Jesus And Politics In Mark Series

Mark 12:13-17 Jesus and Politics in Mark

Introduction:

There is nothing recorded in the New Testament about Jesus Christ speaking out against any of the political issues of His day. Nothing in His teachings gives even the slightest hint that He had any political involvement. John MacArthur, in his book Right Thinking in a World Gone Wrong, said, “He did not call upon angelic armies to bring down oppressive governments or attempt to establish a new political order. He did not set up any kind of political administration, nor did He organize public protests against Rome. His ministry was not focused on those things, but instead was ever aimed at the hearts of individual sinners who were in desperate need of God’s grace.”

Politics has always been a dirty subject, creating controversy and heated reactions. And that was true even in the time of Christ. In Mark 12:13-17, the enemies of Jesus were trying to force Christ to say something publicly in order to get the population to turn against Him, these hypocrites attempt to trap Christ using politics, taxes, and government.

Historical Background:

There is a bitter history behind this shrewd question. Herod the Great ruled all of Palestine as a Roman tributary king. after his death in 4 BC, his kingdom was divided into three Herod Antipas (Galilee and Pereia), Herod Philip (northeast), and Archelaus (south country including Judea and Samaria.) Antipas and Philip ruled wisely and well. But Archelaus was a complete failure. The result was in AD 6, the Romans had to step in and become a province governed by a procurator. All Roman provinces fell into two classes. Those which were peaceful and required no troops were governed by the senate and ruled by proconsuls. Those trouble centers which required troops were under the direct sphere of the emperor and were governed by procurators.

Southern Palestine fell into this second category, The first act of the new governor of Judah, named Cyrenius, was to take a census of that region in order to prepare for fair taxation and general administration. But one man named Judas the Gaulonite raised violent opposition and instigated against the tax payment. The Romans dealt with Judas with their customary efficiency, but his battle cry never died out. But the Jews were called upon to pay three different kinds of taxes.

A ground tax, which consisted of one-tenth of all the grain, and one-fifth of the wine and fruit produced. An income tax, which amounted to 1% of a man’s income. And a poll tax. The poll tax was levied once a year on all men from 14 to 65 and all women from 12 to 65. This tax was one denarius–equivalent to one day of wages for the average laborer. It was the tax that everyone had to pay simply for the privilege of existing. directly to Caesar. This tax is based on the headcount of the entire Roman Empire. Everyone had to pay for it. This tax helped to maintain the infrastructure of the empire, lay roads, and keep the security, and salaries of the officials. The tax helped Rome be mighty Rome with its army, expansion, and commitment to all the pagan gods and goddesses throughout the empire.

Plot to get him arrested:

“Is it lawful to pay a poll tax to Caesar, or not?” (Mark 12:14). This was the most cunning explosive question of the day. A single answer could defuse the bomb. The poll tax was an economic burden and blasphemous. It is a hot topic. ‘Yes’, will earn the displeasure of his own people, and ‘no’ will earn capital punishment. They tried to show that Jesus came anti-Roman, anti-Caesar, and a threat to the peace of Israel under Roman rule so that the Romans would arrest Christ and deal with Him.

The Roman governor over Judea was Pontius Pilate. He was present in Jerusalem at this very moment. Herod Antipas, proconsul from the north, was also in Jerusalem at this time for the Passover. So, they wanted to establish that Jesus was a threat to Rome. The Romans already know Jesus has a massive following.

Jesus understood human nature (John 2:25), He saw their hypocrisy and saw their trickery (Luke 20:23) and He knew their evil motives (Matthew 22:18), and Jesus told them to pay both King and God whatever is due for them.

(Ref: Politics, Taxes, And Government (Mark 12:13-17) by Chris Mueller; Did Jesus Get Involved in the Contemporary Politics in Israel? by Don Stewart; Jesus: Honoring God, Honoring Government (Mark 12:14-17) by Jeff Stott).

(refer this site for further studies on Mark)