Peter is going to speak on the subject of obedience to those God has placed in authority. Peter's fellow countrymen despised being under Roman rule, though most of them had to submit to it whether they wanted to or not. A political group known as the Zealots had formed in Judea which refused to acknowledge the authority of the Roman Empire and which declared allegiance to Rome and paying taxes to Rome to be the same as blasphemy against God. The Zealots made up just a fraction of the populace in Judea, but it is believed that Judas Iscariot may have been among their number and we know that at least one disciple, Simon the Zealot, was of this political affiliation. It made sense that men of the Zealot party were attracted to the enormous and miraculous ministry of Jesus, thinking He might be just the man to gather enough support to have Himself declared king and to lead a successful uprising against Rome. But now that Jesus has been crucified, those rebels who didn't come to the faith are looking for another way out from under the iron boot of Rome. They stir up the people by urging them to rebel against authority, but Peter will point out today that the one who rebels against those God has placed in authority are rebelling against God Himself.
The believing Gentiles, to whom Peter is writing, may have found themselves confused about how to deal with being under the authority of an emperor who blasphemously called himself God. They may not have known what to do about living in such an immoral empire now that they belong to Christ. They are aware that some of Peter's own countrymen are refusing to submit to Rome, so they may have asked themselves, "Do we owe the emperor and the authorities our obedience or not? They are ungodly men. Do we still follow the laws of the land or are we a law unto ourselves now?" Peter is going to put an end to their confusion in our passage today.
The prophet Daniel, who was taken against his will as a captive to Babylon, recognized the right of God to set rulers in place according to His own will and purposes, saying, "He deposes kings and raises up others." (Daniel 2:21) Daniel submitted to the authority of the Babylonian Empire when it conquered Judah and, when Babylon was conquered by the Medo-Persian Empire, he submitted to the Medo-Persian Empire. The only matter in which he disobeyed the government was when he was ordered to stop praying to God and to pray to the king (as a god) instead. In some cases God's law is going to be in conflict with man's law, but this is the only type of circumstance in which we would be within God's will in rebelling against authority. And even in that case we don't find Daniel stirring up a public rebellion; he merely prays privately at home as usual.
There is a lot of dissension in our own country right now regarding politics. There is so much disagreement that a scary type of hatred has risen up among some of the opposing political parties, and violence has even broken out here and there at demonstrations and rallies. I don't know which party you voted for or whether you are unhappy with the current leader of our nation or with our senators or congressmen, but I do know what the word of God says about how we should deal with unhappiness with our government. The Bible tells us to respect the offices these people hold and to be obedient to the laws of the land. The Bible gives us examples of people who successfully did this even though they were unhappy with the political climate. And the Bible tells us to pray for those in authority. (1 Timothy 2:1-4) Are you unhappy with this nation's leaders? The Lord says to pray for them. Maybe their hearts will be changed. Are you happy with this nation's leaders? The Lord says to pray for them. This will strengthen them to keep on doing good.
"Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right." (1 Peter 2:13-14) Peter says something like, "Yes, I know the emperor is an unrighteous man. I know he wants to be worshiped as God. But God has placed him in authority during this point in history for a reason. We are to obey the laws. We are to show respect to the governors. We don't have the right to rebel simply because we don't like who is in charge. Remember it is for the Lord's sake that you behave yourselves as Christians should. It is not seemly for the Christian to stir up trouble or to shout angrily in the streets or to encourage lawlessness."
If anyone in the United States wants to show up at a peaceful demonstration and hold a sign, this is a right we are granted in our country. But after the last presidential election there were a lot of people doing a lot of unseemly things at demonstrations and protests. Vandalism and looting occurred. Anger and bitterness arose. Some pushing and shoving took place. Some cursing and yelling went on. I can think of at least one very vulgar slogan that was popular among a faction within the female protestors. Some of these demonstrators were Christians and some were not, but you know what I think would have been a better use of the Christians' time? Praying for the new leader of the country. Thousands of people all across the nation joined together in prayer will accomplish far more than marching in a protest or carrying a sign. If you want to join a demonstration, I'm not saying it's sinful to do so. Just make sure that the demonstration is going to be conducted in a way that doesn't dishonor the Lord.
It matters how we behave when politics don't go our way. The world is going to notice if we behave like children having a temper tantrum. People who know us and who know we are Christians are going to notice if we harbor hatred for followers of the opposing political party or if we hurl insults and curse words at demonstrations. Peter says behaving properly and continuing to do good will give enemies of Christ nothing to accuse us of, "For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God's slaves." (1 Peter 2:15-16)
We are not to say, "I belong to Christ and therefore I don't have to submit to anyone else. He is the sole authority over me." Did Jesus ever stir people up against the government? Did He ever say anything against the sinful Roman empire or against its ungodly emperor? Jesus never addressed any of these things and we can be certain He obeyed the laws Rome put in place. His enemies actually had to make up false charges against Him to try and compel Pontius Pilate to sentence Him to crucifixion, claiming He was stirring the people up and telling them not to pay taxes, when instead He actually said on the matter of taxation, "Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's." (Mark 12:17) Jesus looked at the coin which had the image of Caesar on it and an inscription which blasphemously proclaimed Caesar to be divine and said in essence, "Pay your taxes. You live under Caesar's rule. His government maintains the roads, the infrastructure, and law and order here. For these things you owe your taxes."
We belong to the living God, but we must still obey the laws of our land. The only exception would be when our laws command us to do something that is in conflict with God's laws, but even then we are not to incite riots and lead rebellions. Even then we aren't to engage in unseemly or lawless protests, or stand on the street and scream curses down on the nation's leadership, or say sinful things like we wish someone would kill our nation's leader. Would Jesus behave like that. Did He ever behave like that? Isaiah predicted that the Messiah would behave like this, "He will not shout or cry out, or raise His voice in the streets." (Isaiah 42:2) Jesus frequently withdrew from situations where political issues were being stirred up, and Matthew says this fulfills what Isaiah said about Him. (Matthew 12:14-21) What did He do when He withdrew in this way? He was either in prayer with the Father, fellowshipping with His disciples and followers, or doing good works. Peter says this is how we should busy ourselves as well, "Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor." (1 Peter 2:17) In other words, "Obey the laws, love others, obey and love the Lord, give the leader of the country the respect that the position deserves."
We are currently in an election season and it would behoove us to take all our issues and concerns to the Lord in prayer. Let's vote according to our morals and our consciences as best we can. Let's respect the opinions of others and show them the love of Christ whether or not their opinions differ from ours. And no matter who wins the positions available within our government, let's respect the office they hold and pray for them that they would lead the country according to the will of God.
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