The Bible Says: No Kings

Tomorrow, Saturday, June 14, 2025 it is estimated that over 1,800 “No Kings Day”¹ protest gatherings will occur around the United States. I have been thinking about the intersection of government, politics, and Christianity for a while. You may have been thinking about this too. In particular I’ve been thinking a lot about Christian Nationalism. Christian Nationalism is the term used to describe a set of political/theological ideologies taught by a variety of churches, and communities. The leaders are a loosely organized but highly interconnected group of pastors, preachers, celebrities, entrepreneurs and leaders. A brief definition of Christian Nationalism is, “a political ideology that seeks to merge Christian and American identities, distorting both the Christian faith and America’s constitutional democracy.”² Some expressions of Christian Nationalism are “milder”, perhaps a US flag in the sanctuary and singing “God Bless America” Other expressions of Christian Nationalism are serious about taking over and controlling government and culture, by force if needed. Christian Nationalism of a bad political ideology and it is very bad theology.

Christians turn to the Bible as our orienting theological document. With that in mind, this post is a very brief look at what the Bible has to say about ‘kings’ and government. The Bible contains the thinking of individuals, nations and communities over a time span of thousands of years as they tried to be guided by and understand God’s will. We do need to remember that the Bible does not uniformly and clearly speak with one voice about every topic. At the same time, there are threads that run through the text. That’s what we’re thinking about today. By the way, I’ll use the word “king” for simplicity’s sake, but “king” can mean any ruler holding absolute or near absolute power- kings, emperors, “strongmen”, authoritarians, etc.

When we think about kings and the Old Testament, our first thought might be King David and the Kingdom of Israel. His rule is sometimes considered the “high point” of Old Testament history. But we should start much earlier- Abraham. God made a promise to Abraham, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing…. and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”³ Notice what is said and what is not said. Abraham was blessed to be a blessing to all the families. At this point nations, as we think about them, don’t really exist. But still Abraham was blessed to be a blessing to other people groups. He was not blessed to take over and control the other families.

Next, let’s think about Moses. Moses was never called a king. He’s not really given any title. In later times he is referred to as a prophet. He was clearly a leader. And he was a leader who shares responsibility and power. He shared power initially with his sister Miriam and his brother Aaron. Later, as his responsibilities grow, Moses shared responsibility and authority more widely. “Choose for each of your tribes individuals who are wise, discerning, and reputable, and I will make them your leaders.”⁴ For a very long time ancient Israel was ruled by multiple judges and not a king. Judges were authority figures. They were not only judges. They were leaders and military commanders, some were prophets, some were priests. They were a diverse group, that included women. Through it all, God was the head, the king of Israel. Think about how odd and radical this actually was. In a world of kings, and pharaohs and other authoritarian leaders, ancient Israel did something extraordinarily different- they chose to organize their national life without a king to rule them.

When they finally did ask for a king, God warned them that this was a very bad idea. Their king would not be any different than any other king. Their king would take what they wanted, goods, money, people.⁵

Deuteronomy 17:14-20 set out the limits for the king. In a world where kings were divine like figures with great power, Deuteronomy called for a king who came out of “your own community”, who cannot acquire wealth and possessions for themselves, and who was subject to Torah, “So that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, diligently observing all the words of this law and these statues, neither exalting himself above other members of the community not turning aside from the commandment…”⁶

This is a brief overview, but we can see the idea that for God’s people in the ancient world, leadership was not based in power over others, rather it was diverse, fluid, and collaborative. It was not based in control or power but in obedience to Torah and its commands of justice, equity and care for the poor. Israel’s understanding of why it was conquered and entered exile was that they neglected to follow God’s will as expressed in Torah, again focusing on justice, equity, including economic justice for all people in the nation.

On to the New Testament-

As you read in the New Testament what Jesus said, notice what he said and what he didn’t say. He had a lot to say about how people lived their lives together in community. He had a lot to say about justice. He had a lot to say about how society treats the poor and the disadvantaged. He never spoke of himself or of his followers taking political control of the world. This often confused people. People expected the Messiah to liberate Israel from the control of the Roman Empire so that Israel would be its own nation again. There were a variety of opinions and expectations about exactly how the Messiah would accomplish their liberation, but liberation was the expectation. Jesus had a different way of being Messiah in mind.

There is much we could look at, but since we have just finished the liturgical season of Easter⁷, let’s focus what happened from Holy Week until Pentecost⁸. Let’s begin with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. He entered, not as a conqueror or emperor on a war horse with a legion of soldiers, but on a donkey with some unarmed citizens. The Gospel of John has a long discourse by Jesus at his final meal with his disciples. What did Jesus talk about? Love, service, and continuing to follow in the way Jesus’ taught them. What did Jesus do? He washed the disciples feet.⁹ When Jesus was arrested, he was mocked and called “king”, because he was not kinglike at all. To the authorities, Jesus was not a king. Jesus told Pilate that his kingdom “does not belong to this world”¹⁰ The resurrected Jesus did not return to take over the world through power and domination. Jesus instructed his followers to make disciples throughout the world by teaching. He did not instruct them to take over nations. He did not tell them to work to control of people or nations.

After Pentecost, the disciples did not embark on a campaign to rule the world. They continued to do what Jesus did, heal the sick, feed the hungry, preach about love and care for others. If they had any thought of ruling the world, it was through service and love, not power over others.

Paul, also, while causing plenty of trouble wherever he goes, was not interested in power and control. When he went to a community to evangelize, what did he do? He lived there with the people and preached and taught. He started small Christian communities and then he moved on. He did not stay someplace until the entire community had converted. He did not attempt to take over positions of power. He started and supported multiple small communities that lived faithful lives of service and care.

The goal of Christian Nationalists¹¹, to have dominion over our national life, to legislate a particular morality- regardless of the wishes of the people, is not Christian. The relationship between Christians and our government is complex. It is easy for Christians to think success and power are the goal, rather than faithfulness. Christians need to seriously think about our role and responsibilities in our shared national life. But we start by being clear- theologically and politically- no Kings.

1. https://www.nokings.org/ ↩︎
2. from Christians Against Christian Nationalism, https://www.christiansagainstchristiannationalism.org/learn-more ↩︎
3. Genesis 12:2-3 NRSVUE ↩︎
4. Deuteronomy 1:13. see Deut 1:9-18 and Exodus 18:13–26 and Numbers 11:16-17 ↩︎
5. I Samuel 8 ↩︎
6. Deuteronomy 17:19 NRSVUE ↩︎
7. The liturgical season of Easter runs from Easter until Pentecost. ↩︎
8. You may find it helpful to revisit the blog posts beginning with April 11, https://conversationinfaith.com/2025/04/11/the-power-of-jesus/ ↩︎
9. John 13:1-17:26 ↩︎
10. John 18:33-37 ↩︎
11. Here are several resources about Christian Nationalism for you, Christians Against Christian Nationalism, PRRI Christian Nationalism 2023 survey, PRRI 2024/2025 data, PBS Newshour, Pew Research ↩︎