The Politics of Jesus Trumps Everything Else

Last night, the Republican Party wrapped up their three-day convention in Milwaukee with the official nomination of Donald Trump as their party candidate for US President. Next month, the Democrats will gather in Chicago to do the same thing for (presumably) Joe Biden. On the final evening of both the democratic and republican conventions, each party's nominee delivers the closing speech.

In their speeches, Donald Trump and Joe Biden each lay out their party's platform, essentially trying to elaborate on this simple premise: if I'm elected President, this is the kind of government I will have.  In the process, the nominees should provide some clarity on the issues important to voters including the economy, the environment, social justice, national security, and immigration.

The Politics of Jesus Trumps Everything Else

Despite the fact that some might argue otherwise, I believe that Jesus was a political figure. Not so much in the sense of the modern-day politician who seeks office for power or personal gain. But Jesus was clearly concerned with politics… just not our politics.

As pastor and author Brian Zahnd writes,

“It's a misnomer to assert that Jesus wasn't political.  The kingdom Jesus proclaimed had profound political consequences.  Jesus challenged the politics of Caesar and Herod.  Jesus challenged the politics of Roman imperialism and the politics of Jewish nationalism.  He did so with his own politics – the politics of love, which define the kingdom of God.  To think that Jesus was somehow not political is to ignore the fact that Jesus was executed by the state for political reasons.”

At the advent of his three-year campaign, Jesus delivered his own convention speech. In the early days of his ministry, Jesus went up on the hillside along the sea of Galilee and delivered what theologians call his Sermon on the Mount.  This speech, recorded in Matthew 5-7, outlines Jesus' platform. The kingdom of God is nothing less than God's alternative government, or put simply, God's politics. And from the beginning, Jesus tells us exactly what it will look like.

He begins with eight statements of blessing – The Beatitudes – in which he clarifies who will be most blessed by the arrival of this new form of government in which God is King.

We see in these eight blessings that Jesus is drawn to the poor and the sorrowful and that he stands up for the meek and the persecuted.  We see that Jesus exhibits justice and mercy, and that he endorses purity and peace-making.  These are the benchmarks of his party platform.  And they are simply not compatible with either of today's political parties.  

Jesus cared about the poor and the orphan and the widow.  He was concerned for the rich, the sinner, and the outcast. He wasn't simply pro-life the way many Christians want to be today, championing the rights of the unborn while neglecting the genuine needs of the living. Jesus was pro-humanity and he went to the cross to prove it.

Jesus said things like “love your enemies” and “turn the other cheek” and “pray for those who persecute you.”

Yet, our politics encourage us to bomb our enemies and to be swift in our vengeance. But when our politics' only solution to the violence in the world is simply more violence, we are not inviting the kingdom of God, we are creating hell on earth.

When modeling our care for the less-fortunate, Jesus said “when you do it to the least of these, you do it to me.” Yet our politics tell us that the poor are undeserving of charity and we're instructed to reject the refugees in need because it could put our own personal security at risk.

The politics of Jesus remind us not to worry about our financial security or our national security, but to take hope in our eternal security.

Writing for The American Vision, Trevarius Tutt argues that every nation is a theocracy.  

“The truth is every nation has a “god.” Even a nation that claims to have “freedom of religion” has adopted some “god” or “gods,” and that nation will rule based upon the supremacy of that “god.” You cannot separate the laws of a land from their god. For some secularists of all sorts, the god may be the Constitution, the “law of the land,” “we the people,” “democracy,” nine robed bandits on the Supreme Court, and many other sources. For conservatives and liberals alike, god is ultimately the State: for them whatever the government says goes, and they want to be in control of it.”

I don't want to be like so many clamoring for a king to provide for my wants and needs. I don't want to elevate any form of man-made government as a deity that contradicts the edicts of Jesus. I want to see heaven on earth.

I don't want to be a Republican, Democrat, Progressive, Liberal, Conservative, or Evangelical. I'm tired of political labels. I want to be simply a follower of Jesus, campaigning for his politics of love and the kingdom of heaven on earth.

The hope of our nation is not in the elected. It's in the elect. It needs the church to live and love and lead like Jesus. To make his life and teachings the party platform that we rally behind.

We won't be saved by a donkey or an elephant so let us pledge our allegiance to the Lamb.