Eagerly Awaiting Our Savior
“The problem with you, Americans, is that you believe your politicians are your saviors.”
My Australian associate pastor, Dave, was not known for his tact. When he made this statement during a sermon in 2012, he got some people’s attention. Not long after Dave preached, Sherri and I had dinner with a Special Forces General and his wife, who had become good friends. She commented on Dave’s remarks and mentioned that what he said really caused her to stop and think.
That’s something every serious disciple of Jesus should be doing in these days. Stopping and thinking.
One of the most misquoted and misunderstood sayings of Jesus was his response to the parties of the Pharisees and Herodians (who, by the way, could not stand each other but hated Jesus even more.) when they asked him about paying taxes to Caesar. If Jesus wanted to convince people that he truly was the promised Messiah, there was no way (so they thought) that he could ignore his inevitable confrontation with Caesar.
But, as Jesus often told these religious, political animals — and they were very political, wielding great power. Consider the pressure they put on Governor Pilate to have Jesus crucified. — you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.1
They understood God’s promised Messiah as a political and military leader who would set them free from Rome and set up a new world empire with Jerusalem as its capital. But from the outset of his ministry, Jesus declared, Repent (literally, “change your way of thinking) for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”2 Not the Kingdom of Israel, the Kingdom of Heaven. Of course, the problem was that Jewish nationalism equated the Kingdom of Israel with the Kingdom of Heaven.
And so, the question which these misguided religious leaders were certain to trap Jesus turned out to expose their misplaced understanding of God’s promised Savior. Messiah did not come to take the reins of power and change the political situation in Israel. No, to quote the words of the Apostle Paul, he came to deliver us from this present evil age.3
And these guys were deeply immersed and living in this present evil age. Their theology of a powerful political Messiah demonstrated this reality.
Show me a coin, Jesus said. Whose image is on this coin?
Uhhh, Caesar’s image, they replied.
Right! So, give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God4.
Jesus was not setting forth the principle of the separation of church and state. His point was, give to God what belongs to God. That these men were not doing that is obvious by their rejection and crucifixion of God’s promised Messiah.
He saved others, let him save himself, were their words as they stood beneath his cross, mocking him.5 They were looking to the wrong Savior. Placing their faith in an earthly deliverer rather than in one who would deliver them from the ways and thinking of a broken, fallen world.
I’ll be voting in North Carolina soon, but I won’t be voting a straight ticket. I’ll be the first to admit I’ve voted straight tickets in the past. But nowadays, I do my best to vote for the candidate that I believe will be best for our state and nation. And honestly, that’s not easy these days.
One thing I do know, and that is that I am not looking to any political candidate to be our Savior. None possess those qualifications.
Salvation is found in no one else, Peter declared to the crowds gathered in Jerusalem, speaking of Jesus. For there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.6
It’s time to reject this zeal and passionate allegiance we so readily give to our political leaders. Frankly, it borders on idolatry. At the very least, it is misplaced faith. And it’s tearing our nation apart.
Go. Vote. Support the candidate you believe is the best choice on the ballot. But don’t get caught up in the ways and thinking of this present evil age. Remember, we are first, and foremost, citizens of heaven from whom we eagerly await our Savior.7
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.8
In Christ,
Dan
Check out my podcasts from Church on the Edge and my books on Kindle.
You can listen to my weekly messages at Embrace Church, High Point.
Matthew 22:29.
Matthew 3:2.
Galatians 1:4.
Mark 12:14-17.
Luke 22:35.
Acts 4:12
Philippians 3:20.
Romans 12:18.