When Jesus sent out the disciples two by two to the different cities in Galilee, their work created enough of a stir that Herod wondered what was going on. Such religious ‘stirs’ will always come to the attention of the heads of state. Governments are suspicious of the emergence of new things over which they do not have complete authority. The state is defensive of its power and influence. It is reluctant to permit an independent authority to continue within its realm of power. Herod may have first heard of Jesus through his steward, Chuza. He was the husband of Joanna who ministered to Jesus (Luke 8:3). At this point in time, however, Herod didn’t need his steward to tell him anything. There was a bit of a commotion across a sizable portion of his realm. Herod desired to see Jesus (Luke 9:9), and probably not because he admired him (cp. Luke 13:31).
At about this same time Herod killed John the Baptist. This can be seen by comparing a few Scriptures. After John’s death his disciples took his body, buried it and then told Jesus (Matthew 14:12). Upon hearing of John’s death, Jesus went into a boat and departed to a desert place to be alone (Matthew 14:13). Many people followed him, which resulted in the feeding of the 5000 (Matthew 14:14-21. However, in Mark and Luke’s account the 5000 were fed immediately after the twelve returned from preaching in towns of Galilee (Mark 6:30-33, 44; Luke 9:10). Scripture shows that the two incidents belong together. Just as Herod (the state) silenced one authority over which he had no power, Another rises up, and the king desired to see him (Luke 9:9)!
In our western culture, today, heads of state don’t silence religious authority through execution. That seems to be a thing of the past. Nevertheless, efforts are often made to compromise the effectiveness of the work of God. This is done by politicizing Christianity. Often leaders will try to take advantage of the popularity of a Christian movement or ministry by entertaining and befriending its leader or prominent member in an effort to strengthen its own position. Once this is done, the public views the Christian objective of that ministry or movement in political terms, such as Republican or Democratic. It is no longer Jesus’ work; it is a political movement meant to improve the political state of this world at the expense of another political ideology.
We are not **of** this world. Neither is Jesus its King. This world cannot advance the Gospel of Christ, and we dare not seek to strengthen the world’s power through our alliance with any part of it. This is not the way of God. It never was in the past, and it should be clear today that the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world can never be united.
I believe in the separation of church and state. I don’t mean to imply a Christian cannot serve the state, but the cause of Christ is served through the preaching of the Gospel, not through legislation of ‘Christian’ objectives. I don’t ‘vote’ for Christ. He is already Lord. I merely yield to him by asking him to be Lord of my life too. May God have mercy upon us and help us see the blindness of the decision to ally ourselves with this present evil world. Christianity is neither Republican nor Democratic, neither conservative nor liberal, neither right nor left. It is the Kingdom of God!
Smoodock's Blog 