Yeshua said to them, “Give what is Caesar's to Caesar and what is God's to God.” Part 1

And they marveled at him Mark 12:17 ... Jesus had the answer to the practice of mixing that which is holy with politics: Don't do it.

Jesus makes this so damn easy for me. lol. I don’t even have to argue with evangelical christians or progressive christians about the validity of the gnostic gospels when it comes to the subject of mixing politics and the holy things of God. It’s all right there in the canonical scriptures that they accept! (It’s in gnostic texts as well, but for this, we’re just going to go straight off of canonical scripture to take down this entire mess. So let’s get started.)

Jesus gave a hard no to the filth of politics corrupting the the holy. It’s so clear in all four of the canonical gospels that anyone mixing their politics with their spirituality aren’t paying attention.

Let’s break this down the lesson Jesus taught on politics and religion starting with Mark 12: 13-17

And they sent men to him from the Scribes and from the followers of Herodus to trap him in his words.

Before we even get to hear Jesus’ wise answer to the subject of mixing that which is holy with the politics of this world, it is described as a trap in the scripture. That’s the very first thing we need to understand about mixing politics and religion is that it is always a trap. Mixing your spirituality with politics will serve only to trap you just as it was intended to trap Jesus.

But those came and asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are true, and that you are not motivated by care for any man, for you do not regard the person of the sons of men, but you teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to give head tax to Caesar or not? Should we give or should we not give?”

Just as many religious people do today, both conservative and progressive, people back then were mixing their politics (and by extension, the filthy lucre, because the filthy lucre is always part of politics) and religion. It was an ancient problem too! This scripture confirms that this wasn’t the first time Jesus had laid down some truths to the people about the mixing of politics and religion, and predictably, it probably pissed off the ones profiting from this either in the form of influence or filthy lucre or both.

But he knew their treachery and he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a penny that I may see it.”

And they brought it; he said to them: “Whose is this image and writing?” They said, “Caesar's.”

The concept of traps and treachery are very important concepts when considering the outcome of mixing that which is holy with politics (the things of this world). No lasting peace, either inner peace, or peace with other men can manifest in the presence of traps and treachery.

Jesus had an answer for this and a teaching that would set these captives free from the trap and treachery of politics and religion:

Yeshua said to them, “Give what is Caesar's to Caesar and what is God's to God.” And they marveled at him.

This is so simple, yet so profound for both inner peace and peace with other men.

Who you vote for, what political party you belong to, the protests you march in, the political issues you work on are all the things of this world. These things are not the things of the Most High God or the things of The Christ.

The holy things are your spiritual walk, your spiritual practice, your spiritual study, the way you treat and serve others on an individual level (like, how did you treat that fast food worker that served you coffee this morning, or the homeless guy living in a tent on your street?), they are the things that are not of this world.

Often in election season churches will donate their space to set up local polling booths. How many times have you been to a church to cast a vote? This is an abomination.

But worse yet are the churches who preach politics from the pulpit, regardless of what those politics are, this too is an abomination.

If you attend a church, how often do sermons have a subtle political message? This too is an abomination.

Imagine the peace that we could have among men if only the things that are holy would be kept holy.

There is a part 2! Many more scriptures to explore on this topic so stay tuned!