Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
In Mark 12:17, Jesus proclaims that Christians have dual citizenship, earthly and heavenly: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Yesterday, we saw that due to man’s undeniable sin nature (Jeremiah 17:9) an external restraint is needed for a functional society. The Founding Fathers wisely dispersed government into three branches, based upon Isaiah 33:22: “For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; He will save us.” They also warned about the pernicious power of an unaccountable bureaucracy: for example, Thomas Jefferson said, “If a due participation of office is a matter of right, how are vacancies to be obtained? Those by death are few, by resignation none.” Even leftist Franklin Roosevelt warned about the threat of government unions. However, despite these dangers, Romans 13:1-7 outlines our obligations to government. We are to be obedient (verse 1 – “be subject”). Being a law-abiding citizen is a good testimony. We are to pay taxes (“tribute” – verses 6-7), although it is certainly appropriate to seek a much lower level of taxation. Lower taxes lead to less governmental tyranny, more good jobs, and general prosperity. We are also to pray for our leaders – good and bad: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (I Timothy 2:1-2). Our role as Christians is to make government as limited, effective, and morally good as possible.