I was recently re-reading the Martyrdom of Polycarp. Polycarp was the Bishop of Smyrna at the beginning of the second century and a contemporary of Ignatius the Bishop of Antioch who was martyred in 105CE. Polycarp himself would be martyred a few decades later at the age of 86. While the details of his death are extraordinary, the lesson which I want to focus on is why he was executed, because it was a real thing during this period.
Put simply, Polycarp, like Ignatius, refused to acknowledge Caesar as his lord. He, like Ignatius and many, many other martyrs, refused to offer incense or sacrifice at the official imperial altars to Caesar. This wasn't just a religious offense, this was a civil one. By refusing to acknowledge the divinity or dominion of Caesar, whichever Caesar it happened to be at the time, they were committing treason against the Roman Empire as far as the empire was concerned, especially after the Christians were blamed by Nero for the fire which consumed Rome. What they were doing was illegal under Roman law, and punishable by death.
My thoughts on this are these. Simply because something is the law doesn't make it right, and just because it's illegal doesn't make it wrong. We've seen this again and again throughout history, and even into the modern day with various regimes around the world. One can look to the Nazi regime in Germany during the thirties and forties to see prime examples of this. Legality does not necessitate ethicality.
My second thought on the subject is to compare the view of these ancient Christians towards swearing allegiance to Caesar with the view of modern American Christianity towards their own government. Would modern American Christians refuse to swear allegiance to their government or call their head of state "Lord" today? Most believe that patriotism to one's country, and some today to their head of state specifically, goes hand in hand with their Christian faith. Would they have refused Caesar, or would they have gladly saluted him and sacrificed as good patriots?
The Christian, the disciple of Jesus Christ, who lives as Jesus taught and walks as He walked is not ruled by laws of any kind, but by the love of God dictating what he says and does. He will obey those laws as long as they are consistent with this love, and when they are not, he cannot. The disciple of Jesus Christ lives by the Spirit of Christ acting and speaking through him, and in surrender to that Spirit so that it is God Himself who loves through him and acts and speaks through him. You need to pay taxes? Here you go. You need to park in a certain spot, or not? Sure. Murder and theft are out of the question because it is the love of God ruling him. But you want me to hurt someone? Not a chance. You want me to defraud someone, cause someone harm, or surrender myself to anyone other than Jesus Christ? Not going to happen no matter what laws are written down or what the penalty may be, and it's not going to happen because that person has surrendered control of himself to God and God Himself will not do these things. God Himself will love first, love always, and love without end.
This is what Paul meant when he said that if you walk in the Spirit, then you are not subject to the law. Why would the God who is acting and speaking through you be subject to any human laws except as a courtesy? As Jesus taught, "the sons of the kingdom are free." Jesus Himself only bothered paying the temple tax as a courtesy to those who brought it up.
Finally, Polycarp understood something few Christians today really get. No one can actually harm the real you except perhaps you yourself. What's interesting is that the Stoics understood this concept fairly well. They, like Polycarp, understood that someone else can only harm or possibly kill the body, but they cannot actually harm the "you" that is animating the body, and once you let go of the body, what harm can anyone actually do to you? As Jesus also taught, "don't fear those who can kill the body, but can't kill the soul..." As a result, Polycarp didn't run from those coming to arrest him. Instead, he fixed refreshments for them. He was given the choice several times to swear to Caesar and refuse Christ. He chose to be burned at the stake in Smyrna, and was a smart-alec about it too.
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