N.T. Wright on Christ and Caesar

In N.T. Wright’s The Resurrection of the Son of God, Wright shows how politically minded St Paul’s (and therefore Christ’s) Gospel was at the time. This is something missed by commentators since the Enlightenment because we’ve come to believe that politics and religion are distinct.

Time again, Wright says that Christ is the true sovereign of creation while Caesar is a blasphemous parody. This “blasphemous parody” extends back to at least Alexander the Great who portrayed himself as divine.

I must admit that I am more and more concerned with the interplay between Christ and the polis. The fact that the Messiah came preaching good news about the “Kingdom of God” should make this obvious, but it is something I’ve missed in the past.