The Resurrection of Jesus challenges earthly authorities 

By Msgr. John Wynand Katende

Posted on: Thursday, 2nd April 2026

Politics, wars, morals, and the environment, among other issues, are very likely to provide context to Easter messages by religious, cultural, and political leaders.

While some people might express discomfort about the apparent mixing of politics and religion, others see the resurrection of Jesus as a direct challenge to earthly authorities. They see it as declaring that divine authority is superior to all human political systems. The resurrection represents a transformative "new creation" that offers hope for healing and justice in a world broken by political strife, conflict, and injustice. It highlights a call for moral action, urging a focus on compassion and sacrifice rather than political, social, or partisan agendas.

Jesus’ declaration in Luke 4:18-19: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted….”, offers the proper context to this reflection. He announces His divine empowerment for a mission of holistic human liberation, promising both spiritual and physical freedom. In essence, Easter and politics intersect by contrasting the "politics of the cross", characterized by humility, sacrifice, and love, with worldly power structures.

Human liberation has been described as “the act of setting someone free from imprisonment, slavery, or oppression,” and “freedom from limits on thought or behavior.” God in Christ becomes poor and weak so that the oppressed might become liberated from poverty and powerlessness.

Jesus was crucified as a criminal because the movement He had started threatened the established order maintained by the political and religious authorities of His day, represented by Pontius Pilate and Caiaphas, respectively.  They represented mindsets that idolize power, money, and glory.

Jesus also identifies Himself with those who are labeled lawless and dangerous to the status quo. A truly revolutionary vision was unleashed in the world that first Easter. At the cross of Jesus, evil took out all its fury, as the powers of darkness sought to do their worst to hold the Kingdom of God at bay. But the powers failed, and Jesus of Nazareth assumed His place as the world’s only true Lord.

Christians are Easter people who live after the inauguration of God’s Kingdom and His new age. Yet they await its consummation, their resurrection, and the deliverance of the cosmos when God renews the earth and when His kingdom is on earth the same way it is in Heaven. It is for Christians to implement that victory in the world. The means are the same as those by which it was won: suffering and death.  Christians are not to obey whatever human rulers commanded, as if Jesus were not Lord and King over them. 

Rule or authority properly understood is servanthood; a sacrificial giving of oneself for the good of others. By acting as a servant, washing the feet of His disciples, and suffering the consequences of idolatry and sin on their behalf, Jesus modeled leadership and authority as such. His revolution changes not only how we view things like poverty, need, and charity but also how we view political rule. Christianity transformed the Roman Empire from a polytheistic state into a Christian empire, which later evolved into the medieval Holy Roman Empire. This transition began with Constantine’s Edict of Milan (313 CE), making Christianity dominant. 

Sunday is an international holiday primarily due to the resurrection of Jesus. Hospitals, charity, concern for the poor, antislavery, the rejection of infant exposition and abortion, all these and more trace their origins to Christianity. Unless Jesus rose from the dead, His revolution would have been an utter failure. Christians are called to be ambassadors of His rule.

If Jesus can overcome death, the world can overcome poverty, disease, hunger, and oppression of human rights. All of these things come from human society structures, how humanity organizes its affairs, not from God. We can do that by changing our economic system from one in search of profit to one that is based on the love of one’s neighbor, of not doing to others things we wouldn’t want done to us.

The primary role of the Church is to remain prophetic. She must lead the way in freeing the people of God from an unjust socio-political situation, just as Moses did in leading the people of Israel out of slavery from Egypt in the Exodus. The Church must continue to call out injustice, no matter who it offends, just like the prophets did, John the Baptist, and Jesus Himself did.