(Draft) There are, surprisingly, quite a few politicians found in the New Testament - not surprisingly, many of these are NOT portrayed in a good light.
The first we encounter is Herod the King, starting in Matthew chapter 2. Both the Bible and history record him as cruel, brutal, murderous, and boot-licking. I believe it was the Emperor Tiberius who said that he'd rather be Herod's pig than Herod's son. Herod was, as are so many politicians, adept at playing both ends against the middle.
In Matthew 3:7, we first encounter the members of the Great Sanheidren: both the party of the Pharisees and that of the Saducees. They frequently appear in the Gospel accounts and in Acts, and clearly, their bad traits outnumber their good. Unlike Herod, who was not loath to show his brutality and his bloody efforts to stay in power, these men try to present themselves as faithful and obedient servants of God, loudly proclaiming their alligience to the God of Abraham and Jacob, Moses and Joshua. But at the same time, they play the "game" of power politics both internally and externally, sending the innocent to die and freeing the guilty when it suits their needs. In the rest of the Gospels, the Pharisees seem to get more attention than the other politico-religious sects of Judaism, perhaps because their hypocritical behavior (Matthew 6:24, 9:11, 12:2f) is so evident. But unlike Herod, it seems that Pharisees COULD repent (Matthew 9:9), and even the great apostle Paul was able to overcome his Pharisical background.
In Matthew 4:3, we again encounter that person who could be called the world's FIRST politician, and even the "god of politicians" - the Tempter (Satan) himself. Here, he is engaged in the most common activity of politicians then and sense: making promises. These appear either to be promises that can't be fulfilled (like the original one in Genesis - "thou shalt surely NOT die") or that he has no intent of fulfilling ("all the kingdoms of the earth").
(to be continued)
No comments:
Post a Comment