Every four years, the United States elects a president, the most powerful political office in the world. The divided American political landscape seems to be increasingly less civil, raising the specter of more violence.
And 2024 has been a year for major elections around the world. In early June, the citizens of 27 EU nations selected new European Parliament members. The United Kingdom, Mexico, India, Indonesia, Taiwan, Russia and many other countries have had elections.
Will the winners unite their countries and govern effectively? Will they deliver on their promises? Will the losing candidates accept defeat graciously? Will upcoming elections lead to violence?
Another question worth asking is, Should Christians involve themselves in politics?
Who would Jesus vote for?
If Jesus Christ walked the earth today, how would He vote? Would He vote? Would He take sides?
To answer these questions, we must examine Jesus’ approach to politics and government when He lived on earth in the first century.
1. Jesus taught that this is not God’s world—yet.
Many people look at their country and see serious problems, such as moral decline, the economy, inflation, foreign policy, corrupt leaders, immigration, crime, etc.
But most of these problems are not unique to the 21st century. Jesus lived in a world that also dealt with a litany of problems, including declining morality (Matthew 16:4), poverty (Matthew 26:11), corruption (Mark 6:16-29; 11:17-18) and controversy over taxation (Matthew 22:17; Mark 2:16).
Surprisingly, Jesus didn’t come to fix those societal problems. He helped those He came into contact with, but He didn’t mobilize His followers to solve all the problems of His country and world. Some mistakenly thought He was coming to overthrow Rome and restore an independent Jewish kingdom that would solve all those problems (Acts 1:6). However, Jesus rejected that idea.
His first coming was not to fix the many problems that faced humanity, because this wasn’t His world—yet. When Jesus faced Satan in the wilderness, Satan offered Him immediate authority over “all the kingdoms of the world” in exchange for an act of worship (Luke 4:5-7).
Jesus rejected the temptation but didn’t contest Satan’s ability to make the offer. Satan does have authority. For now, “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19).
But Satan will be forcibly relieved of this authority after Jesus returns (John 12:31; Revelation 20:1-3).
Today, Jesus would recognize that no candidate or movement can fix the problems our nations face. There is no fixing our world. Instead, Jesus would address the cause of our problems—but His solution would not be any politician or party.
2. Jesus did not involve Himself with first-century politics.
Jesus didn’t live in a democratic system. Rome ruled Judea and administered it as a province through the Herodian kings and procurators (governors). But that doesn’t mean first-century Judea had no politics! The Gospel accounts show the culture Jesus lived in was filled with politics, with multiple parties vying for political and religious influence.
Some of the prominent religious factions of first-century Judea were the Pharisees (an ultrastrict Jewish sect that controlled the synagogues), the Sadducees (a party dominated by the priestly elite, associated with the temple), the Herodians (a political group that supported the Herodian dynasty’s collaboration with Rome) and the Zealots (a radical group that violently opposed Roman rule).
Jesus lived in a society with political ideologies from conservative to moderate to radical.
So, which side was Jesus on?
None.
The New Testament shows us Jesus was apolitical regarding Jewish and Roman politics. He never joined any parties or endorsed their platforms. Jesus corrected the erroneous religious views of these groups, but taught His disciples to respect their authority (Matthew 23:1-3).
Just as He didn’t side with the parties of His day, if Jesus walked the earth today, He would not ally Himself with any political party or movement. Instead, He would be solely about His “Father’s business” (Luke 2:49).
3. Jesus advocated good citizenship, not politics.
Jesus had opportunities to advocate for political change and to challenge His country’s power structure. On one occasion, a group of Pharisees questioned Him on the hot-button issue of taxation: “Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (Matthew 22:17).
The Jews resented the high taxes levied on them by Herod and Rome. Jesus had an opportunity to express a political opinion when asked about this issue. He could have railed against taxation or advocated for more benefits to be provided by taxes. Instead, He answered: “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (verse 21).
The answer left His enemies speechless. He neither endorsed nor protested high taxation. Instead, He taught that people should fulfill their civil duties to the government and their spiritual duties to God.
Years later, the apostle Paul reinforced the teaching that Christians should be “subject to the governing authorities” (Romans 13:1).
The apostle Peter, who at one point tried to violently protest Jesus’ arrest (Matthew 26:51-52; John 18:10), later wrote that “this is the will of God” that Christians submit to and respect civil authority (1 Peter 2:13-17).
Jesus Christ would take the same approach today (Hebrews 13:8). Instead of politically mobilizing His followers, Jesus would pay His taxes, abide by laws that do not contradict God’s laws and respect civil authority.
4. Jesus represented a different government.
When Jesus stood on trial for His life, Pontius Pilate asked, “Are You the King of the Jews?” (John 18:33). His enemies accused Him of threatening Rome by declaring Himself the Messiah.
Since humanity’s problems are, at their core, spiritual in nature, we strive to proclaim spiritual solutions.
Jesus’ answer to Pilate frames how Christians should view their world: “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here” (verse 36).
This answer provides the why to all the previous points. This is why Jesus didn’t endorse the political parties of His day and why He advocated good citizenship but not political engagement. This is why Jesus said His followers were “not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (John 17:16).
Jesus represented a government that wasn’t of this world.
The Kingdom Jesus represented is currently in heaven—where Jesus sits enthroned beside God the Father. Instead of entangling themselves in the politics of this world, Christians pledge their allegiance to His government. They realize their “citizenship is in heaven” and “eagerly wait” for Christ’s return to establish His government here (Philippians 3:20).
They interact with today’s world as ambassadors. Ambassadors represent their country in a foreign land. They abide by the laws of that land but do not participate in its politics.
If Jesus walked the earth today, He would be a good citizen, but His primary allegiance would be to the Kingdom of God—and He would conduct Himself as its ambassador.
5. Jesus was driven to proclaim a new government—not to influence the current one.
The Gospels record Jesus “preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God” (Mark 1:14) and teaching His followers to “seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33).
A kingdom is a government ruled by a king, with territory, laws and subjects. The Kingdom of God, then, is the government under the rule of God the Father and Jesus Christ. Their dominion is in heaven now, but the Bible teaches that it is coming to earth.
After Christ returns, all the governments of man—the democracies, dictatorships and every other form of government—will be replaced by the rule of Jesus Christ: “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (Revelation 11:15).
If Jesus walked the earth today, His singular focus would be proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom (Luke 4:43). Just as He previously refused to get entangled in the politics of His day, Jesus would focus on proclaiming the solutions to our national and global problems today—solutions that transcend politics.
Why we are apolitical
Likewise, Discern strives to stay out of partisan politics. Since humanity’s problems are, at their core, spiritual in nature, we strive to proclaim spiritual solutions. The ultimate solution is the same message Jesus proclaimed 2,000 years ago—the gospel of the Kingdom of God!
So, we can absolutely know who Jesus would vote for.
Jesus wouldn’t vote for any of the candidates. He would not vote at all.
To learn more, see our article “The Politics of Jesus.”