Caesar or Christ?
[For newsletter: I noticed that many of my acquaintances and Facebook friends were dismayed by the outcome of the Presidential election. For this reason I decided to put the Last Word near the front, so that anyone who decided not to read it would have to make a deliberate decision. Be not afraid — it will return to its place of obscurity next time.]
Let me say first of all that I did not vote. This does not mean I did not have opinions — strong opinions — about the matter. But perhaps more than any time in recent memory, this election posed a question to me: Caesar or Christ? (Note that I use a common metaphor here: Caesar represents worldly government.)
Let me put my best foot forward.
The fundamental distinction between Caesar and Christ is as follows:
Caesar wants you to serve him, even to death.
Christ came to serve us, even to death.
So, for example, when someone asks if you have “served your country,” he means “Have you risked your life in the military to support the foreign policy of the government, a foreign policy you probably don’t understand and may not agree with even if you did understand it?”
By contrast we are told that “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
Second,
Caesar rules by lies and murder.
Christ rules by truth and life.
A line was crossed (IMHO) when President Obama’s administration claimed that the President had the power to execute American citizens without trial. An article discussing this can be found at the following link: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/feb/05/obama-kill-list-doj-memo
I won’t go into detail about it, but just note that the claim has been made. I will also point out that one sociologist has made a study of “democide” — the killing by a government of its own people — and concluded that the number of people killed by the governments of the world in the 20th century far outnumbered those killed in all the wars of the 20th century. See the following link:
https://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/20TH.HTM
From this one would conclude that Caesar sees his main enemies to be his own people.
As far as lies go, recently both Wikileaks and Edward Snowden have shed light on the disingenuous way that our governments govern. This is nothing new. What is new is the way that technology has, at least temporarily, given a leg up to those who would follow Ephesians 5:11.
We know that Jesus claimed to be the truth, and said that anyone who followed the truth would hear his voice. In reply Caesar’s representative asked, “What is truth?”
And we observe that Christ, faced with the prospect of a gristly death, said, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” And yet not only did he not do that, but rather he forgave even the soldiers who “served their country” by nailing an innocent man — who was also “a son of God” — to the cross.
Third,
Caesar makes you his slave.
Christ sets you free, even makes you reign.
This well known passage in 1 Samuel 8 gives the warning God gave regarding Caesar. It ends saying, “And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.”
The primary relationship between Caesar and his people is that of master to servant. In the US we try to mask this by calling our governing class “public servants.” But they were on to that one a long time ago:
And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over
them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors.”
– Luke 22:25
The way you can tell a servant from a master is to ask who has to do what the other says. We may be able to vote people out of office, but while they are in office they do indeed “exercise lordship” over us.
Notice that Christ is all about freedom. There are many examples of this. To mention a few:
“You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”
“For freedom Christ has set you free; stand firm, then, and do not be bound again in a yoke of slavery.”
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”
Even more than simple freedom we are made rulers:
“… much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.”
“If we endure, we will also reign with him….”
“… you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
Finally, there is the following:
Caesar comes and goes.
Christ endures forever.
“Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away” (1 Corinthians 2:6).
For many people the election of Obama marked a new age in America. But in a short eight years there is — from what we can tell — a complete reversal of the Obama era in the offing. I can understand why people feel “jerked around” as the expression goes. But this is an inevitable thing. Mortals die, even if we turn them into demigods.
This is why it is foolish to trust in kings, rulers, presidents, prime ministers and party chairmen. They all pass away. They are all replaced — and who can say whether the one who follows will be worthy or a fool? (see Ecclesiastes 2:18-19)
Christ, on the other hand, abides forever. Nor does he “change policy.” His faithfulness endures forever — his mercies are new every morning. His kingdom will have no end. It a sure and abiding hope.
To summarize:
- Caesar demands service; Christ came to serve.
- Caesar rules by lies and murder; Christ rules by truth and love.
- Caesar makes you his slave; Christ sets you free and even makes you reign with him.
- Caesar passes away; Christ endures forever.
It’s your choice. Here’s one vote that will count! Choose wisely!
While we’re at it, let’s listen as Lionel Richie and the Commodores preach a little Gospel. (Try to listen to the whole thing — “preaching” at the end!)