No doubt you’ve spent more time than you wished watching television or listening to the radio this week, at the dawn of what I suppose we will call in future years “Gulf War II.” I know I have seen and heard my share, although thankfully the NCAA basketball tournament, a few movies on DVD, and an abundance of work have helped draw my attention away.

As Christians, we pray that the conflict will end swiftly, and with minimal loss of life on either side. That’s all we can do, really. Beyond this, we remain mindful of the wise words of Oliver Cromwell’s manservant, who advised his master that since God has ruled the past and will rule the future, we may as well leave it to Him to rule the present also.

When wars and other calamities occur, people often wonder aloud, “What would Jesus do?” Some will say that Jesus would be in the streets protesting against the horrors of war. Others will say He would be vocal in His support of the ruling authorities and of the troops on the battlefield. That there is even a dispute about the answer shows how little people truly know about the work Christ did during His sojourn on earth.

The fact is that Jesus, if bodily among us today, would do neither of the above. How do we know? Because “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), meaning He would do now exactly what He did when in the flesh — no more and no less.

In no instance recorded in the New Testament do we ever find Jesus leading a public protest against any sort of government action, though there was plenty to protest, from both the Roman oppressors and the corrupt leaders of the Jews. We never find Him cheerleading for the Romans or the Sanhedrin either. What we find Jesus doing consistently is preaching the good news of the kingdom of God.

The one comment Jesus made about the Roman overlords was concise: “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). His indictments of the Jewish leadership always dealt with matters of faith and practice, never politics. Even in His final hours on earth, as He stood face to face with the high priests Annas and Caiaphas, Herod the titular king of the Jews, and the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, Jesus did not seize the moment to condemn, exalt, or pass any judgment on their policies. Instead, He affirmed a cardinal truth that stood in opposition to any civic activism on His part: “My kingdom is not of this world...my kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36).

Jesus, Peter tells us, “entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23). He knew there was injustice and unrighteousness in the governments of His day. But it was not His purpose, in that hour, to deal with them. His mission was spiritual, not political. So was the mission to which He commissioned His disciples (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16).

So what do we do, you and I, as the storms of war rage, and our fellow citizens cross the globe to fight and, in some cases, to die? We do what Jesus did: we pray, “not my will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). We make requests, prayers, and intercession “for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness,” because this is good in God’s sight (1 Timothy 2:1-2). We take courage as David did: “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13).

And perhaps, when the news overwhelms us, we whisper Grace Glenn’s calming hymn:

“Savior, grant me rest and peace,
Let my troubled dreamings cease;
With the chiming midnight bell,
Teach my heart that ‘all is well.’”