Was Jesus Political?

By Amitabh Singh

Today’s religions hold many practices in common, including the incorporation of propaganda, procurement of pledges, mothers of recruitment, and politicizing. Jesus’s promotional phrases would have been, “why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18). His politics emphasized the concerns of God, namely the care of poor, sick, and broken people. His pledge drive might have read, “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy” (Luke 12:33). From all earthly appearances, Jesus did not seem like the next likely candidate for king.

It is not surprising that Jesus’ immediate impact began small. He did not enjoy a high salary, a prestigious title, fame, or a prominent position in the realms of society. He did not offer five steps to success, a strategic plan of action, or a new set of Ten Commandments. Neither a University degree nor powerful friends could substantiate his claims. He did not conduct modern-style board meetings or hand out business cards, brochures, or pamphlets in his honor. Jesus, as God, walked comfortably as a man in the face of a society aspiring to be God.

James Francis said it best in his work, The Real Jesus and Other Sermons:

Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village, where he worked in a carpenter’s shop until he was thirty. Then for three years, he was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He never set foot aside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. While he was still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends deserted him. He was turned over to his enemies, and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for the only piece of property he had – his coat. When he was dead, he was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave. Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure for much of human race. All the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever sailed, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of people on this earth as powerfully as this “One Solitary Life.”