Who Would Jesus Vote For?

If Jesus were here on earth, who do you think He’d vote for and why?

Is it Issues or Personalities?

Many times people vote just to make sure someone doesn’t get elected, and that’s our right, so many people will be voting against someone by voting for their opponent. They (and we) might be forced to vote for someone that they’re not that impressed with. Maybe it comes down to, the one with the most mud wins. There is so much mud-slinging in political ads today that it’s impossible to focus on the real issues. Isn’t that what they’re being elected for? Instead of looking at their political policies, they look for skeletons in the closet. These things make for good ratings, but rarely do they make us look at the critical issues facing this nation and in some cases, the question must be asked, “Do they come close to inciting street violence by their providing 24/7 coverage?

The Cash Cow

The “cash cow” for the liberal media keeps being fed by an audience that can’t get enough. The cow would die without being feed, but it is not starving. Tragedy, dirt, and scandal have become the focus. The result is, when you ask people on the streets what their candidate’s platform is (economy, jobs, deficit, immigration, terrorism, etc.), they often can’t tell you. All they know is who they’re voting for. Many of the candidates flip flop on social issues so often that it’s impossible to know where they stand on any given day. More often than not, we vote for the personality and not the platform. We don’t want to get “confused with the facts,” and with the media today, who really what the “facts” really are anymore? And what about the things “planted” by the media or political parties (and donors!) and “leaked” to the press?

Rendering unto Caesar

The Pharisees and Herodian’s were less than sincere in their intentions when they came up to Jesus. They intended to trap Him by asking, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not” (Mark 12:14)? If Jesus said, yes, we must pay tribute to Caesar and not to God, they could stone Him or bring a charge against Him before the Sanhedrin (Jewish) Council. If He said no, then they could alert the Roman authorities that Jesus refuses to pay His taxes to Rome (and Caesar), and have Him arrested. Their intent was not to find truth…but to try and deceive the Truth (Jesus Christ). Knowing their hypocrisy, “Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him” (Mark 12:17). Jesus would have us do the very same thing. Render unto God the things of God and unto our “Caesar” the things that our government is due, like taxes, obedience to traffic laws, and such. A citizen of the Kingdom must be a good citizen here and be displaying; what the Apostle Paul wrote; “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desire” (Galatians 6:22-24).

Personality over Party?

Do you vote for a candidate’s character or along party lines? Is it a checkmark for every candidate of the same party? I used to vote that way, decades ago, but I was not voting my conscience. I was voting in blind-pride for my party. If Jesus voted, do you think He would vote for the right to protect the unborn in an effort to protect human life? How about the right for freedom of speech, and in particular, freedom of religious speech? Would that be important to Him? Certainly, we should support a candidate that supports racial and gender equality because we know that God is no respecter of persons, and He will bring millions of His children into the kingdom, from all around the world (Rev 5:9-10). The national debt should be our concern too. I am reminded of Old Testament Scripture where Nehemiah rebuked the Jewish king for taking advantage of the Jews and wrote, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards. Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards” (Neh 5:4-5). That’s what this debt feels like to us, but can you imagine what it’ll be like for our children? We’re mortgaging the future on the instant gratification of today. Our nation’s mortgaged like a player playing a game of Boardwalk; ever single piece of property is mortgaged, and we can’t collect rent (only debt!).

Conclusion

Jesus doesn’t have to vote. He would not need to vote. It would be like a king voting to ensure he stays in office. A king has no term limits. He reigns forever. God is sovereign over all the nations. Someday that kingdom will be established and all human suffering, pain, sorrow, and even death will be gone (Rev 21:4). That day may be swiftly approaching, although we don’t know when that is, but while it is still today, I pray that you who are not saved, will read this and repent and turn to God, and then place your trust in Jesus Christ, because “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame” (Rom 10:11). It’s not so with the unsaved, because some will awake “to shame and everlasting contempt” (Dan 12:2), and it will be far, far too late to do anything about it.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.