| What kind of kingdom is this? |
Jesus was right in the thick of political/religious controversies that were in many ways more complex and difficult than our own.
On my recent study tour of Israel Dr. Hal Ronning explained five dimensions of political and religious controversy in Jesus' day. They sounded eerily similar to our own:
1. Herodians. The family of Herod and its followers were Jews who had assimilated with Rome to the point that they had lost all religious distinction. They presented themselves to their "constituents" as godly individuals, but they were in fact pure power brokers who engaged in scandalous behavior.
2. Sadducees. The Sadducees were the priestly elite, the spiritual celebrities of their day--widely recognized and highly regarded by those who worshiped fame. The Sadducees stayed quiet about politics because "taking sides" would jeopardize their wealth and status.
3. Essenes. The Essenes completely isolated themselves from society. They saw themselves as "sons of light" and created their own communities to help protect themselves against contact with the "sons of darkness"--their term for those who did not utterly reject the surrounding culture.
4. Zealots. Zealots resented everything about Rome's rule and dedicated themselves to overthrowing it. They believed that obedience to God required rebellion against all secular authority. Anyone who didn't express this rebellious attitude toward Rome was held in contempt.
5. Pharisees. The Pharisees comparmentalized. They believed that politics was marginal to life, and only got involved to express their anger when politicians did something blasphemous. Most of the time their focus was on adhering to a complicated system of religious practices based on traditions that seemed righteous.
Do you recognize any of these tendencies at work today?
What was Jesus' view?
At one time or another in his ministry, Jesus was confronted by all five of these groups. People asked tricky questions to see if he would publicly identify with one group or another.
Jesus chose "none of the above." He called his followers to be IN the world but not OF the world. But is this even possible?
Aside from the power of the Holy Spirit, folks will always end up compromising, isolating themselves, or developing a rebellious spirit.
But with the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus' disciples were able to:
- Disciple a Roman centurion
- Explain the gospel to high-level political authorities
- Preach to religious leaders
- Reason with pagans and skeptics
- See both Jews and pagans come to faith by the thousands
- Spread the gospel to the ends of the earth
In the power of the Holy Spirit God's people are content to have influence in humble circles as well as in circles of power. They are able to minister to speak the truth even when it unpopular, and they render to Caesar what was Caesar's and to God what was God's.
Maybe that's why Augustine said that the citizens of the kingdom of heaven always make the best citizens in the kingdom of man.
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A quick update...Wolfgang Seibler, my daughter Emma and I are in South Africa and will arrive back in the States on July 20. God has been working mightily through our project here. 