Jesus on Politics

Dear CrossPointe,

This Sunday we’ll look at Mark 12:13-17 and another confrontation between Jesus and some religious leaders. The issue this time is whether or not the Jews should pay taxes to Caesar, the pagan emperor of Rome. Jesus’ brief response has many very important implications for us as Christians who live in a broken society governed by a secular government that is often (and increasingly) hostile to Christianity.

How are Christians to posture themselves toward civil authority? How politically involved should Christians be? Upon what grounds should Christians ever disobey the government? We’ll wrestle with these questions and others this Sunday as we work through the text. To prepare for Sunday, I encourage you to read the passages below and pray that God would give us wisdom and a gracious yet fierce gospel-centeredness as we think through these difficult topics.

• Mark 12:13-17
• 1 Peter 2:9-17
• 1 Timothy 2:1-2
• Romans 13:1-7

Grace and peace!

Brad