“Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
But what if Caeser is a total, liberal/socialist idiot???
"But what if Caeser is a total, liberal/socialist idiot???"Good question. And maybe the answer cannot be found in the Matthew 22 passage. There are two problems with trying to make direct applications of the teachings of Jesus to the political problems we face today.
- Judea was already under Roman occupation. The Jews were a conquered people. Sometimes Jesus was teaching his followers survival skills for that particular time and place. An example would be Luke 6:29 where Jesus says And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.
Roman soldiers were not supplied with everthing they needed or wanted. Plunder was the norm during that time period (and throughout most of history). Clearly this passage is survival advice that is only applicable to a first century Jew being robbed by an armed Roman soldier. - Jesus, in the first coming, did not address politcal corruption at all. He was going after religious corruption during that time. He never spoke out about the Roman occupation but He was blasting away at corrupt religious leaders and teachings all the time.
The followers of Jesus were waiting for Him to give them a political answer but they never got it. Instead they got an answer for the problem of sin. Maybe we will get the political answer when He returns.