If Jesus were here “in the flesh” today, what might he say about Donald Trump and his Presidency? While we should be careful about putting words into Jesus’ mouth about national figures, who are living now, we are able to understand his position about similar figures during his day. Herod Antipas ruled Galilee, the area where Jesus lived, and Paraea to the south of Galilee, bordering Samaria and Judea to the east. It was Herod Antipas who beheaded John, the Baptizer (Mark 14:10; Luke 9:9).
Politics looked different in Jesus’ day than it does today. Jesus didn’t live under a democracy, or more to the point, a democratic republic, which describes the type of our American government. Nevertheless, if we are able to understand the world in which Jesus lived, we would find that politics played a major role as that pertained to Jesus’ ministry. So, politics happened in Jesus’ day, just like it happens today; it just looks a little different, because of the different systems in play. What we can be certain of, as it applies to Jesus and politics, in contrast with Christianity today, is, although politics mattered in ancient Galilee and Judea, Jesus was not concerned with winning the political games of the times, nor did he side with, vis-à-vis partner with, any of its competing factions.
What Jesus did do was, he warned against the damage politics could have on the consciences of his followers. It doesn’t seem Jesus wanted any of his followers to align themselves with the political factions of the 1st century AD, or take on the worldview of any of those factions, be they Herodian in Galilee, or Sadducean and Pharisaic in Judea. What the governments were, vis-à-vis what system of government ruled, what goals they had and what relations they had with one another, wasn’t important to Jesus’ ministry! Specifically, however, Jesus warned against his followers being influence by a worldly religious perspective, vis-à-vis the Pharisees, and the more secular and immoral perspective of Herod Antipas’ politics (Mark 8:15).[1] Jesus didn’t want politics to impact their ministry.
What does this mean for Christians today, in the context of Donald Trump’s Presidency? Well, it says we need to beware of the effect Donald Trump has upon our consciences, because one’s conscience interprets one’s Christian worldview. Politics, whether that of Herod Antipas or Donald Trump, has a damaging effect upon the Christian worldview, vis-à-vis what our conscience tells us about our responsibility as a follower of Jesus.
Donald Trump could never have attained the Presidency of the USA, if 80% of white Evangelicals in America hadn’t supported his candidacy. Therefore, the reason why the world has a Donald Trump Problem today is because Evangelical Christians have had a Donald Trump Problem with regard to their following Jesus and obeying his warning in Mark 8:15. As Jesus put it, such loyalty to a political figure, amounts to nothing more than tribalism. One cannot enjoy a Christian worldview that embraces all mankind, if one’s mind and heart is obsessed with tribalism. What tribalism does is, it supports a political figure as long as that figure grants favor to one’s tribe, vis-à-vis Evangelicals traded their support for Trump for his favor toward them and their goals.
In Jesus’ day Rome ruled the world, and the Jews of that time were divided in their response toward Rome’s rule. We can learn a great deal about how Jesus felt about the politics of his day, by the way he addressed those factions that played a part in the political games of that time. Instead of liberals and conservatives, they had Pharisees and Sadducees and Herod. All three factions were involved in governing the Jews of that time. The Sadducees had the greater official power in Judea, while the Pharisees had more popular power. Both groups populated the Sanhedrin, but the Sadducees had more seats in the ruling body. Therefore, just as conservatives and liberals today are forced to work together in government, so the Pharisees and the Sadducees had to work together, while ruling Judea.
To simplify, basically the Sadducees represented wealth and the status quo. They had a more secular or worldly perspective. Roman rule worked for them, and they worked together with Rome in ruling Judea. On the other hand, the Pharisees represented a more religious perspective in governing. They had a basic unrest with the status quo, and wanted Rome cast out and a return to the purity of obedience to the Mosaic Law under home rule. The tension between the Pharisees and Jesus revolved around the Pharisees’ reforms affecting only outward behavior. They left the heart untouched. So, basically, the Pharisees’ outward display of reform changed nothing, because man remained unaffected from within (cp. Luke 17:21). Man was still as evil and wicked as ever before. Although his outward behavior changed by following Pharisaism, his heart remained untouched.
In modern terms, and in the context of how one’s political worldview affects one’s Christianity, we might say:
“USA! USA! USA! Cast out the immigrant, the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free… They’re criminals, child abusers and woman beaters, human traffickers and terrorist—all of them!”
Isn’t that correct? It’s tragic when we understand, that, when Jesus was in the presence of Herod Antipas, the ruling political figure of his day, he remained silent (Luke 23:8-9). Yet, today, in the presence of Donald Trump, Evangelical Christianity shouts: “USA! USA! USA!”[2]
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[1] In scripture, leaven represented the progress of evil corrupting the purity of men and/or a system. Matthew mentions the Pharisees and Sadducees, but not Herod (Matthew 16:6), meaning their doctrine or teaching (Matthew 16:12), or hypocrisy (cp. Luke 12:1). In other words, seeking political power to in hope that this would usher in the Kingdom of God is a corruption or contaminant in the Gospel of Christ.
[2] This study is based upon a video, Jesus, Herod and Donald Trump, by Pat Kahnke. I have deviated from it and take full responsibility for that.
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