Elections and Faith

As we approach voting time, many people will vote according to their faith.  Who knows - some may even vote according to their resistance to any faith.  There's a perception (justified or not) that religious people, especially Evangelical Christians  tend to vote for the republican ticket. Seems like a good time to see what Jesus had to say about the government in His time.   Before looking at what Jesus said, let's look at a little history of the period. The Romans took control of Jerusalem in 63 BC.  starting with that, we have a number of significant events:

Normal Labor rate	$ 45.00
If you watch us	$ 55.00
If you give us advice	$ 65.00
If you help or assist us	$ 85.00
If you worked on it before	$105.00

  So - it's against this backdrop that we take a look at the three years of Jesus' ministry on earth, and what the political climate was at that time. What they wanted:  From the Nelson Study Bible, we see what was desired for in their Messiah (or deliverer of the Jewish people):

In the first century, the Jews looked for a Messiah who would deliver the nation from Roman domination, become their King, and rebuild the nation of Israel to its former glory. By looking for a military deliverer and a political Messiah, the Jews minimized the messianic roles of prophet and priest. Thus many Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah because He came as a humble spiritual Savior and not a conquering political ruler.

Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version (Mt 26:54). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

But - what they got:

Jesus indicated that He was the King for whom the Jews were looking. However, His kingdom was not an earthly kingdom but a heavenly kingdom.

Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version (Mt 26:54). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

Oops.  Not quite a match.  Actually - not even close. But it was even worse than that, at least from the point of view of the Jewish leaders.  Witness this exchange between Jesus and the Jewish leaders from Matthew 22:15-21 -

Paying Taxes to Caesar

Mt 22:15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”