Christians During Times of Political Unrest
A little background to prepare for Romans 13.
As Paul continues describing what a transformed life as a living sacrifice for God looks like, he turns his attention to the Christian’s interaction with the government.
It’s helpful to explore the historical background to better understand why Paul addressed this particular issue.
Claudius’ Decree in A.D. 49.
Luke records the following:
After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them. (Acts 18:1-2)
Suetonius reports in The Lives of the Caesars that this was done because “the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus (or Christus).” After Claudius died, these individuals were allowed to return to Rome - which Aquila and Priscilla did (Romans 16:3-4).
At first, Christianity was closely connected to the Jews by the Romans, so some Christians were caught up in this decree.
No doubt, this decree wasn’t all that popular among Jews or Christians.
Tax Increase in Rome Leads to Unrest Around A.D. 57-58.
About the same time Paul wrote Romans, the ancient Roman historian, Tacitus, reported unrest among citizens because of “an increase of taxes in Rome” (Tacitus, Annals, 13.50-51).
The problem had to do with the “repeated demands” of citizens denouncing the excessive greed of the revenue collectors, especially with regard to indirect taxes. These taxes were placed on the movement of goods and were imposed at ports or crossing points on the borders. - Pollard, Truth for Today Commentary, 464
Paul likely knew about the tax protests going on in Rome and the problems it would cause for Christians if they were caught up in resistance to the Roman government (Romans 13:6-7).
Growing Jewish Resistance to Roman Rule.
About eight or nine years after Paul wrote Romans, the Roman government was in a full-scale war against the Jews. Jewish agitation, led by the Zealots in Jerusalem, was taking place before the actual revolt which began in A.D. 66. It is possible that some of the anti-Roman agitation in Jerusalem had spread to the pockets of Jewish loyalists in Rome. If so, this would be another reason for Paul’s strong urging that all Christians, but especially Jewish Christians, be obedient to the government. - Pollard, Truth for Today Commentary, 464
Knowing what Jesus taught about the coming destruction of Jerusalem (Matthew 24), motivated Paul to warn Christians not to get caught up in Jewish resistance to Rome.
Not only was it unlike Christ, but it would also lead to their destruction - just as it happened with Jerusalem in A.D 70.
During a politically turbulent time, the Holy Spirit through Paul commanded Christians not to get caught up in the unrest and resistance to Roman authority.
Despite their oppressive powers, Paul understood that civil authorities were agents of God, set in place by Him, and were to be obeyed. Because of this, he called for all Christians to be submissive to them - not only because they had the power of life and death, but also as a matter of conscience (Romans 13:5). - Pollard, Truth for Today Commentary, 465
As citizens of the United States, we also are living in a period of unrest in our nation. While the government of the United States is very different in many ways from the Roman government, some of the troubles we are facing today are not all that much different from what Roman Christians were facing.
We would do well to listen to what Paul will say about our interactions with the government.
If American Christians do not take a stand against the evil our government is promoting and perpetuating, they surely are lukewarm enough to be vomited out as worthless.