Another time a couple of the disciples come to Jesus and ask Him to grant them whatever they request. And what they wanted was earthly carnal power; "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."
When the other ten heard about this, they were "greatly displeased with James and John."
"But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them; 'You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.'" Mark 10:42-45.
Pay particular attention to what Jesus says; "those who are CONSIDERED rulers... " He doesn't come out and directly say they are rulers, they are "considered" rulers. What does the Bible teach about government, civil government in particular? It has long been considered that God ordained three governing institutions; the Church, the family, and the State (civil government). However, I believe it is time we question the legitimacy of the state. God was disappointed when His people asked for a king. More about that below.
In the 4th chapter of Acts we read of governing authorities and it is pretty obvious they are the "bad guys." Read carefully the following references to governing "authorities" in Acts chapter 4.
Acts 4:1-7; "Now as [the disciples] spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
"And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in their midst, they asked, '
Acts 4:1-7; "Now as [the disciples] spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
"And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in their midst, they asked, '
By what power or by what name have you done this.'"
Acts 4:25b-27; "'Why did the nations rage, and the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the LORD and against His Christ.' For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done."
Acts 4:25b-27; "'Why did the nations rage, and the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the LORD and against His Christ.' For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done."
The italicized passage above is a quote from Psalm 2. Note it is the kings and rulers who gathered against the LORD and against His Christ. This is a common pattern in scripture and also in history; the government generally persecutes Christ's church, amongst other things.
Here is a hypothesis to consider; civil government is not sanctioned by God. Rather, He is angry about the governments of kings, magistrates, mayors, presidents, congresses, senates, parliaments, etc. etc. And rightly so, because such governments throughout history have been the enemies of God and of His people. Governments do by far more killing, stealing, and destroying in all of history than any other individual or group. Sadly this sometimes includes some who use the name of Christ for such iniquity.
Here is a hypothesis to consider; civil government is not sanctioned by God. Rather, He is angry about the governments of kings, magistrates, mayors, presidents, congresses, senates, parliaments, etc. etc. And rightly so, because such governments throughout history have been the enemies of God and of His people. Governments do by far more killing, stealing, and destroying in all of history than any other individual or group. Sadly this sometimes includes some who use the name of Christ for such iniquity.
What does God teach us in the Bible about civil government? You will find at this website a wager that the Bible teaches anarchism or no civil government. (And this site has many essays about freedom, economy, and against government).
To begin to scratch the surface about this subject, consider the following few passages.
In 1 Samuel 8, God's people demand a king. In verse 7 we read; "And the LORD said to Samuel, 'Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them."
God goes on to describe the actions of the king in verses 9-18;
"Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them."
So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king. And he said, 'This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots.
"He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.
"He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers.
"And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants.
"He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants.
"And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work.
"He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants.
"And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for your selves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day."
To begin to scratch the surface about this subject, consider the following few passages.
In 1 Samuel 8, God's people demand a king. In verse 7 we read; "And the LORD said to Samuel, 'Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them."
God goes on to describe the actions of the king in verses 9-18;
"Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them."
So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king. And he said, 'This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots.
"He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.
"He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers.
"And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants.
"He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants.
"And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work.
"He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants.
"And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for your selves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day."
Since it is God who tells us about the behavior of kings, why are we surprised that this is their behavior in all of history? They always behave this way. And why do we continue to not only put up with them, we continue to ask for, or vote, for them?
God was disappointed when His people first asked for a king, and I believe He is still disappointed that we, His people, continue to ask for them. And now we have many kings and princes.
Proverbs 28:2; "Because of the transgression of a land, many are its princes;... "
Even before God's people demanded a king, there were plenty of warnings about them. One such warning came in the form of parable told by the young brother of a wicked king, Abimelech, the son of Jerubbaal. Only one brother, Jotham, escaped being killed by this older brother, Abimelech. In Judges 9:7-15 is recorded a parable Jotham told the men of Shechem.
"The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them.
And they said to the olive tree,
'Reign over us!'
But the olive tree said to them,
'Should I cease giving my oil,
With which they honor God and men,
And go to sway over trees?'
"Then the trees said to the fig tree,
'You come and reign over us!'
But the fig tree said to them,
'Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit,
And go to sway over trees?'
Then the trees said to the vine,
'You come and reign over us!'
But the vine said to them,
'Should I cease my new wine,
which cheers both God and men,
And go to sway over trees?'
"Then all the trees said to the bramble,
'You come and reign over us!'
And the bramble said to the trees,
'If in truth you anoint me as king over you,
Then come and take shelter in my shade;
But if not, let fire come out of the bramble
And devour the cedars of Lebanon!'"
God was disappointed when His people first asked for a king, and I believe He is still disappointed that we, His people, continue to ask for them. And now we have many kings and princes.
Proverbs 28:2; "Because of the transgression of a land, many are its princes;... "
Even before God's people demanded a king, there were plenty of warnings about them. One such warning came in the form of parable told by the young brother of a wicked king, Abimelech, the son of Jerubbaal. Only one brother, Jotham, escaped being killed by this older brother, Abimelech. In Judges 9:7-15 is recorded a parable Jotham told the men of Shechem.
"The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them.
And they said to the olive tree,
'Reign over us!'
But the olive tree said to them,
'Should I cease giving my oil,
With which they honor God and men,
And go to sway over trees?'
"Then the trees said to the fig tree,
'You come and reign over us!'
But the fig tree said to them,
'Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit,
And go to sway over trees?'
Then the trees said to the vine,
'You come and reign over us!'
But the vine said to them,
'Should I cease my new wine,
which cheers both God and men,
And go to sway over trees?'
"Then all the trees said to the bramble,
'You come and reign over us!'
And the bramble said to the trees,
'If in truth you anoint me as king over you,
Then come and take shelter in my shade;
But if not, let fire come out of the bramble
And devour the cedars of Lebanon!'"
Can you think of ways that our earthly carnal rulers are like bramble bushes, always promising things they cannot deliver, not productive in work or business, and threatening punishment on those who refuse to bow their knee to them.
Psalm 2:2; "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His anointed, saying, Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us."
A few other references about the corruption of the kings of the earth include;
Revelation 17:2, 18; 18:3; 19:19; 21:24.
Let us be careful to have no King but Jesus Christ, whose kingdom is not of this world.
Psalm 2:2; "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His anointed, saying, Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us."
A few other references about the corruption of the kings of the earth include;
Revelation 17:2, 18; 18:3; 19:19; 21:24.
Let us be careful to have no King but Jesus Christ, whose kingdom is not of this world.
DR
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