Political Violence and a Crucified Lord
How should Christians react to a rise in political violence? Anger is justified, but sin is not.
Rather, we look to our crucified Lord: whose conviction was political violence, whose crucifixion was political violence, who himself grieved political violence, but whose resurrection triumphed over political violence. As Christians, we proclaim the superior hope of repentance and forgiveness by the prince of peace.
Anger and Political Violence
There’s a rising tide of political violence in America, illustrated by recent attempts to injure or kill members of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Presidency. Though each event is quickly politicized, the larger context shows that this tragedy is bipartisan. One act of political violence seems to beget another, a negative feedback loop that threatens broader strife.
Moreover, political violence creates a heightened sense of loss and consequent anger. It is not wrong to feel angry. Anger is a proper response to injustice, and we have that response because we share God’s desire for justice. At times, Jesus reflects his Father’s righteous anger, such as when he threw the moneychangers out of the Temple, challenging both the spiritual and political authorities of Jerusalem.
The scriptures actually instruct us to be angry. In the same breath, they teach us not to sin. In Psalm 4, for example, we are told to resolve our anger by putting our trust in the Lord:
Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD.
Psalm 4:4-5
Paul expands on the idea in his letter to the Ephesians, teaching that we should seek to resolve our anger quickly, forgiving each other after the example of Christ:
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil…Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:26-27, 32
The Conviction of Jesus as Political Violence
We sometimes forget the political dynamic of Jesus’ death. In fact, Jesus was tried and convicted as a political revolutionary, one whose claims might threaten Roman rule. Pilate’s first question to Jesus related to this political dynamic:
And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, โAre you the King of the Jews?โ And he answered him, โYou have said so.โ
Mark 15:1-2
Though Pilate was personally dubious of the evidence against Jesus, his soldiers picked up on the theme and mocked him for it. They put on him a crown of thorns as a mockery of his supposed kingship:
They clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. And they began to salute him, โHail, King of the Jews!โ
Matthew 15:17-18
As Christians, we read Pilate’s question and the mockery of the soldiers ironically, believing that Jesus is indeed the Messianic king. However, for the Romans, this charge was a fully sufficient rationale for Jesus’ conviction on political grounds. In his recent book The Wood Between The Worlds, Brian Zahnd explains the point:
If this itinerant Galilean preacher claims only to be a prophet, Pilate doesn’t care. But if he claims to be a king, then there’s going to be a problem. Kingship is bestowed by the Roman emperor. To claim it for oneself is rebellion against Caesar.
The Wood Between The Worlds, 76
The Crucifixion of Jesus as Political Violence
Together with his conviction, Jesus’ crucifixion was also an inherently political act. N.T. Wright explains the meaning of crucifixion in the ancient world:
It said, loud and clear: we are in charge here; you are our property; we can do what we like with you. It insisted, coldly and brutally, on the absolute sovereignty of Rome, and of Caesar. It told an implicit story, of the uselessness of rebel recalcitrance and the ruthlessness of imperial power.
Jesus and the Victory of God, 543
Lest there be any doubt about the political significance of Jesus’ crucifixion, Pilate made the point explicitly by having it written on the cross:
And the inscription of the charge against him read, โThe King of the Jews.โ
Mark 15:26
Again, though we Christians read the inscription ironically, it would not have been lost on any bystander that Jesus was being killed as a political threat against Rome. Even the criminals crucified with Jesus realized that he had “done nothing wrong” except to represent an alternative “kingdom” (Luke 23:41-42).
The Grief of Jesus Over Political Violence
In Christian art, there is a traditional depiction of Jesus called the “Man of Sorrows.” This image draws upon the prophecy of Jesus’ suffering from Isaiah:
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
Isaiah 53:3
Though the details vary, these works of art typically depict a wounded Christ with a crown of thorns and facial expressions of evident sorrow. The point of this image is not to capture a historically accurate moment from Jesus’ passion but, rather, to combine multiple elements of the story in a single image for devotional purposes. Some versions, including the anonymous painting at the top of this article, even depict Jesus weeping.
Jesus’ tears are a clue that helps us understand his own grief at political violence. The gospels describe Jesus weeping on two occasions. The first, more well-known example is when “Jesus wept” at the death of his friend Lazarus (John 11:35). Thus, we see that Jesus grieves death in general.
The second time Jesus wept was during his triumphal entry into Jerusalem:
And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.’
Luke 19:41-44
Here, we see Jesus weeping, not only for the political violence that will reject him but also for the political violence that he prophesies will overtake Jerusalem and its inhabitants.
With this context, look again at the depiction of Jesus as the man of sorrows. We see here Jesus’ sorrow over death and political violence. Oh, that we would learn the things that make for peace!
The Triumph of Jesus Over Political Violence
Jesus triumphed over political violence in his resurrection, both in himself and for all mankind.
In himself, Jesus rose with a new and imperishable body. Paul’s letter to the Romans describes it this way:
We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.
Romans 6:9-10
Jesus, in his resurrection, now has a “spiritual body,” one no longer subject to political violence (1 Corinthians 15:44). And when we are resurrected, we, too, will share in his spiritual body.
But Jesus’ resurrection also triumphs over political violence for all mankind, even now in our mortal bodies. For though our bodies can still be killed, we now know that our death is not the end. Ultimate power is not in politics but rather in God. As Martin Luther wrote in his great hymn A Mighty Fortress is Our God:
The body they may kill
God’s truth abideth still
His kingdom is forever
The Superior Hope of the Prince of Peace
Therefore, we who are in Christ proclaim the good news of Jesus, who is the “prince of peace” (Isaiah 9:7). In him, we have forgiveness of our sins and the hope of resurrection from the dead. We call upon everyone to repent and believe so that they, too, may join the family of God and look with joy to the day of the Lord.
For on that day, our God shall bring an end to all political violence. On that day, he shall end the enmity within and between nations. On that day, he shall turn the weapons of death and war into the tools of life and peace:
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
Isaiah 2:3-4
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem
He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.
Image: Christ at the Column, by an anonymous painter of Hispano-Flemish origin, c. 1490. Held in the collection of the Yale University Art Gallery. Photo and digital editing by Peter Johnston.