The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What
can man do to me?
Jesus Christ was born under the reign of
the first Roman emperor, Augustus. His
ministry occurred during the reign of Tiberius
(and, for what it is worth, Jesus was crucified,
raised, and ascended to heaven less than a
decade before one of the most evil, deranged
emperors of all time took power—Caligula).
Prior to Augustus, Rome had been a
republic. The center of Roman government for
about five centuries was the Senate (from the
early sixth century BC to the late first century
BC), a group “elected” in a barely-democratic
process, primarily by prominent families.
Rome for over half a millennium had resisted
authoritarian, imperial rule. In fact, it was the
power and popularity (and some would say
the great success) of Julius Caesar five
decades before the birth of Christ that led
ultimately to Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC.
This is oversimplification, but people in
positions of influence at that time were deeply
alarmed that too much power was being
concentrated in one person. Caesar refused
to follow the instructions of the Senate and
instead led his army into Rome. Soon
afterward, Caesar was declared “dictator for
life.” Several senators, concerned about this
brazen act and this unconscionable
declaration of power, conspired to end Julius
Caesar’s life. He was killed on the Ides of
March (March 15), 2,068 years ago. Not long
after, Caesar’s nephew (and heir) Augustus
brought the senatorial schemers to heel. As a
result, imperial Rome was born. Power then
rested primarily in one person, the emperor
No proper elections. No real input from the
people. Just the virtually unbridled control of
hereditary—and often inbred—dictators.
I mention the above as a simple
reminder, which is this: politically and
governmentally, we have it easy compared
to the folks that we meet in our New
Testament. I often hear people arguing that
Jesus would have been on this or that end of
the political spectrum—that Jesus would
have voted for this gal or that guy or
whoever. The fact of the matter is that any
such argument is just plain silly. Voting in the
sense that we understand it today was non-
existent in Jesus’s day. He was a Jew living
under the authority of imperial Rome. You
don’t vote for emperors or governors or
tetrarchs. You just get who you get. In my
opinion, it is the most egregious form of
anachronism to use the politics of 21st-
century America as a basis for dissecting the
political life of Jesus, or of anyone else in his
world. It just does not work.
We are deep into national political
season, of course. Two days from the day on
which most will read this article, the final day
of voting will arrive. We will know (fairly?)
soon who will be the next president of the
United States. Many tears will be shed—
tears of joy and of sorrow. Some people will
be thrilled. Others will be angry,
disappointed, or despondent. Talking heads
will break down everything from nine ways to
Sunday, as the old saying goes. Strategists
on one side will take credit. On the other
side, they will point fingers. Pundits will, well,
pundit.
And yet Jehovah God will still be
sovereign. Jesus Christ will remain King. “He
changes times and seasons; he removes
kings and sets up kings” (Daniel 2:21). In the
midst of the celebrations and the weeping
and gnashing of teeth that surely are to
come in a few days, please remember that
God is still God. He is in control. He is near.
Our hope is in God and in his Christ. Only.
“The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?”
–Ricky