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\n\n I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people\u2014for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. <\/i> \u2013 1 Timothy 2:1-4\n<\/p>\n
It feels like there is a mounting pressure these days to pick a side. The dynamic many have seen acted out in countries around the world was highlighted this past week for those of us who live in the United States. Angry citizens flooded the US Capitol building because they believed that the recent presidential election should be overturned. In many of their eyes this was one more obvious sign that the country is falling to dangerous forces. Those on the other side perhaps see it as the desperate throes of those who have only ever known caste superiority, but feel it slipping away and are willing to fight to keep their historic advantages. That battle has been set.<\/p>\n
The pressure to pick a side and clearly show whether you are a good person or an evil person in the estimation of those judging can be intense. Even as I was asked to write this article, I felt the burden of the response of picking a side in this battle. Will it be the right side or the left side? Which should we as Christians support? Does it not seem obvious at this point? But if we take a side, what of those among our fellowship that are on the other side? Should it be a matter of \u201cgoodbye and good riddance?\u201d If we don\u2019t take a side, is that cowardice which will send a strong signal to many that enough is enough, and they no longer have a place in our midst? <\/p>\n
What is clear is that sitting on the fence is just not going to do it. We can\u2019t sit on the fence. Which is it going to be? Whatever the choice, we can no longer afford for anyone to simply withdraw and refuse to pick a side. Were the people who took over the Capitol (or those who sympathized with their concerns if not their methods) wrong, or were they right? <\/p>\n
It comes down to matters of identity and reflection. In other words, as followers of Jesus, what is our purpose in the world? Is there any way to know what Jesus might have us do in this and similar situations? <\/p>\n\n
\n Jesus was faced with a similar challenge to pick a side in Matthew 22:15-22<\/a>. First century Israel was a hotbed of political dissidence and passion. For those living there, the most pressing political argument of the day was whether Rome was a blessing to be grateful for, or a curse to be thrown off. On one extreme were those who believed that Rome was good at some level, or at least that there was no point in trying to fight their power. They accepted or even celebrated that Rome was a force for peace, stability, and prosperity in the world. Rome had not invaded Israel; they had been invited decades before. And God was using the emperor, albeit an imperfect man, to bring such blessing and to further God\u2019s agenda. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n On the other extreme were the Zealots who believed that Rome was another example of the naked power of empire. They were God\u2019s righteous people who were being oppressed and marginalized and they were not going to take it anymore. This evil must be done away with now. Anyone who supported Rome in any way, like the tax collectors, were a traitor to their people and pure evil. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n So, imagine the challenge for Jesus to answer the loaded question, \u201cIs it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?\u201d This question was designed to trap Jesus. It would force him out into the open. Pick a side, Jesus. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n If he said \u201cyes,\u201d then he had endorsed the power of Rome. He would have turned his back on the oppressed in favor of economic prosperity, military protection, and comfortable stability. The might of empire would have won. Many would have seen that Jesus was no different than many other powerful people of the day and would have walked away disillusioned. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n But if he said \u201cno,” he would have stood up to the bully and called out their naked power. That would have shown him to be treasonous to Rome and subjected to all the risk that came with that. But he also would have been offering solutions that were no different than so many who were fed up and angry. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n Presumably standing with Jesus at that moment were two of his disciples, Matthew the tax collector and Simon the Zealot. Can you imagine their responses to whatever Jesus might answer? Say \u201cyes,\u201d and you risk losing Simon. Say \u201cno,\u201d and you risk losing Matthew. But the time had come. Pick a side, Jesus. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n It should not be that surprising that Jesus did not just say \u201cyes.\u201d It might be a little more surprising that he did not say \u201cno\u201d either. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n Instead, he appealed to the ancient Jewish scriptural theme of God\u2019s image (<\/span>\n Genesis 1:26-27<\/a>\n ). The ancient world believed that every divine being had image bearers. Divine beings were represented by these image bearers in the physical realm. That image reflected the nature, presence, and will of the god into the world so that people would know what the god was all about and could give them proper worship and honor. For most gods, this was a statue that would be placed in the temple or shrine of the area which they were believed to rule over. Genesis flips the script, though. The creator God does not need a shrine or temple, the whole cosmos is his temple. And his image bearers are human beings. We are to be the reflection of his nature, presence, will, and sacrificial love into the world. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n So, what did Jesus mean when he requested a coin used to pay the tax and asked, \u201cWhose image is this?\u201d and said, \u201cGive back to Caesar what is Caesar\u2019s, and to God what is God\u2019s\u201d? <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n Before we get to that, I don\u2019t believe that Jesus was worried at all that he would lose Simon or Matthew with whichever side he chose. I don\u2019t believe that the gospel writers denote that Simon was a Zealot or Matthew was a tax collector to demonstrate their political leanings as disciples. They use those descriptors to show what these men used to believe before giving their allegiance to Jesus and his kingdom. And he had invested much time in teaching them that the kingdom had not arrived to show which side was right but to offer them a truly alternative way of living. He spent much time in his ministry exposing and critiquing the way of power and empire, even refusing to become emperor of the world when Satan tried to offer it to him (<\/span>\n Matthew 4:8-10<\/a>\n ) and when the people wanted to make him an earthly king (<\/span>\n John 6:15<\/a>\n \n ). The writers of the New Testament go to great lengths to depict Jesus as a rival to Caesar, and the kingdom as the true answer for the problems of the world (e.g. Luke 2:1-14<\/a>). <\/span>\n <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n But he also spent a great deal of time warning Israel against their prevailing desire to throw off the oppression of Rome (e.g. Luke 14:31-33<\/a>). They wanted a Messiah who would lead them in a violent revolution against their oppressors. They had been subjugated and humiliated long enough and they knew that God takes the side of the marginalized, so surely, they would be in the right. But that path would end in national disaster and Jesus knew it. The rage and pain of the oppressed does not always make their responses effective or right. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n\n A Shocking Response <\/span>\n<\/h2>\n
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