The Empire Strikes Back ep1: God and Government
As the religious leaders respond to Jesus’ words of judgement in chapter 21 & the start of chapter 22, they realise that His popularity with the masses prevents them from acting openly. They devise several strategies to turn people against Him – the old “divide and conquer” techniqe!
Matthew 22:15-22 tells the story about how two political groups that normally did not get along with each other join forces to take Jesus down. They use a classic trap, seeking to get Jesus to get involved in a contentious political issue – taxation! His response will make him unpopular either with the masses or the Roman occupiers and their cronies. Either outcome will be a win for them!
As Jesus evades their trap He shows us once again how amazing He is, and He gives us a brilliant example of how to follow Him in civil matters. As we look at how some church leaders have related to political leaders such as Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump we recall Jesus’ reminder of where our true allegiance lies and how that shapes both our participation in politics and our day-to-day life choices.
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