Saturday, April 10, 2010
Politics in the time of Jesus.
In the time of Jesus, the Jews were a minority who suffered under the rule of the powerful Roman Empire. The Jews were waiting for some strong figure, a messiah, to overthrow the Roman Rule and free the Jews from their dominance. Josephus talks about the four sects of Judaism in the early years of Christianity. These were the Sadducees, the Pharisees , the Essenes and a fourth mixed group, who were seen as the “revolutionaries”. The Zealots (remember Simon Selotes in Luke?) and the Sicarii were among this last group (read on)
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Generally speaking, one can say that there are some similarities in the political situation in SA today and the time when Jesus was on earth. Polital tension is running high presently, just like in those days, and it will be good for us as Christians to see the instructions of Jesus in times like these.
ReplyDeleteThe Romans could press those who were not Roman citizens to carry equipment for a mile (Mat 5:41). Surprisingly, Jesus says as Christians, we should go "the extra mile"!
ReplyDeleteOne should also consider carefully who should be one's leaders. Afrikaans-speaking youth love singing a song: "De la Rey... sal jy die Boere kom lei...", in which they express the wish for a strong leader.Psalm 146:3 says: "Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no help". "Follow ME", Jesus told His disciples (Mat 4:19).
ReplyDeleteOne should also carefully count one's words and be extra careful about what is said, especially in racially tense circumstances. "A word fitly spoken and in due season is like apples of gold in settings of silver"(Prov 25:11) Account will have to be given of every idle word that is spoken (Matt 12:36).
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