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The Kingdom that Turned the World Upside Down  /  Chapter 15, Has Anyone Done This in Real Life  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 3
When Jesus tells Jews to love Romans, go the second mile, and pay Caesar’s taxes, Bercot calls those responses “treason” and “insanity” in that context; what is it about the kingdom of God that could make such behavior rational, and what would it cost socially, economically, and emotionally for an ordinary Jewish believer to obey?
Another way to ask: Why would loving Romans, going the second mile, and paying Caesar’s taxes make any sense if God’s kingdom is real? What would it cost a normal Jewish believer—friends, money, safety, and feelings—to obey Jesus then?

Direct Answer In the transcript, such “treason” becomes rational because kingdom citizens are loyal to God’s reign, not national survival; they treat earthly rule changes as spiritually irrelevant. For an ordinary Jew, obeying Jesus would likely cost reputation as a patriot, strain community relationships, and require paying burdensome taxes while showing kindness to hated occupiers.

Support from Transcript:

  • Bercot says loving Romans “borders on treason,” carrying a pack “two miles” is “insanity,” and paying Caesar’s taxes seemed impossible for a hoped-for Messiah to command.
  • He frames the logic: Jesus’ “citizenship was in God’s kingdom,” so Jewish national affairs were “irrelevant.”
  • “What difference would it make… whether the Jews obtained independence from Rome?”—earthly independence is “meaningless in the realm of eternity.”
  • Social cost: “To his fellow countrymen, Jesus was a coward and a traitor,” implying followers could be viewed similarly.
  • Economic cost: Romans “taxing the Jews quite heavily,” and the money supported the occupying armies.
  • Emotional cost: the setting included brutality—uprisings were “brutally suppressed,” intensifying hatred and fear that obedience would run against.
Discussion Follow-ups What costs today feel comparable to being labeled a traitor by your own people? In what situations does kingdom logic most collide with what “seems necessary” for security?

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