If you know me, I’ve always kept quite a distance from mainstream sports and politics. Although neither is inherently evil, both organizations often carry an underlying ulterior motive: someone gains wealth while someone else is taken advantage of for personal gain. One of the more challenging aspects of truly allowing the Bible to speak for itself—without adding or subtracting anything—is to be aware of the filters we may use unconsciously to understand these sacred texts. Many people I know, myself included, are on the advantageous end of American politics. Besides being violated by the greedy hand of “Uncle Sam” and his “necessary taxes,” I live on the winning end of the political spectrum. It would be easy to turn a blind eye to what the Bible truly says and filter Scripture to justify our governmental stance here in America, even arguing that our governmental leaders today are “picked by the hand of God.” (Romans 13:1).⁴
Levitical law written in the Old Testament is often communicated today solely as a means to teach humanity about our own inherited wickedness and our inability to walk in God’s design. References such as Romans 3:20, Romans 7:7–13, Romans 8:3, Galatians 3:19,24, and Hebrews 7:18–19 speak to human frailty, but the law wasn’t about condemnation alone; it was about God, and his intentions were beautiful. The Israelites were enslaved in Egypt for over 400 years (possibly closer to 215 years).⁵ Regardless, they were living and being taught a system different from God’s design. The Israelites found themselves in Egypt due to famine and their will to survive. There was nothing wrong with their will to survive, yet they found themselves under a new king, a new Pharaoh who did not know Joseph.
Joseph had been enslaved to the Egyptian government as a result of his brothers’ selfishness and jealousy, yet he gained favor with the previous Pharaoh and rose to be second in command of all Egypt. Eventually that Pharaoh died and the new Pharaoh did not know Joseph. The Hebrew word for “know” (yadaʿ) is the same root used to describe Adam knowing Eve.⁶ Yadaʿ in Edenic covenant language implies the deepest form of intimacy—being fully immersed in one’s belief and commitment.
We don’t know that Joseph was necessarily a stranger to this new leader, but Joseph’s covenant commitment to Yahweh was likely foreign to him. Eventually this Pharaoh feared Israel’s numbers and the threat they posed to his kingdom and thus tightened control over them (Exodus 1:8–10).⁷
What happened to the Israelites provides a spiritual overview of what happens to hearts and spirits when we allow sin into our lives: our view of life changes, what was true and good is overtaken by lies, and the lie becomes our new normal. Did the Israelites’ enslavement in Egypt find its roots in the selfishness and jealousy of Joseph’s brothers? Possibly, but the foundation of slavery began when a people rejected the free-will choice to know and be known by God (yadaʿ) and failed to remain covenantally faithful. These two choices mirror the two trees in Eden: the tree of life, which gives life to others, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which seeks self-knowledge and fosters chaos and death.
This is a long journey back, but it’s important to see the bigger picture: our seemingly righteous choices to fight evil might lead us to worship a man-made god. There’s also another necessary element: a spiritual dynamic at play. There is Biblical evidence suggesting another fall in the spiritual realm besides Adam and Eve’s. I hold to a Divine Council worldview (DCW): as humans chose their own wisdom, spiritual entities did as well. If humans are designed to bear God’s image and to fill the earth with life, love, and order, God also created a spiritual “counsel” to act in the spiritual realm.⁸
This term is not unfamiliar in theological circles. Belief in spiritual deities was prevalent in the ancient Near East (ANE), where polytheism shaped daily life. Israel’s early religion displayed henotheistic traits—acknowledging multiple gods while prioritizing one—and over time evolved into monotheism. Egypt believed in many elohim; Yahweh himself is called an elohim. The battle we still feel is an attempt to disprove or dethrone Yahweh as the one true King.
If the tension across human history has been allowing God to be God and settling into our role as his representatives, why obsess about government or automatically support an elected leader who claims to be “under God”? The truth lies in systems and strategies of leadership. The Bible is clear that humans are made in God’s image; in perfect form we bring glory to God, which leads to shalom—deep internal peace, joy, and purpose found in God alone.
Returning to Levitical law, the Israelites never quite knew God the way described above. Joseph’s obedience fostered a wisdom that even a pagan Pharaoh recognized. Humans as God’s ambassadors are designed to bring heaven to earth; the Levitical law pointed to God’s holiness and the order of his design. Following that design expands his kingdom within hearts and the land. God never made a mistake with his blueprint; he did not create a law merely to shame humanity into seeing how “bad” we are.
The first time we see God’s anger in Scripture is not at Adam and Eve nor at the Flood, but when Israel is in the wilderness after escape from the slaveholding Pharaoh and the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. The wilderness was meant to be a time of yadaʿ—covenant building with an elohim who is not like other elohim—and after centuries of lies and oppression, these people needed reorientation toward God’s creation story and identity.
As Moses descended from Sinai he saw Aaron leading Israel in worship around a golden calf. Offering gifts and sacrifices to elohim was how Egyptians sought to satisfy deities; Aaron’s actions reflected that cultural habit. The beauty is that Aaron sought to lead people to worship Yahweh—he simply did not yet grasp that Yahweh is not like other gods and does not require appeasement in the same way. When Moses saw the golden calf, in anger he smashed the two stone tablets that the Lord had etched with his life-giving commandments.
Interestingly, God’s immediate rebuke is directed at Moses’ righteous indignation rather than exclusively at the people. God’s judgments in the early narratives (the exile from Eden and the flood) function as giving people over to the consequences of their choices—relaxing his ordering power and allowing creation to collapse toward its origin (dust).⁹ This is a theological reading of judgment as handing people over to their chosen path.
Moses returned to Sinai and again encountered Yahweh. In this pivotal moment God revealed his character: compassionate and slow to anger (Exodus 34:6). Genesis 3 is saturated with grace and judgment—God communicates holiness and how different he is from other gods the Israelites knew in Egypt. Today many still try to earn God’s favor or fear punitive retribution rather than revere his holiness and wisdom.
In modern America, someone found guilty of desecrating the flag might face fines and jail time, but taking God’s name in vain is viewed spiritually as trampling the image of the Creator. Could you imagine being imprisoned every time you disobeyed? Living by our own will without intimate relationship with God is described as death itself.
Another theme is the war against the firstborn. If a cosmic battle exists over kingship, spiritual strategies often target family lines to dethrone kings or prevent a kingdom’s expansion. The serpent targeted Adam and Eve and through deception produced Cain, the first human to rule another by killing his brother. The serpent went after the children, not the father. Pharaoh sought to eliminate the Hebrew bloodline by decreeing that firstborn sons be killed (Exodus 1:15–22), yet God preserved Moses, who would rescue Israel. Pharaoh’s pride brought destruction on his own house as God’s judgment unfolded.
When Jesus was born, fallen spiritual powers seemed to act through Herod, who sought to kill infant boys in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16–18). Again, the strategy: attack the bloodline.
Now we come to Jesus and Barabbas. In Jesus’ time, Rome had adopted a Babylonian mindset—power-over rather than power-under—favoring fear and control to build kingdoms by oppressing others. The people desired liberation from Roman oppression, and many applauded violent resistance. Many teach that Barabbas illustrated what sin deserved and that Jesus bore the punishment in love. Jesus accepted the death we deserved, consistent with a God who allows free choice and the consequences that follow.
BARABBAS (son of Abba), a noted criminal in Jerusalem who was in confinement for sedition and murder when Christ was condemned.¹ It was the custom of the Romans to release one prisoner at the time of the Jewish Passover. The Jews were permitted to name any one whose release they desired; when the choice lay between Barabbas and Christ, they chose the robber.² Pilate was anxious to save Christ, but at last released Barabbas. The custom is said to have prevailed among the Venetians as late as the close of the eighteenth century to release a prisoner at the annual commemoration of our Savior’s resurrection.³.
Barabbas was a rebel against Rome; to some he was a bold leader resisting political oppression. The people saw him as one who actively fought the regime, but wars rarely end wars—violence fuels more violence. Spiritual victory was achieved in Christ’s resurrection, ascension, and enthronement, even though at the time his death looked like the final defeat. The bloodline seemed cut off, but pride and miscalculation among fallen powers led to their undoing when Christ rose.
To believe that reverent submission to God leads to victory over evil seems ridiculous to many both in ancient contexts and today. I propose that power-over leadership created the mess many lament. In America many still believe evil must be stopped by violent means and justify actions God never modeled.
This is my opinion: though Satan and his minions do not possess ultimate power, they are incredibly crafty, have immense influence and have convinced many in America to be more allied to Rome’s violent ways than to Christ’s example of sacrificial submission. I am not against government per se, only when it conflicts with God’s design. The Bible calls for covenantal loyalty to the one true God—no other gods. I argue that aspects of America’s current posture do not parallel God’s order and at times contradict Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount.
I love the people of our country and I love our president, yet I would make the same statements anywhere I live because I belive every human bears God’s image whether they live accordingly or not. I will uphold the laws of the land until they force a choice between Jesus and Barabbas. I seek to consider how each choice exemplifies who my allegiance is to. My heart grieves when pride leads us to choose country over the true King, oppression over liberation. We still desire a God who will physically crush our enemies and use abusive notions of wrath to coerce people into faith. The example of power-under—sacrificial living—has not yet pierced our hardened hearts. Perhaps we are unwilling to commit fully to God.
I believe we are called to uphold order as we see God do jsut that when he establishes peace from the darkness and chaos in the beginning pages of the Bible, yet the Bible never commands us to control neighbors physically, spiritually, or emotionally. Jesus took authority in the spiritual realm; he fought the spiritual fight. We often fight physical wars hoping for spiritual results. The white horse riding, sword yeilding, tattooed Jesus is what the reformers have sought convince us the book of Revelation is about. Today, it's as thought the lamb was good in our minds for the forgiveness of our sins, but we are still distracted as we wait for our messiah to finally come as as a lion to pour out his vengeance on all the evil in our world while we ignore how much of that evil we may still be giving validity to. We have even created laws and military systems that justify ourselves as representatives of God's justice, physically controlling other humans. God’s ways are higher, and his wisdom surpasses us, but praise God that his kingdom is available if we choose faithfulness.
My prayer is that we slow down enough to love those around us who desperately need to see the Creator’s love—the one who hung on a tree as the ultimate display of leadership—and that we examine where Barabbas still lives in our hearts.
Let me close by saying that I do see government spoken of in the Bible, but just because it's in the Bible, doesn't mean it's God's perfect design. We also see many ways of the people already at play and God intervening, meeting the people where they are at, and just like the design of the Law, he guides us in the depths of our hearts back to beauty of his good order. Sacrifices to gods existed long before the Bible, religion existed long before the Bible, and yet there are arguably only 4, maybe only three chapters in the Bible where sin seems to not yet have distorted God's perfect design, the first two chapters in Genesis and the last two in the Book of Revelation. Everything in the middle, it is our responsibility to read the texts faithfully, to learn proper hermeneutics, to allow the Bible to speak on it's own accord, to understand the ancient cultures, to learn the ancient languages first spoken in the Bible, and to remain humble to having our minds changed.
“If it’s not good news to the poor, the imprisoned, and the oppressed, then it’s not what Jesus is anointed to do, and thus not truly Christian—no matter how hard some may try to convince us that it’s ‘biblical.’” — Brian Zahnd.¹⁰
Footnotes
1) Barabbas entry and Gospel references — Matthew 27:16–26; Mark 15:6–15; Luke 23:18–25; John 18:40. (See a Bible translation: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+27%3A16-26&version=NIV (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+27%3A16-26&version=NIV))
2) Gospel accounts of the custom and choice — Matthew 27:21; Mark 15:6–11; Luke 23:18; John 18:40. (https://www.biblegateway.com/ (https://www.biblegateway.com/))
3) Historical note on Venetian custom — referenced in older biblical dictionaries (see e.g., public-domain Bible dictionaries). Example reference: A Dictionary of the Bible (various editions) — digitized archives (Google Books/Archive.org).
4) Romans 13:1 (see: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+13%3A1&version=NIV (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+13%3A1&version=NIV))
5) Length of Israelite sojourn in Egypt — traditional figure vs. alternative chronology: Answers in Genesis discussion (possible shorter chronology): https://answersingenesis.org/bible-questions/how-long-were-the-israelites-in-egypt/ (https://answersingenesis.org/bible-questions/how-long-were-the-israelites-in-egypt/)
6) Hebrew root yadaʿ (to know) — lexicon and discussion: https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3045.htm (https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3045.htm)
7) Exodus 1:8–10 (HCSB/NIV etc.): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+1%3A8-10&version=HCSB (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+1%3A8-10&version=HCSB)
8) On the Divine Council worldview and related resources: The Divine Council Project overview: https://www.thedivinecouncil.com/ (https://www.thedivinecouncil.com/) — see also scholarly treatments of the divine council in the ANE and early Israelite religion.
9) Theological explanation of judgment as “handing over” — see theological essays such as “The First Time God Gets Angry” (various online theological commentaries).
10) Brian Zahnd quote and commentary — see Brian Zahnd’s writings and sermons (e.g., https://brianzahnd.com/ (https://brianzahnd.com/)).
