Rule of Law | Jesus and Nonviolence | Part 4 | Courtney Clark
Transcript: Rule of Law
We are on part 4 of Jesus and Non-Violence. We’ve talked extensively about the way of non-violence Jesus modeled. We’ve titled this creative way of living in a system of oppression and power imbalance as the third way, called that originally by theologian Walter Wink. We’ve discussed the ideas of loving your enemy even when they offer only hatred, recognizing the potential for good and evil in all of us. Then last week we talked about the cross and how it was the perfect picture of a nonviolent response to an oppressive system. Stating that Jesus didn’t fail, but rather he absorbed the energy of hatred and violence to change its form and bring about heaven to the here and now. And now we are welcomed to participate in that very same act, bringing heaven to earth. We do so by continuing to live in the third way of non-violence, grace, and peace.
Jesus’s way of non-violence was to test and resist oppressive laws. Something Jesus and his followers would have been familiar with living as citizens in a Roman occupied territory. Violent revolutions can only incite more violence. When overthrowing systems of power with violence you’re setting the precedent that anyone who disagrees with you can overthrow your position of power in the same way. And there will always be someone who disagrees. The third way invites us to usher in the new way of living by bringing it into reality one piece at a time. By living it now even when its hard, even when you’re faced with hatred and oppression. Martin Luther King junior talked about this as a respect for the rule of law. Saying that blacks couldn’t participate in the American dream if they destroyed the thing they were aching to be a part of. Claiming that the desire here is yes a world free of injustice, but also a world where people have a general respect for the law and they stop at traffic lights, robbers are apprehended, and lawlessness isn’t permitted. Martin Luther King and Gandhi willingly paid the price for the laws they broke, even when those laws were unjust. No proponent of Jesus’s third way would seek to get off scot free for breaking a law, even an unjust one. That would just encourage the masses toward more lawlessness. Because if one can decide a law is unjust and therefore not worth being followed, others can as well. Civil disobedience MUST be engaged with a deep respect for the idea of law.
Growing up I was taught that the laws were almost sacred and we had to follow them no matter what because breaking laws was as bad or even worse than ‘sinning’. Always they would use the verse from Paul in Romans 13:1-7 to insist on blind obedience and nationalism. But I’m not sure that exactly what was going on here, let’s take a look read along with me in Romans 13.
“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”
Submission may lead to obedience but it doesn’t have to. We see in Luke 2:51 that Jesus was subject to his parents.
“and he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them…”
But even he refused to obey some of his mother’s commands like we see in Mark 3:31-35 when he refused to acknowledge her when she called for him. He also as a Jewish citizen was subject to Jewish law. Yet he chose to break those laws when he saw them in direct opposition to God’s will for his life. Such as healing on the sabbath when the religious leaders said absolutely not, or by touching the woman deemed unclean because she was bleeding from her genitals, or by interacting with lepers. Time and again we see Jesus breaking laws and social norms for the sake of a better world. And though he’s often called as the one greater than the law, he was crucified for his disobedience. And his followers Peter and John go on later to say in Acts 4:19
“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you [Your laws] rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
This verse in Romans 13:2 has been translated in a way that leaves no room for question and equates all resistance to pure evil. Yet the life of Jesus and his followers don’t support this interpretation of Paul’s words.
“Therefore he who resists the authorities resist what god has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment”
The first term here for resist in the original Greek is antitasso which is a military term to rage in battle against. Or to set oneself up in armed opposition. The second and third use of this word as resist in the original Greek are translated from anthistemi. Which is often used when talking about violent resistance, or armed insurrection. So with this context this passage isn’t against ALL resistance, which would be counter to Jesus, but rather is against violent resistance. Theologian Walter Wink translated Roman’s 13:2 as
“Therefore the person who engages in armed revolt against the political system commits insurrection against what God has ordained.”
In other words God urges his followers to pushback against oppression and systems of power, but do so with grace and peace, with nonviolence. God’s will isn’t that there be freedom for all, and utter chaos. I think we could all agree that god wants political order where people follow basic laws and are held accountable, but not unyielding power held by the few over the masses as a means to control.
That’s because the rule of law, is for everyone. Verse 4 in Romans 13 says
“Gods servant is for your good”
The servant here being the rule of law. This passage in Roman’s is describing how the government SHOULD work. Laws should be for the good of everyone, and do no harm. Yet even when the government and the laws it puts in place do immense harm and are only good for the select few, we are encouraged to fight back with nonviolence just as Jesus did. And just as Jesus refused to obey unjust laws, so should we. But in doing so we must acknowledge and affirm a willingness to suffer on behalf of a higher law we are hoping to bring into the here and now. Just like Jesus saw a better way and fought for it even in the midst of dire consequences. We are called to demand unjust laws be made just. And what better way to show the evil in the unjust laws than by malicious compliance and mirroring humanity back at the oppressor.
Even when the powers in control are oppressive in extreme ways they still embody something that has to be honored: the principal of law that Roman’s 13 speaks of. We have to begin from a basis of legality in orders to foster a society in which citizens will abide by the spirit of just law. If you create a new society through violence and lawlessness you cannot move toward peace. You can only continue to live in the threat of violence. And the goal is peace.