picking" is welcome to reply with counter-examples.

Example 1: Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar

The single clearest example of this appears in all three of the synoptic gospels and is familiar to people who, you know, go to church and listen.

Matthew 22:15-22, Mark 12:13-17 & Luke 20:20-26 each recount the story of some of Jesus' opponents trying to get him into a political argument.  Jesus, of course, recognized that they were trying to trap him -- trying to get him to say something which could get him in trouble with either the political leaders, or the religious leaders, or both.  He turned the tables on them, and according to Luke's account "they became silent."  

Jesus, example to us all, had a chance to insert himself into a political discussion and did not.

Even his opponents became silent. 

Were there other times when politics came up in the Gospels.  Yes, though a little more obliquely.

Example 2: Jesus Walks Away from Kingship

In John's telling of the Feeding of the Five Thousand (John 6:1-15), at the very end of the story is verse 15:

¹⁵ Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

Jesus, example to us all, had a chance to let the people put him in a political position, and chose not to. 

Example 3: Face-to-Face with the Political Leaders

When Jesus was brought before Pilate, Jesus was given the chance to declare himself King.  (Matthew 27:11-14, Mark 15:1-5, Luke 23:1-3 and John 18:28-40)  In three of these accounts, he simply refused to say he was a king, and in the fourth, made it clear that his kingdom was not a political, earthly kingdom.

Could Jesus, at that point, have gotten himself involved in politics.  Of course.  Did he?  Of course not.  All Christians have heard this story throughout their lives.

Example 4: Never A Political Messiah

This example is something which comes from an understanding of all of the Gospels, and what they say, and what we know or believe about what the Jewish people of the time expected from a Messiah.  Many, perhaps most, of the Jewish people expected the Messiah to be a political King, as David was.  For this reason, the disciples were often confused about what to expect from Jesus.

But Jesus, God-made-flesh, God with us, never intended Himself to be a political figure. 

Could he have been one?  Absolutely.  If you are a believer and you believe in the power of Christ, you'd know: if He had wanted to be political, He would have been.  If those stories are right, the people wanted him to be political, but he chose not to be.

Summary:  There is no evidence that Jesus, the example for our behavior, thought political power was something to be grasped.  And he never gave his disciples any indication that they should strive for it either.  When he was specifically given the chance to influence politics, he chose not to.

I know the history of "evangelical politics" in the past 30 years or so has convinced many people otherwise, but as a Christian, I believe we are not called to impose our beliefs on others.  We are not called to force non-Christians to behave as we believe we should.  I believe that Christ's example in this area is clear.


If you are a Christian, and you favor same-sex marriage, you should vote "No" on the amendment.  But even more importantly, if you are Christian and you oppose same-sex marriage, you should still vote "No" on the amendment.  There is simply no biblical support for the proposition that Jesus would have wanted to get involved in this.