Jesus lived at a time when the Jewish people found themselves under the tyranny of the Roman Empire. Certainly, relief from the oppressive Roman yoke was greatly desired by the people. Yet, Jesus never encouraged his followers to stage a demonstration, march in protest, or become politically involved in any other way. On the contrary, he repeatedly said that his disciples were to be “no part of the world.”—John 15:19; 17:16; see also John 6:15.
Similarly, when Jesus was unfairly taken into custody by government officials, he did not try to stir up a protest, although he could certainly have done so if he had chosen to. Instead, he told the Roman governor: “My kingdom is no part of this world. If my kingdom were part of this world, my attendants would have fought that I should not be delivered up to the Jews. But, as it is, my kingdom is not from this source.” (John 18:33-36) Faced with a controversy, Jesus refrained from any actions of protest, recognizing the need to remain no part of political affairs. And he urged his followers to do the same.
Participating in protests, therefore, would violate the basic principle of Christian neutrality taught by Jesus. This does not mean that Christians are apathetic to the world’s problems or unwilling to take positive action. Actually, Christians are told to be quite active, not in protest, but in the work of preaching and teaching the good news of God’s Kingdom—the very Kingdom government for which Jesus taught his followers to pray. (Matthew 6:10; 24:14) The Bible shows that the Kingdom will not try to salvage this irreformable world; it will completely eliminate the wicked governments and social orders that now oppress mankind and will replace them with a system that can establish true justice and righteousness earth wide. (Daniel 2:44) Under such a system, nobody will have to march or speak out in protest because God, who is “satisfying the desire of every living thing,” will see to it that all our needs are met completely.—Psalm 145:16.