John the Baptist: Political Watchdog?

By definition, a political watchdog “watches the activities of a particular part of government in order to report illegal acts or problems” (Dictionary.Cambridge.org). While it may be a stretch to call John the Baptist a political watchdog, we do have evidence that he exposed at least one messy affair in the Roman government.

John the Baptist, a Jewish man who was sent ahead of Jesus to pave the way for His coming, had a fiery personality. At one point, as John baptized converts in the River Jordan, a group of Pharisees and Sadducees met him on the shore. Before they could open their mouths to explain their presence, John put them in their place, calling them a “brood of vipers” that needed to repent and produce the fruit of righteousness.

But John didn’t reserve his fiery messages for the Jewish nation, only. We know that he involved himself in the affairs of the Roman government because John publicly rebuked Herod Antipas for his adulterous relationship with his brother Philip’s wife. We have very little in-depth information about this rare interaction, a Jewish man rebuking a Roman official, although it is recorded in three of the four Gospels: Matthew 14, Mark 6, and Luke 9.

John rebuked Herod Antipas for divorcing his first wife and marrying his brother’s wife, Herodias, by telling Herod that his actions were ‘unlawful.’ And while Herod Antipas wasn’t a Jew, he was familiar with Jewish Law because his father had converted to Judaism and loosely followed the Law when Herod was young. Perhaps this is the reason John felt that Herod could understand the term ‘unlawful’ even though Herod was a Roman ruler.

We know that John was a prophet who heard directly from God (Luke 7:28), so perhaps this is why he was free to expose a Roman official. But this interaction brings up questions about, and perhaps gives support for, the idea that Christians can (and/or should) expose the evil deeds of governmental officials. While we don’t see others exposing the wickedness of Roman officials in John’s time, we do see that Jesus and His disciples exposed the evil acts of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Jewish Sanhedrin of their day.

What do you think; is it Biblical for Christians to expose the evil deeds of their government? Are certain people in the Body of Christ assigned to this sort of task? What about the general posting of speculative accusations via Face book: does this qualify as an appropriate and Godly exposing of wickedness?

Lastly, if the answer to each of the above questions is 'yes', then we should also be willing to stand by the facts we expose ... to the point of death! This example should keep us on the straight and narrow; without exaggeration, without disrespect, and without a doubt having a confirmation from the Lord on what we are reporting as truth. Speaking a difficult truth is what brought an end to the life of John the Baptist: Herod Antipas cut his head off and gave it to his step-daughter at his wife Herodias' request. Herodias was likely a bit bitter at having been publicly humiliated by John's reports of her illicit affair!