One of the most important books that I read in seminary was titled The Politics of Jesus by John Howard Yoder. In it Yoder dismisses the traditional view that Jesus was totally a-political, that He took no interest in, nor interacted with, political matters. Yoder, in contrast, says that Jesus was very political, just not in the ordinary sense that we identify today.
We are experiencing the after-math of a very contentious political season. During the campaign, Christian after Christian got on social media to proclaim what Jesus’ politics were/are! After a while, it all kind of melted into a mess. Would Jesus vote Democrat? Or Republican? Or Third Party?
The truth is, Jesus’ politics are NOT partisan. In fact, in the Bible partisan politics are frowned upon. In the list of “works of the flesh” in Galatians 5:20, the Revised Standard Version lists, among others, “party spirit”. Originally, I thought “party spirit” was the “WooHoo, Let’s PARTEEE!” kind, but that was a miss-reading! The NRSV translates “factions.” A “party spirit” is aligning oneself so strongly with a “party” (or faction) that one dehumanizes those not in that party. Jesus’ politics were people-centered; He cared about transforming the hearts of people, not so much transforming the policies of Rome. Because He knew that, regardless of the political policies of Rome, if you transform hearts of people, the world changes for the better.
Jesus’ politics were about transformation at the level of human relationships. Salvation is not a matter of politics, but saved people will make political decisions that help others (in theory, at least!). For Jesus, the state is not the primary vehicle for social transformation: people are. This doesn’t mean that we necessarily only vote for Christians, because some Christians are wrong in their thinking, but that we vote for those who will clear the way for the Gospel to go forth unimpeded.
Consequently, now that the election is over, we need to love people even more. Demonizing others because of their political stance is not Christian. Sometimes it is better to not say anything and just pray for people. That’s the tact I am taking (for the most part). I invite you to join me.
Blessings,
Pastor Glen