I recently had an epiphany. It may be old news to some folks out there, but for me it was an exciting revelation.

When Jesus was walking among us in the flesh, He incurred the hatred of the two predominant political parties of Judea. These parties were known as the Pharisees and the Herodians. The two parties were bitter enemies, but when Jesus came on the scene and started threatening to overturn their power base, they quickly set aside their differences and and started working in alliance against Him.

The Pharisees were the conservatives of their era. They were hardcore law-abiders, sticking to the law of Moses with ferocious tenacity, even going so far as to add several hundred more laws to it just to make sure the Jews abided completely within those parameters. They turned what was originally a law of peace and prosperity into a heavy, oppressive burden.

The Herodians were the liberals of their time. They believed in the Mosaic Law, but were willing to make generous allowances for the changes of the times. For example, while the Pharisees would accept no ruler save an Israelite from the tribe of Judah and the line of David, the Herodians were okay with Rome setting an Edomite ruler over them (namely, Herod, from who they derived their name). They were fine with letting a lot of things slide.

But then along came Jesus, and all those differences became insignificant in the face of this mutual threat. In the end, they were even so desperate to get rid of him that the Herodians helped charge Him with violating the law and the Pharisees shouted, “We have no king but Caesar!” They were willing to even drop their party standards just to fight Jesus.

Here’s my epiphany: Jesus, being hard center, incurred the wrath of both the left and the right, the Republicans and the Democrats! His message of liberty ticked them all off!

Suddenly I feel A LOT better about not agreeing with either of the major political parties in contemporary America. The way I see it, I’m thinking in a good direction. Is that what the Bible means when it says not to stray to the left or to the right? I’m considering the possibility.

Until Next Time,
HFT