Politics, power and Christ

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  • Опубліковано 3 жов 2024
  • When there are conflicts in the world, there is always politics involved. Take for example the war between Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine gains typically more sympathy and Russia is more or less the bad guy in the view of the western world. I visited Kiev a couple of times and regret that this is not possible anymore. But what is the truth now? How does the Bible speak? At one point Pilate is talking to Jesus, but Jesus does not answer him.
    “Then Pilate said to Him: Are you not speaking to me? Do you not know that I have power to crucify You and power to release you? Jesus answered: You would have no power at all against me unless it had been given from above.” John 19:10,11
    So the power one has, is given from above. God gives power to a person and God takes that power away. God does all those things. This understanding in itself gives fear of God. It changes your attitude towards politics. And also if you look at Paul's attitude, you can see that as well. Because Paul was a Jew. And Israel was occupied by the Romans. Paul writes:
    “Let everyone be subject to the higher powers: for there is no power but of God and the powers that are, are ordained of God.” Rom 13:1
    Paul was a Jew but he recognized the Roman empire as a power that was ordained by God.
    So in his mind a person thinks that he can do a lot of things. Choose people and have a lot of influence. But in reality it is God who appoints the rulers and authorities. What should your attitude be than to those authorities? What would Jesus do? What if Christ lived on the earth today and we would ask him about the war in Ukraine. How would he respond?
    The interesting thing is that there is a story in the Bible that speaks of a similar case. At a certain point the people came to Jesus and they told Him about an attack performed by Pilate. They were obviously curious about what Jesus would say about it. It is written:
    “There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them: Do you think that these Galilleans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way? No, I will tell you, but unless you repent you will all likewise perish “Luk 13:1,2
    So Christ said nothing at all about the incident itself. He said nothing about Pilate. He said nothing about the Romans, He said nothing about the occupation. Nothing at all. Instead, he starts talking about something else and brings back the topic to sin. And this shows that Christ always brings the questions back to the core of the matter. For His purpose is not to change the world. But his purpose is to free the people from this world and bring them to His Kingdom.
    And James writes: “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. “James 3:17
    The wisdom that is from above is full of peace and at the same time there is no partiality. That's the mind of Christ.
    Under the law this was different, it is written:
    “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute you. “Mat 5:44
    Under the law it is: hate your enemy and love your neighbor. This speaks of partiality. So on the one hand there is the enemy and on the other hand you had your friend. That has changed with the New Testament, because Jesus says: love your enemies. If you love your enemy and you love your friends, it is the same for you. So there is no partiality anymore. Just as Christ would treat people in the same way. Because souls are precious in the sight of God. See further video.
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