Tea Partiers and Tax Collectors

When I consider the makeup of the Twelve Apostles, I can't help but give a little chuckle. Most people don't keep the political background of the early 1st Century world in view, but I think it's very important to understand some of Jesus' teachings. 

Quick history lesson: Alexander the Great rose to power and then died, leaving the Hellenistic world split among four generals. Eventually Octavian (Caesar Augustus) would control Rome and thus the Holy Land. There were kings (Herod) and governors (Felix, Festus, Pilate) but everyone paid their taxes to Caesar and people were protected from the barbarians. Also, the Romans allowed local areas to have some autonomy (like the ruling of the Sanhedrin) but also required Roman soldiers to be stationed in the land. Tax collectors sold out to work for the government, the rest of the people hated the Romans and wanted to be free, they'd rebel, get crushed, Temple burned, Titus get's a triumph and then Crusades.

Now, what we don't usually hear about in Sunday School are the Zealots. The Zealots were like a modern day Tea Party. By that I mean that they wanted to end the Roman occupation by any means necessary. Edersheim writes that "their minds (were) busy with an ideal, which their hands were not yet preparing to make a reality". It may be likely that the two thieves crucified with Christ were Zealots. Getz writes in his book on the Apostles, "True Zealots never acknowledged the emperor as their master. To them Israel was a theocracy. The recognized the Lord God and Him only."

But it's interesting when we look at who is listed in the Twelve that makes something very interesting. We know Matthew was a tax collector for the Romans. He was seen as someone not only sympathetic to the government, but one who was gaining from Roman oppression of the Jews. What we also see though is Simon the Zealot. Simon, the man who hated Roman occupation, and Matthew, the man who grew rich by it. Both of them. Together. Under Christ. 

And now we move to today, and the political realm is more helter-skelter than we can handle. Each of us trying to convince the other that if Jesus was here now, he would run for "my party" and "condemn yours back to the lowest pits of Hell that it crawled from". Christian conservatives fight long and hard to "get America back" to the Christian roots of men like Washington, while ignoring the fact that two presidents later, the country voted in a guy who took all the miracles out of the Bible. They clamor about persecution, the so called liberal media bias, abortion, and gay marriage; all while never caring for the poor or the immigrant (James 2:14-16 & Duet 10:19) and questioning if people can really be both a Christian and a liberal. 

But therein lies a major problem. The Falwell's of America have so diluted the waters of what is a true Christian. They made us fight for political power, not Gospel effectiveness. We've turned the definition of Christian from "one who looks to Christ for his salvation and redemption" to "one who wants to create the same America I do." What that means is that if I disagree with say a law in Arizona allowing business owners to refuse business based on if I agree with them or not  I'm now "liberal" which is slowly becoming synonymous with "disagrees with me". I'm not a mature Christian because I can't stand when either side creates a straw man of the other's argument. No one wants to have a dialogue, we all just want to shout "WRONG!" Pastors are pleading politics from the pulpit, gutting the Gospel, and isolating individuals who don't identify with "my ideology. Once you become a Christian, you have to vote this way".

Anathema

I have political views. I'm not apolitical. I am a Christian libertarian. I believe God has ordained not just government, but individual leaders, to protect all citizens. I believe the Constitution governs the country and the Bible governs the church; Christ being sovereign of both the spiritual and civil kingdoms. I believe it is the Church's responsibility to resist evil through the proclamation of the Gospel that changes lives, not the passing of laws that force a Christian worldview. I believe that it is inconsistent to follow the Prince of Peace who refused a temporal crown, and to demand military intervention without cause. 

And you can disagree with me. 

You can disagree with me and still be a Christian. We can have different ideas about what policies work without excommunicating each other. Because God doesn't love the US more than any other country. Christ laid down His life for the Church, not the Constitution. Christians that are conservative, liberal, and even libertarian act as if we are members of a kingdom that is at risk, not One that "cannot be shaken" (Heb 12:28). Matthew and Simon both realized that Christ was about something far greater than either of their political ideologies. They realized that the Gospel goes beyond just salvation, but welcomes people from every nation, language, tribe, gender, and even ideologies to come and find peace in Christ alone.