WEBVTT

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 Good morning, everyone. It's a great joy and privilege to be with you, worship with you,

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! and to get to preach God's Word to you this morning. So please open up your Bible to Matthew

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! We've, for various reasons, gone back and forth from our series in Matthew 22 for the

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 last few weeks, and we're back in it now. Matthew 22, verses 15 to 22.

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 Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word. Heavenly Father, I stand before

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 you with a deep sense of my own inadequacy, for how can we plumb the depth of your wisdom

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 revealed in your Word? There is so much here, and we ask for your help. Help me to communicate

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 clearly, accurately. Help us all to understand.

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 Bring these truths of your Word home to us in our hearts and in our lives by the power of your Holy

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 Spirit. Make us a church, and make us, as individual Christians, make us all more fully submitted to God,

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 you submitted to you, and submitted to your Son, Jesus Christ. Teach us, give us wisdom and discernment to know how to

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 relate to our governing authorities, and to every other authority you have placed in our lives.

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 Speak to us now, Lord. Your servants are listening. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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 Please stand, if you are able. Let us honor God as we read from His Word. Matthew 22, verses 15 to 22.

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 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle Him in His words. And they sent their disciples to Him

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 along with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully,

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 and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.

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 Tell us, then, what you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

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 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?

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 Show me the coin for the tax. And they brought Him a denarius. And Jesus said to them,

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 Whose likeness and inscription is this? They said, Caesar's. Then He said to them,

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 Therefore, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.

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 When they heard it, they marveled, and they left Him and went away.

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 This is God's holy and authoritative word. Please be seated.

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 Time and time again throughout history, governments have overreached and interfered

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 in spiritual matters and in the lives, in the matters of the church.

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 And sometimes the church has also acted in ways more like the state than the church.

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 In the 11th century, the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII engaged in an infamous

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 power struggle called the investiture controversy.

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 By that point, the lines between spiritual authority and political authority had already been significantly blurred.

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 And emperors treated Christian bishops almost like state officials.

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 Henry IV and emperors before him liked using Christian bishops as their state officials.

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 Why? Because in those days, the vast majority of Christian ministers were all celibate.

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 And because they were celibate, they did not have children. They had no heirs.

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 If they appoint, unlike their kind of secular nobility, the aristocracy,

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 if they appointed them to rule and to govern,

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 they would pass down their dukedoms and their counties,

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 whatever they were given to their children, to their heirs.

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 And power would reside within the nobility and the aristocracy.

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 But if he could give it to the clergy and have them govern their provinces,

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 well then, when they die, it all comes back to the emperor.

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 And then he can find another person that's loyal to him and then give it to them

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 and maintain control and power that way.

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 And so, because vast swaths of their lands and their kingdoms belong to these clergy,

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 the emperor demanded that it's his right to appoint the bishops.

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 Pope Gregory VII, however, insisted that bishops hold spiritual offices

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 and that it was the church's prerogative to appoint bishops.

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 This led to nearly 50 years of conflict and much bloodshed,

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 and this was settled by their successors in the compromise of the Concordat of Worms.

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 The pope got to select the bishops, but the emperor got to preside over their appointments.

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 And in a separate ceremony, the emperor would give the land to the bishops,

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 to the bishoprics, to the bishops, the diocese,

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 and then the bishops in that ceremony would have to pledge fealty, loyalty to the emperor,

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 swear an oath of allegiance to the emperor.

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 Christian bishops, an uneasy compromise.

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 In the European wars of religion in the 16th and 17th centuries,

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 we noticed a similar tension and problems.

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 Christians conflated political loyalty with religious conformity,

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 and so princes, for that reason, imposed Christianity on people by force.

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 They pressured Jews and Muslims to convert.

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 Heretics were prosecuted, and religious dissenters were considered guilty of treason.

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 Millions of people died as a result.

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 When the Puritans settled in New England, where we live,

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 one pastor in particular wanted to avoid those mistakes

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 and to apply the lessons from history,

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 and his name was Roger Williams.

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 Some of you guys from Providence and Brown probably have heard of him.

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 He argued that uniformity of religion throughout a nation should never be enforced,

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 and he wrote memorably that, quote,

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 forced worship stinks in God's nostrils.

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 He further argued that there should be a hedge or wall of separation

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 between the garden of the church and the wilderness of the world,

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 because whenever that wall is torn down,

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 the garden of the church itself becomes crowded with weeds and becomes a wilderness.

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 He enshrined equal freedom of religion and conscience into the Rhode Island Charter in 1663,

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 which then influenced Thomas Jefferson

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 and the famous religion clause of the First Amendment of our Constitution,

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 which says,

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 Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion

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 or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

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 No one, in other words, should be coerced or pressured into religion.

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 I think we can all agree on that.

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 But where exactly are the lines in this so-called separation of church and state?

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 That issue is fiercely contested.

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 How should we, as Christians, behave in the public square?

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 Do we need to check our religion at the door when we go into the public spheres?

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 How should we relate to our governing authorities,

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 especially when they demand allegiance in a way that violates our consciences

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 and when they legislate laws that contradict the very words of God?

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 Jesus teaches us in this passage,

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 render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's

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 and to God the things that are God's.

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 And that's my main point this morning.

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 Give earthly rulers what you owe them.

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 Give God what you owe Him.

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 And we'll unpack what that means in two parts.

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 First, we'll talk about, this is the main exhortation in the first half,

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 regard the truth of God, not the opinions of men.

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 Secondly, repay what you owe to your governing authorities and to God.

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 To remind you where we are in the series in the Gospel of Matthew,

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 we're still in the middle of Holy Week,

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 the final week before Jesus' crucifixion, His death, and then His resurrection.

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 On Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem as the messianic king riding on a donkey.

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 And then on Monday, He cleansed the temple of the pigeon sellers and the money changers,

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 turning it back, restoring it to be a house of prayer rather than a den of robbers.

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 On Tuesday, He cursed the fruitless fig tree, which is a symbol of fruitless Israel.

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 And then on Wednesday, Jesus entered the temple again and started to teach the crowds.

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 At which point, the Jewish leaders asked Jesus in chapter 21, verse 23,

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 by what authority are you doing these things?

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 And who gave you that authority?

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 We're in charge of the temple precincts.

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 And we did not give you permission to teach here and to do what you're doing in the temple.

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 So what are you doing?

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 And at that point, Jesus told three parables in rapid succession.

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 Three parables, all denouncing the Jewish religious leaders.

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 In the parable of the two sons, Jesus says that the Jewish leaders are like a son

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 who promises to obey his father and go and work in his vineyard,

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 but instead turns around and doesn't do any other work, doesn't go into the vineyard at all.

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 And in the parable of the tenants, Jesus compares the Jewish leaders to the tenants of a vineyard

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 who refuse to give to the master, the owner of the vineyard,

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 the fruit that comes out of that vineyard that they were hired to work.

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 And then in the third parable, the parable of the wedding feast,

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 Jesus says that the Jewish leaders are like guests who are invited to a king's feast,

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 wedding feast for his son, but then they refuse to come,

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 and instead they seize the king's servants and kill them.

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 Jesus is denouncing the wickedness and the faithlessness of the Jewish religious leaders

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 during his day, and that's where our passage picks up this morning.

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 So no wonder he says in verse 15 that the Pharisees went and plotted

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 how to entangle Jesus in his words.

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 The Pharisees are furious.

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 They're plotting to trip Jesus up to get him into trouble,

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 and we see them lay their snare in verses 16 and 17.

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 Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully,

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 and you do not care about anyone's opinion,

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 for you are not swayed by appearances.

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 Tell us then what you think.

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 Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

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 This seems kind of far removed from us, from the context that we live in,

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 but this is literally the most controversial hot-button issue you can ask

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 any religious teacher, any Jew during Jesus' day.

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 You may have heard the saying,

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 never discuss religion or politics in polite company, right?

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 I don't agree with that, because, I mean, if you agree with that,

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 we can never share the gospel with anybody, right?

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 I mean, that doesn't make any sense.

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 But I do think discussing religion and politics requires special care and humility,

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 because they can be so polarizing, and people are so committed to those things

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 and feel so passionately about those things.

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 And the Pharisees' question here concerns both religion and politics.

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 It's a double whammy.

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 First, this was a political issue because it was about Caesar's taxes.

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 It's a reference to the census tax or the poll tax

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 that the Roman civil magistrates collected.

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 Roman citizens were exempt from this tax.

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 It was only imposed on a conquered and subjugated people like the Jews.

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 It's for this reason that Tertullian,

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 a later church father Christian theologian from the 2nd century,

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 called this poll tax, a quote, a badge of slavery.

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 It was a symbol of the Jews' political subjugation by the Romans.

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 Secondly, this was a religious issue,

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 because the question is,

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 is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

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 Of course, it's lawful according to Roman law.

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 That's not the question.

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 These Jews are asking,

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 is it lawful according to God's law?

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 It's a religious question.

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 Is it lawful according to the Torah?

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 The Jews are supposed to have only God as their king.

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 Even their theocratic monarchy was a concession.

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 When the Israelites asked for a king,

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 like their surrounding nations,

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 God said to them in 1 Samuel 8, 7,

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 they have rejected me from being king over them.

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 So zealous Jews deeply resented the Caesar's rule over them.

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 God is our king, they said.

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 We are the chosen people of God.

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 We are God's special possession.

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 You are not our king.

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 God's our king.

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 In fact, just a couple decades earlier

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 before this confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees,

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 there was a man named Judas of Galilee

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 who rallied the Jewish people around this issue.

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 He riled up their resentment toward this poll tax,

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 this very tax,

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 in order to start a revolution,

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 a revolt against the Roman rulers.

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 This is what he said as he incited his fellow Jews.

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 They were cowards, he says.

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 If they would endure to pay a tax to the Romans

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 and would, after God,

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 submit to mortal men as their lords.

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 So all that to say,

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 is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

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 Is the most controversial hot button issue.

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 And here's how they've set up their trap.

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 If Jesus answers that it is lawful

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 for them to pay the poll tax to Caesar,

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 then Jesus will immediately lose credibility

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 with the patriotic, religious Jewish zealots,

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 many of whom are in Jerusalem.

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 They were deeply offended by Caesar's rule

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 and by his poll tax,

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 and Jesus would lose credibility with them.

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 But if Jesus says that it is not lawful

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 to pay the poll tax,

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 then they will snitch

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 and inform the Roman rulers.

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 Do you remember Judas?

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 I think his name was Judas

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 from 20 years ago.

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 Do you remember the revolt

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 that he led against Rome?

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 That wasn't fun, was it?

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 You don't want that to happen again, do you?

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 See, there's this guy.

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 His name is Jesus.

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 And guess what?

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 He's also from Galilee.

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 And he's telling people

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 not to pay the poll tax.

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 That's exactly what Judas said 20 years ago.

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 You better squash that

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 before it gets any larger.

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 We know this is their intention

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 because in the parallel passage

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 in Luke 20, 20,

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 it tells us explicitly

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 that they wanted to catch Jesus in something

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 so that they could deliver him

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 to the authority and jurisdiction

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 of the governor.

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 They have designed

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 a lose-lose situation for Jesus.

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 This is why in verse 16,

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 the Pharisees' disciples come

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 along with the Herodians.

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 That's very interesting.

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 That's unusual bedfellows.

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 The Pharisees were more sympathetic

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 to the Jewish zealot ideology

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 like Judas of Galilee.

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 In fact, Judas of Galilee's

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 close associate and partner in crime

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 was a Pharisee named Zadok.

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 So they are more aligned with them.

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 But the Herodians

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 are in cahoots with the Romans.

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 They're living large

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 and ruling

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 at the behest of the Romans.

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 So this is,

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 it's in their interest

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 to stay on Rome's good side.

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 So this is a case of

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 the enemy of my enemy

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 is my friend.

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 Pharisees and Herodians

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 have made common cause

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 to make Jesus their common enemy,

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 and they're trying to trap him.

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 If Jesus answers one way,

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 the Pharisees can denounce Jesus

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 to the Jewish zealots.

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 If he answers another way,

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 the Herodians can denounce

00:17:40.680 --> 00:17:41.600
 Jesus to the Romans.

00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:42.740
 Either way,

00:17:42.800 --> 00:17:43.660
 they can get Jesus

00:17:43.660 --> 00:17:44.660
 into sufficient trouble

00:17:44.660 --> 00:17:45.560
 to get rid of him,

00:17:45.620 --> 00:17:46.680
 which is what they want to do.

00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:49.980
 So their question

00:17:49.980 --> 00:17:53.040
 is not a sincere question.

00:17:53.380 --> 00:17:53.920
 It's a setup.

00:17:54.760 --> 00:17:55.800
 But they don't want Jesus

00:17:55.800 --> 00:17:56.400
 to know that,

00:17:57.380 --> 00:17:58.300
 which is probably why

00:17:58.300 --> 00:17:59.400
 the Pharisees send

00:17:59.400 --> 00:18:00.940
 their disciples to Jesus

00:18:00.940 --> 00:18:02.300
 instead of coming themselves.

00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:02.980
 You guys notice that?

00:18:03.040 --> 00:18:03.880
 It says that they sent

00:18:03.880 --> 00:18:04.740
 their disciples.

00:18:05.759 --> 00:18:06.720
 They've already had

00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:08.180
 their own confrontations

00:18:08.180 --> 00:18:08.660
 with Jesus.

00:18:08.780 --> 00:18:09.440
 They've been embarrassed

00:18:09.440 --> 00:18:11.900
 by Jesus once too often.

00:18:13.019 --> 00:18:14.740
 And Jesus knows

00:18:14.740 --> 00:18:15.500
 who they are,

00:18:16.380 --> 00:18:17.140
 and so they send

00:18:17.140 --> 00:18:19.300
 their unknown,

00:18:19.600 --> 00:18:20.580
 anonymous disciples.

00:18:21.100 --> 00:18:21.860
 Hey, you go sneak

00:18:21.860 --> 00:18:22.460
 into the crowd.

00:18:22.940 --> 00:18:24.180
 You ask them this question.

00:18:24.680 --> 00:18:25.920
 You act like a sincere

00:18:25.920 --> 00:18:28.820
 seeker.

00:18:31.220 --> 00:18:32.440
 That's why Luke 20, 20

00:18:32.440 --> 00:18:33.300
 calls them spies.

00:18:34.080 --> 00:18:35.300
 But Jesus sees right

00:18:35.300 --> 00:18:36.380
 through it in verse 18.

00:18:36.860 --> 00:18:38.180
 Jesus, aware of their malice,

00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:38.380
 said,

00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:40.259
 Why put me to the test,

00:18:40.880 --> 00:18:41.519
 you hypocrites?

00:18:43.019 --> 00:18:44.580
 Jesus doesn't pull any punches.

00:18:48.180 --> 00:18:49.820
 Imagine being called that

00:18:49.820 --> 00:18:50.400
 by Jesus.

00:18:52.080 --> 00:18:53.539
 My heart would just drop.

00:18:55.920 --> 00:18:58.360
 While his interrogators

00:18:58.360 --> 00:18:59.720
 are hiding behind

00:18:59.720 --> 00:19:01.320
 their disingenuous flattery,

00:19:01.880 --> 00:19:02.680
 Jesus tells them

00:19:02.680 --> 00:19:03.160
 to their face

00:19:03.160 --> 00:19:05.060
 that they are hypocrites.

00:19:05.600 --> 00:19:06.300
 The Greek word

00:19:06.300 --> 00:19:07.220
 that means hypocrite

00:19:07.220 --> 00:19:08.640
 literally means actor.

00:19:09.740 --> 00:19:11.000
 And it metaphorically

00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:11.779
 refers to someone

00:19:11.779 --> 00:19:12.620
 who is pretending

00:19:12.620 --> 00:19:13.420
 to be something

00:19:13.420 --> 00:19:14.220
 that they are not,

00:19:14.279 --> 00:19:14.720
 like here.

00:19:15.940 --> 00:19:17.039
 In the Sermon on the Mount

00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:17.800
 in chapter 6,

00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:19.380
 Jesus gave several illustrations

00:19:19.380 --> 00:19:20.380
 of what hypocrites

00:19:20.380 --> 00:19:21.080
 look like.

00:19:21.940 --> 00:19:23.080
 He said that hypocrites

00:19:23.080 --> 00:19:24.240
 are those who sound

00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:24.980
 the trumpet

00:19:24.980 --> 00:19:26.480
 when they are giving

00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:27.740
 alms to the needy.

00:19:29.200 --> 00:19:30.779
 Because they care less

00:19:30.779 --> 00:19:31.799
 about actually caring

00:19:31.799 --> 00:19:32.279
 for the poor

00:19:32.279 --> 00:19:34.019
 and more about being noticed

00:19:34.019 --> 00:19:34.700
 while they're giving

00:19:34.700 --> 00:19:35.140
 to the poor.

00:19:35.240 --> 00:19:35.519
 They're like,

00:19:35.579 --> 00:19:36.099
 here's a trumpet.

00:19:36.519 --> 00:19:37.400
 Is there enough people

00:19:37.400 --> 00:19:37.720
 watching?

00:19:37.880 --> 00:19:39.039
 Blow the trumpet here.

00:19:39.420 --> 00:19:40.039
 Everybody's watching

00:19:40.039 --> 00:19:40.660
 give to the poor.

00:19:44.860 --> 00:19:45.720
 Hypocrites, he says,

00:19:45.779 --> 00:19:47.099
 are those who stand

00:19:47.099 --> 00:19:48.440
 in prominent places

00:19:48.440 --> 00:19:49.200
 to pray.

00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:52.319
 Not because they actually

00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:53.640
 want to talk to God,

00:19:53.640 --> 00:19:54.780
 but only because

00:19:54.780 --> 00:19:55.620
 they want to be seen

00:19:55.620 --> 00:19:57.000
 by men as talking

00:19:57.000 --> 00:19:57.660
 to God.

00:20:00.700 --> 00:20:01.640
 Hypocrites are those

00:20:01.640 --> 00:20:03.080
 who disfigure their faces

00:20:03.080 --> 00:20:03.820
 intentionally

00:20:03.820 --> 00:20:05.080
 to make it look like

00:20:05.080 --> 00:20:05.920
 they've been fasting

00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:07.500
 and praying for a long time.

00:20:10.080 --> 00:20:11.200
 Not because they actually

00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:12.140
 care about fasting,

00:20:12.540 --> 00:20:13.180
 but because they care

00:20:13.180 --> 00:20:14.120
 about being noticed.

00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:15.580
 Not because they care

00:20:15.580 --> 00:20:16.680
 about humbling themselves

00:20:16.680 --> 00:20:17.920
 before God in fasting,

00:20:18.080 --> 00:20:18.820
 but because they care

00:20:18.820 --> 00:20:20.240
 about exalting themselves

00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:21.000
 before men

00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:23.100
 in their superior spirituality.

00:20:23.099 --> 00:20:25.899
 or their imagined

00:20:25.899 --> 00:20:26.779
 spiritual superiority.

00:20:30.059 --> 00:20:31.759
 The disciples of the Pharisees

00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:32.679
 are hypocrites

00:20:32.679 --> 00:20:33.919
 because they're pretending

00:20:33.919 --> 00:20:36.219
 like they sincerely want

00:20:36.219 --> 00:20:36.919
 Jesus to answer

00:20:36.919 --> 00:20:37.500
 their question

00:20:37.500 --> 00:20:38.219
 when in reality

00:20:38.219 --> 00:20:38.799
 they're just trying

00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:39.519
 to frame him

00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:40.619
 and trap him.

00:20:42.119 --> 00:20:43.139
 Let's look at what they say

00:20:43.139 --> 00:20:43.819
 in verse 16.

00:20:44.159 --> 00:20:44.539
 Teacher,

00:20:45.159 --> 00:20:46.759
 we know that you are true

00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:47.599
 and teach the way

00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:48.099
 of God truthfully

00:20:48.659 --> 00:20:49.579
 and you do not care

00:20:49.579 --> 00:20:50.500
 about anyone's opinion

00:20:50.500 --> 00:20:51.799
 for you are not swayed

00:20:51.799 --> 00:20:52.680
 by appearances.

00:20:54.599 --> 00:20:55.799
 Notice that everything

00:20:55.799 --> 00:20:56.680
 that they say here

00:20:56.680 --> 00:20:57.220
 about Jesus

00:20:57.220 --> 00:20:58.700
 is actually true.

00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:02.200
 But their speech

00:21:02.200 --> 00:21:03.480
 is still false

00:21:03.480 --> 00:21:05.240
 because they don't mean it.

00:21:06.839 --> 00:21:08.000
 It's flattery.

00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:12.740
 unlike genuine praise

00:21:12.740 --> 00:21:14.140
 which is intended

00:21:14.140 --> 00:21:15.000
 to encourage

00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:16.539
 and build up

00:21:16.539 --> 00:21:17.380
 the other person,

00:21:17.980 --> 00:21:18.539
 flattery

00:21:18.539 --> 00:21:19.299
 is intended

00:21:19.299 --> 00:21:21.240
 to build yourself up

00:21:21.240 --> 00:21:22.920
 and put yourself

00:21:22.920 --> 00:21:25.240
 in an advantageous situation.

00:21:26.519 --> 00:21:27.779
 It's self-serving.

00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:33.759
 Our Kent Hughes,

00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:34.500
 another pastor,

00:21:34.839 --> 00:21:36.039
 memorably said,

00:21:36.039 --> 00:21:37.299
 gossip is saying

00:21:37.299 --> 00:21:38.399
 behind a person's back

00:21:38.399 --> 00:21:38.960
 what you would never

00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:39.879
 say to their face.

00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:41.799
 Flattery

00:21:41.799 --> 00:21:42.500
 is saying

00:21:42.500 --> 00:21:43.500
 to a person's face

00:21:43.500 --> 00:21:44.200
 what you would never

00:21:44.200 --> 00:21:45.279
 say behind their back.

00:21:48.059 --> 00:21:49.599
 These Pharisaic agents

00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:50.579
 are just trying

00:21:50.579 --> 00:21:51.960
 to butter Jesus up

00:21:51.960 --> 00:21:53.279
 to make him

00:21:53.279 --> 00:21:53.899
 slip and fall.

00:21:56.299 --> 00:21:56.740
 Nonetheless,

00:21:57.279 --> 00:21:57.899
 what they say

00:21:57.899 --> 00:21:58.420
 about Jesus

00:21:58.420 --> 00:21:59.779
 is entirely true.

00:22:00.200 --> 00:22:01.379
 Jesus is true.

00:22:01.819 --> 00:22:03.000
 He does teach

00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:03.740
 the way of God

00:22:03.740 --> 00:22:04.379
 truthfully.

00:22:04.380 --> 00:22:06.360
 Jesus does not

00:22:06.360 --> 00:22:07.060
 care about

00:22:07.060 --> 00:22:07.920
 anyone's opinion.

00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:09.420
 It says in John 2,

00:22:09.480 --> 00:22:10.120
 24-25

00:22:10.120 --> 00:22:11.180
 that Jesus did not

00:22:11.180 --> 00:22:12.440
 entrust himself

00:22:12.440 --> 00:22:13.280
 to people

00:22:13.280 --> 00:22:13.920
 and to their

00:22:13.920 --> 00:22:15.060
 esteem or opinion

00:22:15.060 --> 00:22:15.600
 about him.

00:22:15.960 --> 00:22:16.760
 Jesus is not

00:22:16.760 --> 00:22:18.240
 swayed by appearances.

00:22:19.120 --> 00:22:19.740
 That phrase,

00:22:19.840 --> 00:22:21.060
 not swayed by appearances

00:22:21.060 --> 00:22:22.320
 in the original Greek

00:22:22.320 --> 00:22:22.880
 is literally

00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:23.520
 Jesus,

00:22:23.720 --> 00:22:24.760
 you do not see

00:22:24.760 --> 00:22:25.480
 faces.

00:22:26.440 --> 00:22:27.440
 What does that mean?

00:22:28.100 --> 00:22:29.200
 You do not see

00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:29.760
 faces.

00:22:30.920 --> 00:22:31.820
 This is a Hebrew

00:22:31.820 --> 00:22:32.340
 idiom

00:22:32.339 --> 00:22:33.399
 for showing

00:22:33.399 --> 00:22:34.299
 partiality

00:22:34.299 --> 00:22:35.039
 towards certain

00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:36.740
 people or faces.

00:22:38.339 --> 00:22:39.119
 Deuteronomy 10,

00:22:39.179 --> 00:22:40.039
 17 says that

00:22:40.039 --> 00:22:41.019
 God is not

00:22:41.019 --> 00:22:41.599
 partial

00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:42.279
 and takes

00:22:42.279 --> 00:22:43.240
 no bribe.

00:22:43.879 --> 00:22:44.419
 Literally,

00:22:44.659 --> 00:22:45.019
 in the Hebrew,

00:22:45.199 --> 00:22:45.959
 that's God

00:22:45.959 --> 00:22:46.599
 does not

00:22:46.599 --> 00:22:47.559
 take faces

00:22:47.559 --> 00:22:48.379
 and does not

00:22:48.379 --> 00:22:49.379
 take bribes.

00:22:51.159 --> 00:22:51.720
 Similarly,

00:22:51.899 --> 00:22:52.519
 in Acts 10,

00:22:52.579 --> 00:22:52.899
 34,

00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:53.359
 he says that

00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:53.959
 God shows

00:22:53.959 --> 00:22:55.179
 no partiality.

00:22:56.240 --> 00:22:56.539
 And there,

00:22:56.679 --> 00:22:57.799
 the literal expression

00:22:57.799 --> 00:22:58.359
 in Greek

00:22:58.359 --> 00:22:59.019
 is God

00:22:59.019 --> 00:22:59.720
 does not

00:22:59.720 --> 00:23:00.400
 take up

00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:00.839
 faces.

00:23:02.059 --> 00:23:02.759
 So to not

00:23:02.759 --> 00:23:03.620
 take a face

00:23:03.620 --> 00:23:05.059
 is to show

00:23:05.059 --> 00:23:06.039
 no partiality

00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:06.779
 to anyone

00:23:06.779 --> 00:23:07.500
 regardless

00:23:07.500 --> 00:23:08.079
 of their

00:23:08.079 --> 00:23:08.720
 appearance,

00:23:08.900 --> 00:23:09.380
 position,

00:23:09.640 --> 00:23:10.360
 or power.

00:23:12.140 --> 00:23:13.160
 This is what

00:23:13.160 --> 00:23:13.940
 God enjoins

00:23:13.940 --> 00:23:14.660
 Samuel in

00:23:14.660 --> 00:23:15.579
 1 Samuel 16,

00:23:15.700 --> 00:23:15.980
 7.

00:23:16.299 --> 00:23:17.299
 Do not look

00:23:17.299 --> 00:23:17.940
 on his

00:23:17.940 --> 00:23:18.660
 appearance

00:23:18.660 --> 00:23:19.680
 or on the

00:23:19.680 --> 00:23:20.539
 height of his

00:23:20.539 --> 00:23:20.960
 stature

00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:21.920
 because I have

00:23:21.920 --> 00:23:22.720
 rejected him.

00:23:23.360 --> 00:23:24.079
 For the Lord

00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:24.980
 sees not

00:23:24.980 --> 00:23:25.559
 as man

00:23:25.559 --> 00:23:26.100
 sees.

00:23:26.700 --> 00:23:27.380
 Man looks

00:23:27.380 --> 00:23:28.000
 on the outward

00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:28.660
 appearance,

00:23:28.660 --> 00:23:29.759
 but the Lord

00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:30.480
 looks on

00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:31.000
 the heart.

00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:32.759
 The Lord

00:23:32.759 --> 00:23:33.180
 does not

00:23:33.180 --> 00:23:33.840
 see faces,

00:23:33.960 --> 00:23:34.259
 he sees

00:23:34.259 --> 00:23:34.640
 hearts.

00:23:38.140 --> 00:23:38.580
 Jesus

00:23:38.580 --> 00:23:39.500
 is therefore

00:23:39.500 --> 00:23:39.980
 like his

00:23:39.980 --> 00:23:40.860
 father because

00:23:40.860 --> 00:23:41.740
 he's God's

00:23:41.740 --> 00:23:42.960
 son and

00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:43.360
 because he's

00:23:43.360 --> 00:23:43.900
 one with

00:23:43.900 --> 00:23:44.100
 him,

00:23:44.200 --> 00:23:44.720
 he sees

00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:45.340
 no faces.

00:23:45.779 --> 00:23:46.300
 He's not

00:23:46.300 --> 00:23:46.840
 swayed by

00:23:46.840 --> 00:23:47.360
 appearances.

00:23:49.460 --> 00:23:50.340
 He doesn't

00:23:50.340 --> 00:23:50.840
 pay more

00:23:50.840 --> 00:23:51.500
 attention to

00:23:51.500 --> 00:23:52.700
 beautiful and

00:23:52.700 --> 00:23:53.480
 handsome people

00:23:53.480 --> 00:23:54.880
 or rich and

00:23:54.880 --> 00:23:55.860
 powerful people.

00:23:55.859 --> 00:23:58.079
 it's an

00:23:58.079 --> 00:23:58.899
 amazing quality

00:23:58.899 --> 00:23:59.279
 about our

00:23:59.279 --> 00:23:59.699
 savior that

00:23:59.699 --> 00:23:59.919
 we should

00:23:59.919 --> 00:24:00.279
 seek to

00:24:00.279 --> 00:24:00.559
 emulate.

00:24:03.459 --> 00:24:03.959
 Whether

00:24:03.959 --> 00:24:04.679
 people love

00:24:04.679 --> 00:24:05.500
 him or

00:24:05.500 --> 00:24:06.099
 hate him,

00:24:06.439 --> 00:24:06.639
 whatever

00:24:06.639 --> 00:24:07.199
 people's

00:24:07.199 --> 00:24:07.799
 opinion of

00:24:07.799 --> 00:24:08.199
 him might

00:24:08.199 --> 00:24:08.539
 be,

00:24:08.879 --> 00:24:09.339
 Jesus is

00:24:09.339 --> 00:24:10.259
 always true

00:24:10.259 --> 00:24:11.000
 and teaches

00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:11.579
 the way of

00:24:11.579 --> 00:24:12.699
 God truthfully.

00:24:13.539 --> 00:24:13.959
 And how

00:24:13.959 --> 00:24:14.759
 different is

00:24:14.759 --> 00:24:15.299
 Jesus from

00:24:15.299 --> 00:24:15.959
 the Pharisees?

00:24:17.159 --> 00:24:18.000
 When Jesus

00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:18.579
 asked them

00:24:18.579 --> 00:24:19.000
 earlier in

00:24:19.000 --> 00:24:19.579
 chapter 21,

00:24:19.639 --> 00:24:20.019
 25,

00:24:20.699 --> 00:24:21.199
 the baptism

00:24:21.199 --> 00:24:21.819
 of John,

00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:22.819
 where does it

00:24:22.819 --> 00:24:23.259
 come from?

00:24:23.299 --> 00:24:23.659
 From heaven

00:24:23.659 --> 00:24:24.259
 or from man?

00:24:24.259 --> 00:24:25.460
 They refused

00:24:25.460 --> 00:24:26.839
 to answer,

00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:27.420
 give Jesus

00:24:27.420 --> 00:24:27.839
 a straight

00:24:27.839 --> 00:24:28.160
 answer.

00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:29.700
 They refused

00:24:29.700 --> 00:24:30.420
 to tell him

00:24:30.420 --> 00:24:31.180
 honestly what

00:24:31.180 --> 00:24:31.619
 they think

00:24:31.619 --> 00:24:32.099
 because they

00:24:32.099 --> 00:24:32.940
 despised John

00:24:32.940 --> 00:24:33.359
 the Baptist

00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:33.819
 and they

00:24:33.819 --> 00:24:34.379
 definitely did

00:24:34.379 --> 00:24:34.859
 not think

00:24:34.859 --> 00:24:35.799
 that his

00:24:35.799 --> 00:24:36.440
 baptism came

00:24:36.440 --> 00:24:36.960
 from heaven

00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:37.740
 but they

00:24:37.740 --> 00:24:38.379
 did not

00:24:38.379 --> 00:24:38.920
 dare to

00:24:38.920 --> 00:24:39.339
 say that

00:24:39.339 --> 00:24:39.900
 because it

00:24:39.900 --> 00:24:40.440
 says they

00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:41.279
 were afraid

00:24:41.279 --> 00:24:41.740
 of the

00:24:41.740 --> 00:24:42.819
 crowd for

00:24:42.819 --> 00:24:43.200
 they all

00:24:43.200 --> 00:24:43.660
 hold that

00:24:43.660 --> 00:24:44.000
 John was

00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:44.400
 a prophet.

00:24:45.700 --> 00:24:46.140
 And again

00:24:46.140 --> 00:24:46.480
 in chapter

00:24:46.480 --> 00:24:47.000
 21,

00:24:47.140 --> 00:24:47.519
 45,

00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:48.059
 46,

00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:48.920
 after hearing

00:24:48.920 --> 00:24:49.660
 the parables

00:24:49.660 --> 00:24:50.299
 that Jesus

00:24:50.299 --> 00:24:51.279
 spoke denouncing

00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:51.660
 them,

00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:52.319
 the Jewish

00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:52.740
 leaders,

00:24:53.299 --> 00:24:53.799
 it says that

00:24:53.799 --> 00:24:54.119
 they were

00:24:54.119 --> 00:24:54.659
 seeking to

00:24:54.659 --> 00:24:55.579
 arrest Jesus

00:24:55.579 --> 00:24:56.319
 but they

00:24:56.319 --> 00:24:57.339
 feared the

00:24:57.339 --> 00:24:58.159
 crowds because

00:24:58.159 --> 00:24:58.740
 they held

00:24:58.740 --> 00:24:59.419
 him to be

00:24:59.419 --> 00:24:59.899
 a prophet.

00:25:01.359 --> 00:25:02.500
 The Pharisees

00:25:02.500 --> 00:25:03.599
 are unwilling

00:25:03.599 --> 00:25:04.619
 to say what

00:25:04.619 --> 00:25:05.180
 they really

00:25:05.180 --> 00:25:05.899
 think and

00:25:05.899 --> 00:25:06.579
 to do what

00:25:06.579 --> 00:25:07.019
 they really

00:25:07.019 --> 00:25:07.460
 think is

00:25:07.460 --> 00:25:07.859
 right

00:25:07.859 --> 00:25:12.000
 because they're

00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:12.419
 afraid of

00:25:12.419 --> 00:25:12.700
 people's

00:25:12.700 --> 00:25:13.159
 opinions,

00:25:14.240 --> 00:25:15.019
 unlike Jesus

00:25:15.019 --> 00:25:15.919
 who does

00:25:15.919 --> 00:25:16.519
 not care

00:25:16.519 --> 00:25:17.139
 about anyone's

00:25:17.139 --> 00:25:17.440
 opinion.

00:25:20.559 --> 00:25:21.680
 The Herodians

00:25:21.680 --> 00:25:22.700
 are concerned

00:25:22.700 --> 00:25:23.259
 about pleasing

00:25:23.259 --> 00:25:23.779
 the Romans

00:25:23.779 --> 00:25:24.299
 and doing

00:25:24.299 --> 00:25:24.879
 their bidding

00:25:24.879 --> 00:25:26.259
 because they

00:25:26.259 --> 00:25:27.180
 see people's

00:25:27.180 --> 00:25:27.500
 faces,

00:25:27.660 --> 00:25:27.960
 they only

00:25:27.960 --> 00:25:28.700
 see powerful

00:25:28.700 --> 00:25:29.180
 people's

00:25:29.180 --> 00:25:29.539
 faces,

00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:31.440
 but Jesus

00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:31.879
 does not

00:25:31.879 --> 00:25:32.480
 see people's

00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:32.740
 faces.

00:25:35.299 --> 00:25:36.119
 What about

00:25:36.119 --> 00:25:36.359
 you?

00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:39.460
 Do you

00:25:39.460 --> 00:25:40.619
 see people's

00:25:40.619 --> 00:25:40.900
 faces?

00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:43.779
 Do you

00:25:43.779 --> 00:25:44.440
 pay more

00:25:44.440 --> 00:25:45.019
 attention to

00:25:45.019 --> 00:25:45.420
 people who

00:25:45.420 --> 00:25:45.779
 are good

00:25:45.779 --> 00:25:47.019
 looking and

00:25:47.019 --> 00:25:47.599
 well dressed?

00:25:47.599 --> 00:25:48.599
 do you

00:25:48.599 --> 00:25:51.619
 respect and

00:25:51.619 --> 00:25:52.279
 value every

00:25:52.279 --> 00:25:52.819
 person that

00:25:52.819 --> 00:25:53.179
 you talk

00:25:53.179 --> 00:25:54.679
 to simply

00:25:54.679 --> 00:25:55.379
 because they

00:25:55.379 --> 00:25:55.939
 are created

00:25:55.939 --> 00:25:56.459
 in the image

00:25:56.459 --> 00:25:56.899
 of God?

00:25:59.719 --> 00:26:00.419
 Do you

00:26:00.419 --> 00:26:00.879
 gravitate

00:26:00.879 --> 00:26:01.339
 toward the

00:26:01.339 --> 00:26:02.179
 rich, the

00:26:02.179 --> 00:26:03.039
 successful and

00:26:03.039 --> 00:26:03.799
 powerful people,

00:26:04.099 --> 00:26:04.679
 people who can

00:26:04.679 --> 00:26:05.539
 do something for

00:26:05.539 --> 00:26:06.099
 you, give you

00:26:06.099 --> 00:26:06.559
 a favor?

00:26:08.179 --> 00:26:08.619
 And then do you

00:26:08.619 --> 00:26:09.359
 tend to ignore

00:26:09.359 --> 00:26:10.240
 people who have

00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:11.119
 nothing to offer?

00:26:11.119 --> 00:26:14.799
 imagine if

00:26:14.799 --> 00:26:15.699
 Jesus treated

00:26:15.699 --> 00:26:16.339
 us that way.

00:26:17.839 --> 00:26:18.839
 We had

00:26:18.839 --> 00:26:19.559
 nothing to

00:26:19.559 --> 00:26:19.939
 offer.

00:26:23.819 --> 00:26:24.819
 Not many of

00:26:24.819 --> 00:26:25.639
 you are wise

00:26:25.639 --> 00:26:26.359
 according to

00:26:26.359 --> 00:26:27.519
 worldly standards,

00:26:27.659 --> 00:26:28.299
 not many were

00:26:28.299 --> 00:26:29.119
 powerful, not

00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:29.679
 many were of

00:26:29.679 --> 00:26:30.519
 noble birth, but

00:26:30.519 --> 00:26:31.859
 God chose what

00:26:31.859 --> 00:26:32.799
 is foolish in

00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:33.299
 the world to

00:26:33.299 --> 00:26:33.779
 shame the

00:26:33.779 --> 00:26:34.099
 wise.

00:26:34.439 --> 00:26:35.199
 God chose what

00:26:35.199 --> 00:26:36.039
 is weak in

00:26:36.039 --> 00:26:36.599
 the world to

00:26:36.599 --> 00:26:37.019
 shame the

00:26:37.019 --> 00:26:37.519
 strong.

00:26:37.519 --> 00:26:41.359
 what about

00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:41.680
 you?

00:26:42.519 --> 00:26:43.200
 Do you care

00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:43.740
 about people's

00:26:43.740 --> 00:26:44.079
 opinions?

00:26:45.859 --> 00:26:46.480
 Do you

00:26:46.480 --> 00:26:47.200
 regard the

00:26:47.200 --> 00:26:48.119
 truth of God

00:26:48.119 --> 00:26:48.980
 or do you

00:26:48.980 --> 00:26:49.920
 regard the

00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:50.519
 opinions of

00:26:50.519 --> 00:26:50.740
 men?

00:26:52.480 --> 00:26:53.059
 Do you

00:26:53.059 --> 00:26:54.079
 stand upon

00:26:54.079 --> 00:26:54.720
 the truth of

00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:55.639
 God's word no

00:26:55.639 --> 00:26:56.619
 matter how

00:26:56.619 --> 00:26:57.700
 inconvenient it

00:26:57.700 --> 00:26:58.279
 is for you,

00:26:58.539 --> 00:26:59.299
 no matter how

00:26:59.299 --> 00:27:00.619
 unpopular it is

00:27:00.619 --> 00:27:01.039
 among your

00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:01.579
 friends or in

00:27:01.579 --> 00:27:02.099
 the culture?

00:27:03.259 --> 00:27:04.200
 Or do you

00:27:04.200 --> 00:27:05.519
 champion God's

00:27:05.519 --> 00:27:06.779
 truth only when

00:27:06.779 --> 00:27:07.480
 it suits?

00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:07.740
 you?

00:27:11.500 --> 00:27:12.200
 Do you

00:27:12.200 --> 00:27:12.779
 hesitate to

00:27:12.779 --> 00:27:13.139
 share the

00:27:13.139 --> 00:27:13.740
 gospel with

00:27:13.740 --> 00:27:14.240
 your neighbors

00:27:14.240 --> 00:27:15.299
 and coworkers

00:27:15.299 --> 00:27:15.879
 because you're

00:27:15.879 --> 00:27:16.639
 afraid that

00:27:16.639 --> 00:27:17.200
 they'll judge

00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:17.680
 you and think

00:27:17.680 --> 00:27:18.420
 less of you?

00:27:20.160 --> 00:27:20.960
 Does your

00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:22.500
 interpretation of

00:27:22.500 --> 00:27:24.359
 countercultural,

00:27:24.579 --> 00:27:25.440
 hard-to-accept

00:27:25.440 --> 00:27:26.220
 passages of

00:27:26.220 --> 00:27:27.819
 scripture shift

00:27:27.819 --> 00:27:29.799
 with the

00:27:29.799 --> 00:27:30.460
 ever-changing

00:27:30.460 --> 00:27:30.940
 culture?

00:27:32.259 --> 00:27:33.099
 Are you like a

00:27:33.099 --> 00:27:33.519
 chameleon?

00:27:33.599 --> 00:27:33.900
 Do your

00:27:33.900 --> 00:27:35.400
 beliefs change

00:27:35.400 --> 00:27:36.059
 and morph

00:27:36.059 --> 00:27:37.019
 wherever you

00:27:37.019 --> 00:27:37.220
 are,

00:27:37.299 --> 00:27:38.319
 whatever peers

00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:38.579
 you are

00:27:38.579 --> 00:27:39.099
 surrounded by

00:27:39.099 --> 00:27:39.379
 and what

00:27:39.379 --> 00:27:39.879
 they think

00:27:39.879 --> 00:27:40.319
 and believe?

00:27:42.019 --> 00:27:43.440
 Why should we

00:27:43.440 --> 00:27:44.680
 care about

00:27:44.680 --> 00:27:46.000
 what creatures

00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:46.460
 think?

00:27:47.160 --> 00:27:48.079
 What matters is

00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:48.339
 what the

00:27:48.339 --> 00:27:49.099
 creator thinks.

00:27:49.099 --> 00:27:53.719
 why should we

00:27:53.719 --> 00:27:54.159
 care what

00:27:54.159 --> 00:27:55.119
 these spectators

00:27:55.119 --> 00:27:55.459
 in the

00:27:55.459 --> 00:27:55.799
 courtroom

00:27:55.799 --> 00:27:56.240
 think?

00:27:57.480 --> 00:27:58.119
 Only thing

00:27:58.119 --> 00:27:58.519
 that matters

00:27:58.519 --> 00:27:58.939
 is what the

00:27:58.939 --> 00:27:59.679
 judge thinks.

00:28:02.819 --> 00:28:03.379
 Let us

00:28:03.379 --> 00:28:03.899
 not go

00:28:03.899 --> 00:28:04.500
 limping between

00:28:04.500 --> 00:28:05.079
 two opinions.

00:28:05.419 --> 00:28:05.939
 Let's let our

00:28:05.939 --> 00:28:06.740
 yes be yes

00:28:06.740 --> 00:28:07.219
 and our no

00:28:07.219 --> 00:28:07.519
 no.

00:28:07.619 --> 00:28:08.219
 If we're going

00:28:08.219 --> 00:28:09.259
 to believe in

00:28:09.259 --> 00:28:09.919
 God's word,

00:28:10.039 --> 00:28:10.859
 let us believe it

00:28:10.859 --> 00:28:12.419
 fully and wholly

00:28:12.419 --> 00:28:13.279
 and stake our

00:28:13.279 --> 00:28:14.299
 very lives upon

00:28:14.299 --> 00:28:15.159
 it and stand

00:28:15.159 --> 00:28:15.579
 and say,

00:28:15.740 --> 00:28:16.480
 here I stand,

00:28:16.480 --> 00:28:17.160
 I will not

00:28:17.160 --> 00:28:17.620
 move.

00:28:21.339 --> 00:28:21.960
 Regard the

00:28:21.960 --> 00:28:22.700
 truth of God,

00:28:22.779 --> 00:28:23.079
 not the

00:28:23.079 --> 00:28:23.579
 opinions of

00:28:23.579 --> 00:28:23.799
 men.

00:28:27.140 --> 00:28:27.740
 Now let's

00:28:27.740 --> 00:28:27.980
 look at

00:28:27.980 --> 00:28:28.200
 Jesus'

00:28:28.339 --> 00:28:28.940
 response to

00:28:28.940 --> 00:28:29.380
 their question

00:28:29.380 --> 00:28:30.039
 in verses 19

00:28:30.039 --> 00:28:30.519
 to 22,

00:28:30.740 --> 00:28:31.160
 which is

00:28:31.160 --> 00:28:31.660
 absolutely

00:28:31.660 --> 00:28:32.259
 brilliant.

00:28:34.440 --> 00:28:34.900
 He says in

00:28:34.900 --> 00:28:35.599
 verses 19

00:28:35.599 --> 00:28:35.920
 to 20,

00:28:36.019 --> 00:28:36.740
 show me the

00:28:36.740 --> 00:28:37.500
 coin for the

00:28:37.500 --> 00:28:37.940
 tax.

00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:39.980
 The poll

00:28:39.980 --> 00:28:40.740
 tax amount

00:28:40.740 --> 00:28:41.740
 was a

00:28:41.740 --> 00:28:42.759
 denarius and

00:28:42.759 --> 00:28:43.500
 that was the

00:28:43.500 --> 00:28:44.279
 silver coin that

00:28:44.279 --> 00:28:45.059
 people used to

00:28:45.059 --> 00:28:45.660
 pay the tax.

00:28:46.540 --> 00:28:47.400
 So understandably,

00:28:47.580 --> 00:28:48.220
 when Jesus says,

00:28:48.360 --> 00:28:48.840
 show me the

00:28:48.840 --> 00:28:49.220
 coin for the

00:28:49.220 --> 00:28:49.720
 tax, they bring

00:28:49.720 --> 00:28:50.420
 him the Roman

00:28:50.420 --> 00:28:50.880
 denarius.

00:28:52.040 --> 00:28:52.620
 And then Jesus

00:28:52.620 --> 00:28:54.040
 says, whose likeness

00:28:54.040 --> 00:28:55.140
 and inscription is

00:28:55.140 --> 00:28:55.540
 this?

00:28:56.660 --> 00:28:57.640
 At that time,

00:28:58.080 --> 00:28:58.820
 because who the

00:28:58.820 --> 00:28:59.360
 emperor was at

00:28:59.360 --> 00:29:00.120
 the time, on the

00:29:00.120 --> 00:29:01.380
 front, a denarius

00:29:01.380 --> 00:29:03.400
 had the likeness or

00:29:03.400 --> 00:29:05.019
 image of Tiberius

00:29:05.019 --> 00:29:05.460
 Caesar.

00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:08.560
 And on the back,

00:29:08.860 --> 00:29:09.960
 it had the image of

00:29:09.960 --> 00:29:11.040
 Tiberius' mother,

00:29:11.180 --> 00:29:12.480
 Livia, depicted as

00:29:12.480 --> 00:29:13.580
 the goddess of

00:29:13.580 --> 00:29:13.960
 peace.

00:29:13.960 --> 00:29:16.100
 So the Roman

00:29:16.100 --> 00:29:17.500
 denarius was a

00:29:17.500 --> 00:29:18.720
 violation of the

00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:19.600
 second of the

00:29:19.600 --> 00:29:20.420
 Ten Commandments.

00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:21.700
 You shall not

00:29:21.700 --> 00:29:22.840
 make for yourself

00:29:22.840 --> 00:29:24.079
 a carved image or

00:29:24.079 --> 00:29:25.200
 any likeness of

00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:26.259
 anything that is in

00:29:26.259 --> 00:29:26.940
 heaven above or

00:29:26.940 --> 00:29:27.440
 that is on the

00:29:27.440 --> 00:29:28.460
 earth beneath or

00:29:28.460 --> 00:29:28.960
 that is in the

00:29:28.960 --> 00:29:29.579
 water under the

00:29:29.579 --> 00:29:29.860
 earth.

00:29:31.420 --> 00:29:32.400
 Not only that,

00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:33.860
 the coin, that

00:29:33.860 --> 00:29:34.819
 denarius, had an

00:29:34.819 --> 00:29:36.039
 abbreviated Latin

00:29:36.039 --> 00:29:36.980
 inscription that

00:29:36.980 --> 00:29:38.440
 said, Tiberius

00:29:38.440 --> 00:29:40.380
 Caesar, son of the

00:29:40.380 --> 00:29:42.279
 divine Augustus.

00:29:42.279 --> 00:29:43.500
 Augustus.

00:29:45.559 --> 00:29:46.240
 That's what it

00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:46.519
 said on the

00:29:46.519 --> 00:29:46.759
 front.

00:29:46.839 --> 00:29:47.519
 On the back, it

00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:48.799
 said, Pontifex

00:29:48.799 --> 00:29:50.180
 Maximus, meaning

00:29:50.180 --> 00:29:51.180
 high priest.

00:29:52.960 --> 00:29:54.059
 Tiberius, the

00:29:54.059 --> 00:29:54.680
 emperor, was

00:29:54.680 --> 00:29:56.139
 claiming both to

00:29:56.139 --> 00:29:57.480
 be the high priest

00:29:57.480 --> 00:29:59.599
 of God and the

00:29:59.599 --> 00:30:03.680
 son of God, which

00:30:03.680 --> 00:30:04.160
 is a direct

00:30:04.160 --> 00:30:04.920
 violation of the

00:30:04.920 --> 00:30:05.680
 first of the

00:30:05.680 --> 00:30:06.240
 Ten Commandments.

00:30:06.319 --> 00:30:07.680
 You shall have no

00:30:07.680 --> 00:30:08.860
 other gods before

00:30:08.860 --> 00:30:09.160
 me.

00:30:10.759 --> 00:30:13.100
 The very sight of

00:30:13.100 --> 00:30:15.740
 this coin would

00:30:15.740 --> 00:30:16.680
 have been repulsive

00:30:16.680 --> 00:30:17.820
 to faithful Jews.

00:30:20.560 --> 00:30:21.500
 They wanted no

00:30:21.500 --> 00:30:22.120
 part in this

00:30:22.120 --> 00:30:22.799
 emperor cult.

00:30:23.779 --> 00:30:24.400
 And this is why

00:30:24.400 --> 00:30:26.000
 in 66 AD, during a

00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:26.539
 short-lived

00:30:26.539 --> 00:30:27.440
 independence during

00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:28.240
 the Jewish revolt,

00:30:28.320 --> 00:30:28.880
 another Jewish

00:30:28.880 --> 00:30:30.060
 revolt, one of the

00:30:30.060 --> 00:30:30.740
 first things that

00:30:30.740 --> 00:30:31.460
 they do as soon as

00:30:31.460 --> 00:30:31.880
 they have some

00:30:31.880 --> 00:30:32.600
 control over their

00:30:32.600 --> 00:30:33.519
 own lives is mint

00:30:33.519 --> 00:30:34.400
 their own coins.

00:30:34.400 --> 00:30:41.080
 To devout Jews, the

00:30:41.080 --> 00:30:42.440
 very possession of

00:30:42.440 --> 00:30:44.120
 this idolatrous Roman

00:30:44.120 --> 00:30:45.060
 denarius would have

00:30:45.060 --> 00:30:46.259
 been incriminating.

00:30:47.360 --> 00:30:48.560
 And apparently, Jesus

00:30:48.560 --> 00:30:49.300
 doesn't have one.

00:30:49.940 --> 00:30:51.960
 So he asks his

00:30:51.960 --> 00:30:54.560
 interrogators, show

00:30:54.560 --> 00:30:54.800
 me.

00:30:56.080 --> 00:30:57.540
 Show me the coin

00:30:57.540 --> 00:30:58.160
 for the tax.

00:30:59.240 --> 00:31:00.600
 And who hands him

00:31:00.600 --> 00:31:02.220
 this coin?

00:31:02.220 --> 00:31:05.100
 It's the Pharisees'

00:31:05.220 --> 00:31:05.920
 disciples and the

00:31:05.920 --> 00:31:06.380
 Herodians.

00:31:07.660 --> 00:31:08.640
 The co-conspirators

00:31:08.640 --> 00:31:10.339
 just happen to have

00:31:10.339 --> 00:31:11.279
 a denarius in their

00:31:11.279 --> 00:31:11.620
 pocket.

00:31:15.460 --> 00:31:17.480
 And that fact alone,

00:31:17.680 --> 00:31:18.420
 they're losing some

00:31:18.420 --> 00:31:19.319
 major points with the

00:31:19.319 --> 00:31:20.319
 Jewish zealots that

00:31:20.319 --> 00:31:21.059
 they were trying to

00:31:21.059 --> 00:31:22.240
 discredit Jesus with

00:31:22.240 --> 00:31:23.279
 in that crowd.

00:31:24.500 --> 00:31:25.740
 I imagine there are

00:31:25.740 --> 00:31:26.759
 gasps and murmurs.

00:31:26.980 --> 00:31:28.620
 They pull out the

00:31:28.620 --> 00:31:28.799
 coin.

00:31:28.900 --> 00:31:30.000
 Oh, yeah.

00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:30.539
 It's like,

00:31:30.539 --> 00:31:34.139
 and maybe I'm

00:31:34.139 --> 00:31:35.039
 dramatizing too much.

00:31:36.159 --> 00:31:37.420
 I'd imagine at least

00:31:37.420 --> 00:31:38.159
 there were like raised

00:31:38.159 --> 00:31:38.599
 eyebrows.

00:31:38.799 --> 00:31:39.279
 Like, huh?

00:31:39.659 --> 00:31:41.180
 Like, what's going on?

00:31:41.599 --> 00:31:42.599
 You're carrying that

00:31:42.599 --> 00:31:44.319
 vile token of idolatry

00:31:44.319 --> 00:31:45.440
 and symbol of our

00:31:45.440 --> 00:31:46.899
 subjugation in your

00:31:46.899 --> 00:31:47.279
 pocket?

00:31:49.279 --> 00:31:50.420
 You use it?

00:31:52.119 --> 00:31:53.359
 Right here, you're

00:31:53.359 --> 00:31:54.460
 inside the temple

00:31:54.460 --> 00:31:56.059
 precincts during the

00:31:56.059 --> 00:31:57.119
 holiest feast, the

00:31:57.119 --> 00:31:57.819
 Passover feast.

00:31:57.819 --> 00:31:58.879
 You have that in your

00:31:58.879 --> 00:31:59.240
 pocket?

00:32:00.539 --> 00:32:03.859
 It's just as

00:32:03.859 --> 00:32:04.680
 offensive as the

00:32:04.680 --> 00:32:05.619
 money changers and

00:32:05.619 --> 00:32:06.339
 the pigeon sellers in

00:32:06.339 --> 00:32:06.700
 the temple.

00:32:08.259 --> 00:32:09.440
 And when Jesus asked

00:32:09.440 --> 00:32:10.440
 them, whose likeness

00:32:10.440 --> 00:32:11.299
 and inscription is this,

00:32:11.379 --> 00:32:12.420
 they sheepishly answer,

00:32:12.759 --> 00:32:13.899
 Caesar's.

00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:18.019
 And Jesus says to

00:32:18.019 --> 00:32:18.639
 them, therefore,

00:32:19.119 --> 00:32:20.259
 render to Caesar the

00:32:20.259 --> 00:32:21.339
 things that are Caesar's

00:32:21.339 --> 00:32:22.500
 and to God the things

00:32:22.500 --> 00:32:23.259
 that are God's.

00:32:23.859 --> 00:32:24.579
 And when they heard

00:32:24.579 --> 00:32:25.680
 it, they marveled and

00:32:25.680 --> 00:32:26.639
 they left him and went

00:32:26.639 --> 00:32:27.000
 away.

00:32:27.000 --> 00:32:29.859
 The word render can

00:32:29.859 --> 00:32:30.720
 literally be translated

00:32:30.720 --> 00:32:31.319
 as repay.

00:32:32.579 --> 00:32:34.140
 It's a Greek word that

00:32:34.140 --> 00:32:35.900
 translates repaying the

00:32:35.900 --> 00:32:37.059
 debt that you owe to

00:32:37.059 --> 00:32:39.539
 somebody or paying a

00:32:39.539 --> 00:32:40.839
 wage to someone who

00:32:40.839 --> 00:32:42.519
 wages, someone whom

00:32:42.519 --> 00:32:43.579
 wage is owed to because

00:32:43.579 --> 00:32:45.140
 of their work or rendering

00:32:45.140 --> 00:32:46.240
 a reward to someone who

00:32:46.240 --> 00:32:47.200
 deserves a reward or a

00:32:47.200 --> 00:32:47.500
 punishment.

00:32:47.660 --> 00:32:49.160
 It's but giving something

00:32:49.160 --> 00:32:50.339
 that is owed.

00:32:50.539 --> 00:32:52.039
 It's a repay someone.

00:32:52.039 --> 00:32:55.159
 So that's why the new

00:32:55.159 --> 00:32:56.299
 international version,

00:32:56.379 --> 00:32:57.460
 NIV, translates verse

00:32:57.460 --> 00:32:58.200
 21 this way.

00:32:58.259 --> 00:32:59.980
 So give back to Caesar

00:32:59.980 --> 00:33:01.119
 what is Caesar's and

00:33:01.119 --> 00:33:02.500
 give back to God what

00:33:02.500 --> 00:33:03.159
 is God's.

00:33:04.920 --> 00:33:06.500
 Well, this is what Jesus

00:33:06.500 --> 00:33:06.819
 is saying.

00:33:07.019 --> 00:33:09.119
 If you're already using

00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:10.299
 this idolatrous Roman

00:33:10.299 --> 00:33:11.159
 coin and carrying it

00:33:11.159 --> 00:33:11.980
 around in your possession

00:33:11.980 --> 00:33:13.599
 and the coin has Caesar's

00:33:13.599 --> 00:33:14.680
 likeness and inscription on

00:33:14.680 --> 00:33:15.799
 it, then give it back to

00:33:15.799 --> 00:33:16.119
 him.

00:33:17.119 --> 00:33:18.279
 Pay your poll tax.

00:33:18.279 --> 00:33:24.660
 Jesus doesn't flinch when

00:33:24.660 --> 00:33:25.460
 he tells him the truth.

00:33:25.779 --> 00:33:26.779
 Pay your taxes.

00:33:28.480 --> 00:33:29.619
 This applies to us too.

00:33:29.859 --> 00:33:30.599
 Pay your taxes.

00:33:36.920 --> 00:33:38.399
 I've heard a pastor joke

00:33:38.399 --> 00:33:40.720
 one time that, quoting

00:33:40.720 --> 00:33:41.759
 Benjamin Franklin, I think

00:33:41.759 --> 00:33:42.440
 he's the one who said,

00:33:42.539 --> 00:33:44.460
 right, the only two things

00:33:44.460 --> 00:33:45.420
 are certain in life, that

00:33:45.420 --> 00:33:46.500
 one is debt, the other is

00:33:46.500 --> 00:33:46.819
 taxes.

00:33:46.819 --> 00:33:48.899
 And it seems like some

00:33:48.899 --> 00:33:50.259
 people try to avoid taxes

00:33:50.259 --> 00:33:51.079
 even more than they avoid

00:33:51.079 --> 00:33:51.419
 death.

00:33:53.220 --> 00:33:54.559
 Should not be so with us.

00:33:57.299 --> 00:33:58.619
 And in saying this, Jesus

00:33:58.619 --> 00:33:59.899
 articulates a very important

00:33:59.899 --> 00:34:00.339
 principle.

00:34:01.399 --> 00:34:02.779
 The citizens of a country

00:34:02.779 --> 00:34:05.200
 are in a real way indebted

00:34:05.200 --> 00:34:06.480
 to their civil authorities

00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:07.799
 for their services and

00:34:07.799 --> 00:34:09.420
 its appropriate and right

00:34:09.420 --> 00:34:10.719
 to pay taxes to them.

00:34:11.599 --> 00:34:13.319
 When our country is invaded

00:34:13.319 --> 00:34:15.699
 by a foreign nation and our

00:34:15.699 --> 00:34:16.719
 families are threatened,

00:34:16.820 --> 00:34:18.100
 isn't it the government

00:34:18.100 --> 00:34:20.300
 that mobilizes and commands

00:34:20.300 --> 00:34:22.080
 the military to repel the

00:34:22.080 --> 00:34:23.059
 enemies, the invaders?

00:34:24.280 --> 00:34:25.260
 Isn't it the government

00:34:25.260 --> 00:34:27.080
 that catches, prosecutes,

00:34:27.160 --> 00:34:29.240
 and imprisons criminals so

00:34:29.240 --> 00:34:30.340
 that our streets are safe?

00:34:31.140 --> 00:34:32.340
 Isn't it the government that

00:34:32.340 --> 00:34:33.680
 provides clean water and

00:34:33.680 --> 00:34:34.740
 various health services?

00:34:35.360 --> 00:34:36.240
 Isn't it the government that

00:34:36.240 --> 00:34:37.600
 offers free education whether

00:34:37.600 --> 00:34:38.539
 you take advantage of it or

00:34:38.539 --> 00:34:38.760
 not?

00:34:38.760 --> 00:34:42.040
 Jesus is teaching us that there

00:34:42.040 --> 00:34:44.160
 is something that we actually

00:34:44.160 --> 00:34:45.400
 owe to our governing

00:34:45.400 --> 00:34:46.020
 authorities.

00:34:48.920 --> 00:34:51.020
 Paul captures this perfectly

00:34:51.020 --> 00:34:52.420
 in Romans 13, 1 through 7.

00:34:52.540 --> 00:34:53.220
 I'm going to read it and

00:34:53.220 --> 00:34:54.620
 project it for you on the

00:34:54.620 --> 00:34:54.860
 screen.

00:34:55.540 --> 00:34:57.820
 Let every person be subject to

00:34:57.820 --> 00:34:58.660
 the governing authorities.

00:34:58.659 --> 00:35:01.759
 For there is no authority except

00:35:01.759 --> 00:35:04.659
 from God, and those that exist

00:35:04.659 --> 00:35:06.679
 have been instituted by God.

00:35:07.480 --> 00:35:10.819
 Therefore, whoever resists the

00:35:10.819 --> 00:35:14.119
 authorities resists what God has

00:35:14.119 --> 00:35:16.799
 appointed, and those who resist

00:35:16.799 --> 00:35:18.920
 will incur judgment.

00:35:19.799 --> 00:35:22.079
 For rulers are not a terror to good

00:35:22.079 --> 00:35:23.460
 conduct but to bad.

00:35:24.019 --> 00:35:25.920
 Would you have no fear of the one who

00:35:25.920 --> 00:35:26.559
 is in authority?

00:35:27.039 --> 00:35:28.800
 Then do what is good, and you will

00:35:28.800 --> 00:35:30.000
 receive his approval, for he is

00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:31.500
 God's servant for your good.

00:35:31.900 --> 00:35:34.599
 But if you do wrong, be afraid, for

00:35:34.599 --> 00:35:36.659
 he does not bear the sword in vain.

00:35:37.099 --> 00:35:39.280
 For he is the servant of God, an

00:35:39.280 --> 00:35:40.980
 avenger who carries out God's wrath

00:35:40.980 --> 00:35:41.760
 on the wrongdoer.

00:35:42.420 --> 00:35:45.139
 Therefore, one must be in subjection,

00:35:45.700 --> 00:35:48.639
 not only to avoid God's wrath, but

00:35:48.639 --> 00:35:49.920
 also for the sake of conscience.

00:35:51.099 --> 00:35:52.700
 For because of this, you also pay

00:35:52.700 --> 00:35:54.860
 taxes, for the authorities are

00:35:54.860 --> 00:35:57.079
 ministers of God, attending to this

00:35:57.079 --> 00:35:57.700
 very thing.

00:35:58.740 --> 00:36:02.700
 Pay to all what is owed to them.

00:36:03.200 --> 00:36:05.380
 Taxes to whom taxes are owed.

00:36:05.700 --> 00:36:07.800
 Revenue to whom revenue is owed.

00:36:08.079 --> 00:36:10.160
 Respect to whom respect is owed.

00:36:10.500 --> 00:36:12.400
 Honor to whom honor is owed.

00:36:15.079 --> 00:36:18.400
 There are people to whom respect and

00:36:18.400 --> 00:36:21.300
 honor are owed by virtue of their

00:36:21.300 --> 00:36:22.640
 position and authority.

00:36:22.639 --> 00:36:25.259
 I think this applies to every

00:36:25.259 --> 00:36:27.099
 authority structure in our society,

00:36:27.480 --> 00:36:28.980
 starting with the family, with the

00:36:28.980 --> 00:36:32.579
 parents, in our governors.

00:36:39.859 --> 00:36:41.859
 There are governing authorities to

00:36:41.859 --> 00:36:43.579
 whom taxes are owed because of their

00:36:43.579 --> 00:36:45.199
 protection and provisions.

00:36:45.199 --> 00:36:48.480
 being subject to human governing

00:36:48.480 --> 00:36:50.379
 authorities and being subject to God,

00:36:50.579 --> 00:36:52.939
 Jesus is saying, are not necessarily

00:36:52.939 --> 00:36:54.659
 mutually exclusive.

00:36:57.059 --> 00:36:59.500
 As long as the Jews are not themselves

00:36:59.500 --> 00:37:03.379
 worshiping Caesar Tiberius, paying the

00:37:03.379 --> 00:37:05.759
 poll tax does not violate, does not

00:37:05.759 --> 00:37:06.639
 compromise them.

00:37:06.719 --> 00:37:08.699
 It does not violate their conscience.

00:37:08.839 --> 00:37:09.319
 It need not.

00:37:09.320 --> 00:37:13.500
 Sometimes we get hung up about what other

00:37:13.500 --> 00:37:15.000
 people do with the things that we give

00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:15.160
 them.

00:37:16.740 --> 00:37:18.059
 I'm sure you guys have heard this.

00:37:18.160 --> 00:37:19.700
 I've heard this from people that I love.

00:37:20.780 --> 00:37:24.120
 Can we really buy stuff from Amazon and

00:37:24.120 --> 00:37:25.820
 other companies who use the money that

00:37:25.820 --> 00:37:27.840
 we give them to support various movements

00:37:27.840 --> 00:37:29.980
 and initiatives that are opposed to God

00:37:29.980 --> 00:37:30.559
 and his word?

00:37:32.880 --> 00:37:34.760
 Can we pay taxes to our governing

00:37:34.760 --> 00:37:36.380
 authorities who will use our money to

00:37:36.380 --> 00:37:38.820
 fund abortion and wars that we don't

00:37:38.820 --> 00:37:39.240
 support?

00:37:42.300 --> 00:37:46.340
 But God seems to care more about what we

00:37:46.340 --> 00:37:50.380
 do, what we do directly, than about what

00:37:50.380 --> 00:37:51.460
 we do indirectly.

00:37:53.000 --> 00:37:55.160
 What other people do through things that

00:37:55.160 --> 00:37:58.140
 we have to provide for one way or another.

00:37:59.680 --> 00:38:03.039
 And God seems specifically to care a lot

00:38:03.039 --> 00:38:06.840
 about how we honor and submit to our

00:38:06.840 --> 00:38:07.840
 governing authorities.

00:38:08.660 --> 00:38:10.320
 Authorities in society, authorities in

00:38:10.320 --> 00:38:11.539
 church, authorities in your home.

00:38:11.960 --> 00:38:14.220
 In fact, Romans 13 is very clear.

00:38:14.460 --> 00:38:18.059
 We ought to submit to God by submitting to

00:38:18.059 --> 00:38:19.200
 our governing authorities.

00:38:20.840 --> 00:38:23.240
 And those who resist the authorities, he

00:38:23.240 --> 00:38:25.240
 says, incur God's judgment.

00:38:27.600 --> 00:38:28.519
 Isn't that wild?

00:38:28.519 --> 00:38:32.320
 Of course, there is an assumption here that

00:38:32.320 --> 00:38:34.699
 these rulers are not a terror to good

00:38:34.699 --> 00:38:35.920
 conduct, but to bad.

00:38:37.960 --> 00:38:39.800
 That's their God-given job, to punish

00:38:39.800 --> 00:38:42.059
 bad conduct and enforce good conduct,

00:38:42.239 --> 00:38:43.139
 encourage good conduct.

00:38:43.239 --> 00:38:46.639
 However, sometimes human rulers do directly

00:38:46.639 --> 00:38:49.519
 command us to do things that God expressly

00:38:49.519 --> 00:38:50.639
 prohibits.

00:38:51.139 --> 00:38:54.340
 And sometimes these human rulers forbid us

00:38:54.340 --> 00:38:56.579
 from doing things that God expressly

00:38:56.579 --> 00:38:58.000
 commands us to do.

00:38:59.799 --> 00:39:02.319
 And in such situations, numerous biblical

00:39:02.319 --> 00:39:04.940
 precedents teach us that we must obey God

00:39:04.940 --> 00:39:05.599
 rather than men.

00:39:08.079 --> 00:39:10.199
 Think of the Egyptian midwives who disobey

00:39:10.199 --> 00:39:12.360
 Pharaoh's command to kill the Jewish male

00:39:12.360 --> 00:39:13.480
 babies as they are born.

00:39:13.840 --> 00:39:16.319
 Or Obadiah who disobeys Queen Jezebel's

00:39:16.319 --> 00:39:17.880
 command to kill the Lord's prophets and

00:39:17.880 --> 00:39:19.440
 instead hides them and feeds them.

00:39:19.739 --> 00:39:22.239
 Or think of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah

00:39:22.239 --> 00:39:24.420
 during Nebuchadnezzar's time who refused

00:39:24.420 --> 00:39:26.639
 to bow down to the golden image of Nebuchadnezzar.

00:39:27.039 --> 00:39:29.280
 Think of prophet Daniel who disobeys King

00:39:29.280 --> 00:39:31.200
 Darius' edict that no one in the kingdom

00:39:31.200 --> 00:39:33.500
 should pray to any God except for to the king.

00:39:35.880 --> 00:39:38.820
 In Acts 5.29, when strictly charged by the

00:39:38.820 --> 00:39:40.980
 Jewish leaders, the official Jewish authorities,

00:39:41.480 --> 00:39:43.940
 to stop teaching in Jesus' name, Peter and the

00:39:43.940 --> 00:39:47.840
 apostles answer, we must obey God rather than men.

00:39:47.840 --> 00:39:52.079
 But it's important to note that these are all

00:39:52.079 --> 00:39:57.260
 extraordinary circumstances of overt persecution.

00:39:58.200 --> 00:40:00.079
 I was about to say overt circumcision.

00:40:00.340 --> 00:40:01.360
 No, overt persecution.

00:40:02.220 --> 00:40:02.519
 Sorry.

00:40:04.039 --> 00:40:05.180
 Need a little bit more sleep.

00:40:05.280 --> 00:40:05.460
 Sorry.

00:40:06.840 --> 00:40:09.340
 And that's not the situation that we find

00:40:09.340 --> 00:40:11.019
 ourselves in here in the U.S.

00:40:11.019 --> 00:40:15.380
 Sometimes I think we get carried away

00:40:15.380 --> 00:40:18.699
 by our Massachusetts independent

00:40:18.699 --> 00:40:19.960
 and revolutionary spirit.

00:40:21.800 --> 00:40:24.360
 Whenever we disagree with our governing authorities,

00:40:24.480 --> 00:40:26.300
 we want to make signs and banners saying,

00:40:26.639 --> 00:40:26.960
 resist.

00:40:28.719 --> 00:40:29.820
 No kings.

00:40:31.219 --> 00:40:34.480
 We go on to protest and show of defiance.

00:40:35.480 --> 00:40:37.199
 When we don't like the election results,

00:40:37.280 --> 00:40:38.719
 we go storming the Capitol,

00:40:38.719 --> 00:40:41.919
 disrupt the certification process and election outcome.

00:40:44.059 --> 00:40:45.879
 I'm not saying that you guys actually did this.

00:40:45.879 --> 00:40:46.319
 Just.

00:40:48.359 --> 00:40:53.939
 But the New Testament never commands or commends

00:40:53.939 --> 00:40:55.519
 this kind of behavior.

00:40:57.079 --> 00:40:57.559
 Never.

00:40:59.480 --> 00:41:02.019
 It's so tempting for us to blur the line

00:41:02.019 --> 00:41:04.099
 between church and state and to seek to

00:41:04.099 --> 00:41:06.579
 co-opt the state's power of the sword

00:41:06.579 --> 00:41:08.860
 to advance our power of the key.

00:41:10.860 --> 00:41:12.860
 To use the state as a vehicle

00:41:12.860 --> 00:41:14.559
 to advance our agenda,

00:41:14.799 --> 00:41:15.659
 the church's agenda.

00:41:15.779 --> 00:41:18.519
 But Jesus says clearly in John 18, 36,

00:41:18.840 --> 00:41:21.400
 my kingdom is not of this world.

00:41:21.659 --> 00:41:23.619
 And as soon as you make one of the kingdoms

00:41:23.619 --> 00:41:24.219
 of the earth,

00:41:24.500 --> 00:41:25.639
 your kingdom and God's kingdom,

00:41:25.739 --> 00:41:27.019
 he sees this to be God's kingdom.

00:41:27.139 --> 00:41:27.860
 That's not it.

00:41:29.500 --> 00:41:30.039
 He says,

00:41:30.039 --> 00:41:31.420
 if my kingdom were of this world,

00:41:31.500 --> 00:41:32.639
 my servants would have been fighting

00:41:32.639 --> 00:41:34.380
 that I might not be delivered over to the Jews.

00:41:34.539 --> 00:41:37.300
 But my kingdom is not from the world,

00:41:37.420 --> 00:41:38.039
 Jesus says.

00:41:39.279 --> 00:41:41.000
 Don't succumb to the temptation

00:41:41.000 --> 00:41:44.900
 to make nationalism or revolution your religion

00:41:44.900 --> 00:41:48.559
 or a socialist utopia your vision and hope.

00:41:49.059 --> 00:41:50.179
 It's never going to be.

00:41:52.659 --> 00:41:54.619
 In fact, 1 Peter 2 teaches us

00:41:54.619 --> 00:41:56.739
 that we ought to be subject for the Lord's sake

00:41:56.739 --> 00:41:58.739
 to every human institution,

00:41:59.139 --> 00:42:00.859
 whether it be to the emperor as supreme

00:42:00.859 --> 00:42:02.379
 or to governor as sent by him.

00:42:03.139 --> 00:42:04.979
 He tells us to love the brotherhood,

00:42:05.119 --> 00:42:06.679
 fear God, honor the emperor.

00:42:08.359 --> 00:42:11.319
 I could hear all the objections in my ears.

00:42:11.539 --> 00:42:12.939
 I could imagine the objections in my ears.

00:42:13.039 --> 00:42:16.759
 But what if that ruler is sliding

00:42:16.759 --> 00:42:18.159
 toward authoritarianism?

00:42:18.819 --> 00:42:20.039
 He's going to become a tyrant.

00:42:22.079 --> 00:42:23.979
 Do you know who the emperor was

00:42:23.979 --> 00:42:25.000
 when Peter was writing?

00:42:26.739 --> 00:42:27.379
 He was Nero.

00:42:31.439 --> 00:42:32.439
 Nero is the guy,

00:42:33.279 --> 00:42:35.659
 when there was a huge fire in the city of Rome,

00:42:35.899 --> 00:42:37.639
 burning three-fourths of the city down,

00:42:38.879 --> 00:42:40.099
 people were blaming him, yeah,

00:42:40.179 --> 00:42:41.059
 because, I mean, he's the ruler.

00:42:42.659 --> 00:42:44.339
 And so in order to find a scapegoat,

00:42:44.399 --> 00:42:45.319
 he blamed the Christians.

00:42:46.799 --> 00:42:48.859
 Oh, the Christians caused this.

00:42:51.419 --> 00:42:54.259
 And then he subjected Christians to torture,

00:42:54.260 --> 00:42:55.620
 gladiatorial games,

00:42:55.620 --> 00:42:57.380
 and killed them by fire,

00:42:57.500 --> 00:42:58.640
 saying that it caused fire.

00:43:00.760 --> 00:43:01.960
 Second century Christian author,

00:43:02.060 --> 00:43:02.620
 Tertullian,

00:43:02.700 --> 00:43:03.620
 as well as third century,

00:43:03.720 --> 00:43:04.500
 Lactantius,

00:43:04.920 --> 00:43:06.200
 they both note

00:43:06.200 --> 00:43:10.000
 that Nero was the first emperor

00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:11.860
 that persecuted Christians

00:43:11.860 --> 00:43:14.580
 in such official and extensive way.

00:43:14.579 --> 00:43:18.219
 And it's during Nero's reign

00:43:18.219 --> 00:43:19.759
 that Peter writes,

00:43:20.619 --> 00:43:21.480
 honor the emperor.

00:43:22.980 --> 00:43:24.299
 Be subject to him

00:43:24.299 --> 00:43:26.340
 for the Lord's sake.

00:43:30.900 --> 00:43:32.480
 Peter explicitly says

00:43:32.480 --> 00:43:33.840
 in 1 Peter 2, 18-19,

00:43:34.279 --> 00:43:35.360
 that we should be subject

00:43:35.360 --> 00:43:38.539
 not only to the good and gentle masters,

00:43:38.779 --> 00:43:40.779
 but also to the unjust.

00:43:40.780 --> 00:43:43.980
 For this is a gracious thing

00:43:43.980 --> 00:43:45.440
 when mindful of God,

00:43:45.540 --> 00:43:46.960
 one endures sorrows

00:43:46.960 --> 00:43:48.380
 while suffering unjustly.

00:43:49.860 --> 00:43:51.620
 Why should we submit

00:43:51.620 --> 00:43:52.960
 to unjust authorities?

00:43:53.320 --> 00:43:55.580
 Because we are mindful of God

00:43:55.580 --> 00:43:58.080
 who put those authorities in charge.

00:43:59.760 --> 00:44:02.220
 We are supposed to learn submission

00:44:02.220 --> 00:44:03.480
 to God's authority

00:44:03.480 --> 00:44:05.860
 by submitting to the various human authorities

00:44:05.860 --> 00:44:07.640
 God has placed around us in our lives.

00:44:07.639 --> 00:44:13.279
 Jesus sets an example for us in this.

00:44:13.839 --> 00:44:15.500
 The Roman governor, Pilate,

00:44:16.000 --> 00:44:17.420
 has Jesus flogged

00:44:17.420 --> 00:44:19.179
 without just cause.

00:44:20.059 --> 00:44:21.940
 Pilate admits it himself twice.

00:44:22.139 --> 00:44:22.219
 He says,

00:44:22.319 --> 00:44:24.059
 I find no guilt in Jesus

00:44:24.059 --> 00:44:25.480
 in John 19.

00:44:26.179 --> 00:44:27.460
 And then he eventually condemns

00:44:27.460 --> 00:44:28.339
 Jesus to death

00:44:28.339 --> 00:44:30.019
 by execution on the cross.

00:44:30.759 --> 00:44:32.779
 And when in John 19, 9-11,

00:44:32.960 --> 00:44:35.079
 he's frustrated by Jesus' refusal

00:44:35.079 --> 00:44:36.519
 to speak and defend himself,

00:44:36.519 --> 00:44:37.820
 Pilate says to Jesus,

00:44:38.219 --> 00:44:39.159
 do you not know

00:44:39.159 --> 00:44:41.719
 that I have authority

00:44:41.719 --> 00:44:43.759
 to release you

00:44:43.759 --> 00:44:46.579
 and authority to crucify you?

00:44:47.759 --> 00:44:48.940
 And Jesus answers,

00:44:49.679 --> 00:44:52.440
 you would have no authority

00:44:52.440 --> 00:44:54.800
 over me at all

00:44:54.800 --> 00:44:59.579
 unless it had been given you from above.

00:44:59.579 --> 00:45:04.319
 Here's the man

00:45:04.319 --> 00:45:05.579
 who's gonna condemn him

00:45:05.579 --> 00:45:06.759
 to death on the cross.

00:45:07.779 --> 00:45:08.639
 And Jesus says,

00:45:08.860 --> 00:45:10.299
 you have authority over me

00:45:10.299 --> 00:45:11.480
 to do this

00:45:11.480 --> 00:45:13.360
 because God gave it to you.

00:45:14.319 --> 00:45:15.860
 My father gave you that authority.

00:45:20.360 --> 00:45:21.460
 In our society,

00:45:21.539 --> 00:45:23.199
 which places a premium

00:45:23.199 --> 00:45:24.380
 on individual liberty,

00:45:24.380 --> 00:45:26.219
 we're suspicious of authority.

00:45:26.219 --> 00:45:30.419
 But God has a much higher regard

00:45:30.419 --> 00:45:31.500
 for authority than we do.

00:45:33.799 --> 00:45:35.339
 He cares that we submit

00:45:35.339 --> 00:45:36.059
 to our governing authorities.

00:45:36.239 --> 00:45:36.579
 Therefore,

00:45:36.919 --> 00:45:37.239
 he says,

00:45:37.359 --> 00:45:38.119
 render to Caesar

00:45:38.119 --> 00:45:39.379
 the things that are Caesar's.

00:45:40.519 --> 00:45:41.539
 But that's not all.

00:45:42.399 --> 00:45:43.239
 Jesus also says,

00:45:43.699 --> 00:45:44.639
 and render to God

00:45:44.639 --> 00:45:46.119
 the things that are God's.

00:45:47.439 --> 00:45:48.519
 In one sense,

00:45:48.939 --> 00:45:49.759
 Jesus tells us

00:45:49.759 --> 00:45:50.679
 to be submissive

00:45:50.679 --> 00:45:51.959
 to the human governing authorities.

00:45:51.960 --> 00:45:53.480
 But in another sense,

00:45:53.599 --> 00:45:54.699
 what Jesus says here

00:45:54.699 --> 00:45:56.280
 is very subversive

00:45:56.280 --> 00:45:58.220
 for a few reasons.

00:45:59.460 --> 00:46:00.619
 At the very least,

00:46:01.139 --> 00:46:02.340
 Jesus is asserting

00:46:02.340 --> 00:46:03.699
 that Caesar,

00:46:04.380 --> 00:46:05.679
 contrary to his own

00:46:05.679 --> 00:46:06.840
 presumptuous claims,

00:46:06.960 --> 00:46:08.019
 is not God

00:46:08.019 --> 00:46:09.699
 since Jesus distinguishes

00:46:09.699 --> 00:46:10.579
 what belongs to Caesar

00:46:10.579 --> 00:46:11.500
 and what belongs to God.

00:46:12.840 --> 00:46:13.699
 You follow me

00:46:13.699 --> 00:46:14.039
 what I'm saying?

00:46:15.679 --> 00:46:16.420
 Render to Caesar

00:46:16.420 --> 00:46:17.300
 things that are Caesar's,

00:46:17.340 --> 00:46:18.559
 God things that are God's,

00:46:18.559 --> 00:46:19.860
 because Caesar is not God.

00:46:19.860 --> 00:46:22.320
 He's putting Caesar

00:46:22.320 --> 00:46:23.059
 down a notch.

00:46:25.820 --> 00:46:27.519
 And Jesus' answer

00:46:27.519 --> 00:46:29.140
 raises a natural question.

00:46:29.260 --> 00:46:30.780
 Okay, so honor Caesar

00:46:30.780 --> 00:46:32.079
 and we owe taxes to him,

00:46:32.120 --> 00:46:33.220
 so we pay taxes to him

00:46:33.220 --> 00:46:33.940
 because he provides

00:46:33.940 --> 00:46:34.680
 these services to us,

00:46:34.700 --> 00:46:35.840
 but what about to God?

00:46:36.280 --> 00:46:37.380
 What do we owe him?

00:46:37.720 --> 00:46:38.300
 What are we supposed

00:46:38.300 --> 00:46:38.940
 to repay him?

00:46:39.579 --> 00:46:40.380
 What are the things

00:46:40.380 --> 00:46:41.340
 that we render to him?

00:46:42.140 --> 00:46:42.860
 What do you think

00:46:42.860 --> 00:46:43.360
 is the answer?

00:46:44.320 --> 00:46:45.180
 What do we owe God?

00:46:47.680 --> 00:46:48.519
 Our lives.

00:46:49.320 --> 00:46:49.720
 Everything.

00:46:49.860 --> 00:46:50.000
 Everything.

00:46:51.200 --> 00:46:51.599
 Everything.

00:46:54.380 --> 00:46:55.120
 It's perfect.

00:46:55.280 --> 00:46:55.900
 Psalm 24,

00:46:56.120 --> 00:46:56.840
 we read from it

00:46:56.840 --> 00:46:57.519
 for called to worship.

00:46:58.039 --> 00:46:59.680
 The earth is the Lord's

00:46:59.680 --> 00:47:01.360
 and the fullness thereof,

00:47:01.420 --> 00:47:02.820
 the world and those

00:47:02.820 --> 00:47:04.019
 who dwell therein.

00:47:05.680 --> 00:47:07.079
 Matthew 5.45 says

00:47:07.079 --> 00:47:08.900
 that God makes his sun

00:47:08.900 --> 00:47:10.800
 to rise on the evil

00:47:10.800 --> 00:47:11.340
 and on the good

00:47:11.340 --> 00:47:12.480
 and he sends rain

00:47:12.480 --> 00:47:14.079
 on the just and the unjust.

00:47:15.160 --> 00:47:16.780
 The sun that warms us

00:47:16.780 --> 00:47:17.840
 and gives us light,

00:47:17.960 --> 00:47:18.960
 the rain that falls

00:47:18.960 --> 00:47:19.940
 to water the earth

00:47:19.940 --> 00:47:20.880
 and produce crops

00:47:20.880 --> 00:47:22.039
 so that we have food to eat

00:47:22.039 --> 00:47:23.860
 without which there is no life.

00:47:24.059 --> 00:47:24.860
 All of these things

00:47:24.860 --> 00:47:25.860
 come from God.

00:47:26.220 --> 00:47:26.880
 They're his.

00:47:28.940 --> 00:47:30.460
 Acts 17.28 says,

00:47:30.619 --> 00:47:31.220
 In God,

00:47:31.300 --> 00:47:32.559
 we live and move

00:47:32.559 --> 00:47:33.679
 and have our being.

00:47:34.300 --> 00:47:35.699
 The very breath

00:47:35.699 --> 00:47:36.579
 in our lungs,

00:47:37.220 --> 00:47:38.380
 the very strength

00:47:38.380 --> 00:47:39.199
 in our fibers,

00:47:39.659 --> 00:47:40.539
 the very souls

00:47:40.539 --> 00:47:41.400
 of our being

00:47:41.400 --> 00:47:43.000
 come from God.

00:47:43.000 --> 00:47:44.900
 We owe God everything.

00:47:49.460 --> 00:47:50.599
 I was dealing with

00:47:50.599 --> 00:47:54.380
 an arm sprain

00:47:54.380 --> 00:47:55.079
 this past week

00:47:55.079 --> 00:47:57.880
 and I was humbled

00:47:57.880 --> 00:47:58.739
 by the realization

00:47:58.739 --> 00:48:00.500
 that such a small thing

00:48:00.500 --> 00:48:01.539
 can be so debilitating.

00:48:03.940 --> 00:48:04.579
 And yet,

00:48:04.880 --> 00:48:06.780
 how many days

00:48:06.780 --> 00:48:07.800
 have I lived

00:48:07.800 --> 00:48:09.719
 without thanking God

00:48:09.719 --> 00:48:10.719
 for that health

00:48:10.719 --> 00:48:11.299
 in my arm

00:48:11.299 --> 00:48:12.099
 that I now miss?

00:48:16.179 --> 00:48:17.099
 I've taken it

00:48:17.099 --> 00:48:17.519
 for granted

00:48:17.519 --> 00:48:19.179
 every single day

00:48:19.179 --> 00:48:20.000
 of my life.

00:48:24.619 --> 00:48:25.079
 Yes,

00:48:25.159 --> 00:48:25.879
 we owe our governing

00:48:25.879 --> 00:48:27.159
 authorities some things,

00:48:27.279 --> 00:48:28.639
 but we owe God

00:48:28.639 --> 00:48:29.819
 everything.

00:48:33.659 --> 00:48:34.819
 I think another aspect

00:48:34.819 --> 00:48:35.480
 of this passage

00:48:35.480 --> 00:48:36.199
 confirms this,

00:48:36.299 --> 00:48:36.959
 how did Jesus

00:48:36.959 --> 00:48:38.019
 come to the conclusion

00:48:38.019 --> 00:48:39.519
 that the denarius text

00:48:39.519 --> 00:48:40.500
 belongs to Caesar?

00:48:41.619 --> 00:48:43.500
 What was the logical process,

00:48:43.619 --> 00:48:44.340
 the reasoning process?

00:48:45.719 --> 00:48:46.320
 Because

00:48:46.320 --> 00:48:47.800
 his likeness

00:48:47.800 --> 00:48:48.679
 and inscription

00:48:48.679 --> 00:48:49.599
 were on it.

00:48:50.460 --> 00:48:50.579
 Right?

00:48:51.099 --> 00:48:52.000
 So that begs

00:48:52.000 --> 00:48:52.519
 the question,

00:48:53.179 --> 00:48:54.280
 where do we find

00:48:54.280 --> 00:48:55.820
 God's likeness

00:48:55.820 --> 00:48:56.460
 and inscription?

00:49:00.259 --> 00:49:01.000
 Josh is getting

00:49:01.000 --> 00:49:01.360
 all the,

00:49:01.599 --> 00:49:01.800
 yeah,

00:49:01.940 --> 00:49:02.119
 yeah,

00:49:02.500 --> 00:49:03.500
 he's pointing at himself.

00:49:03.840 --> 00:49:04.079
 Yes,

00:49:04.159 --> 00:49:04.460
 us.

00:49:05.539 --> 00:49:06.360
 The Greek word

00:49:06.360 --> 00:49:07.300
 for likeness

00:49:07.300 --> 00:49:08.220
 is the same word

00:49:08.220 --> 00:49:08.700
 that is used

00:49:08.700 --> 00:49:09.519
 in the Greek translation

00:49:09.519 --> 00:49:10.720
 of Genesis 1, 26

00:49:10.720 --> 00:49:11.380
 when God says,

00:49:11.640 --> 00:49:12.480
 let us make man

00:49:12.480 --> 00:49:13.660
 in our image

00:49:13.660 --> 00:49:15.920
 after our likeness.

00:49:17.840 --> 00:49:19.920
 What in all of creation

00:49:19.920 --> 00:49:20.860
 has God chosen

00:49:20.860 --> 00:49:22.120
 to put his stamp

00:49:22.120 --> 00:49:23.600
 of likeness upon?

00:49:24.180 --> 00:49:24.980
 It's us,

00:49:25.080 --> 00:49:25.980
 human beings,

00:49:26.539 --> 00:49:27.720
 God's image bearers.

00:49:28.760 --> 00:49:29.620
 Aren't God's people

00:49:29.620 --> 00:49:30.380
 the ones who,

00:49:30.519 --> 00:49:31.720
 according to Revelation 14,

00:49:31.820 --> 00:49:31.960
 one,

00:49:32.039 --> 00:49:33.000
 have the name

00:49:33.000 --> 00:49:34.300
 of the Lord Jesus Christ

00:49:34.300 --> 00:49:35.480
 and his father's name

00:49:35.480 --> 00:49:36.980
 written on their foreheads

00:49:36.980 --> 00:49:37.880
 in a spiritual sense?

00:49:39.039 --> 00:49:40.000
 God's likeness

00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:40.560
 and inscription

00:49:40.560 --> 00:49:41.560
 are written

00:49:41.560 --> 00:49:42.480
 on us,

00:49:42.700 --> 00:49:44.120
 stamped upon us.

00:49:45.840 --> 00:49:46.560
 And the word

00:49:46.560 --> 00:49:47.039
 render,

00:49:47.160 --> 00:49:47.660
 I mentioned to you,

00:49:47.700 --> 00:49:48.300
 is the same word

00:49:48.300 --> 00:49:48.700
 that means

00:49:48.700 --> 00:49:49.519
 to give back

00:49:49.519 --> 00:49:50.260
 or to repay.

00:49:51.160 --> 00:49:52.039
 It's the same word

00:49:52.039 --> 00:49:52.500
 that's used

00:49:52.500 --> 00:49:53.160
 in the parable

00:49:53.160 --> 00:49:53.880
 of the vineyard

00:49:53.880 --> 00:49:54.820
 in the preceding chapter

00:49:54.820 --> 00:49:55.440
 to talk about

00:49:55.440 --> 00:49:56.840
 giving back to God

00:49:56.840 --> 00:49:58.220
 the fruit of the vineyard.

00:49:58.380 --> 00:49:59.240
 What is the vineyard

00:49:59.240 --> 00:49:59.840
 in that parable?

00:50:00.060 --> 00:50:01.360
 It's the people of God.

00:50:01.360 --> 00:50:02.880
 The fruit you're supposed

00:50:02.880 --> 00:50:03.700
 to give back to God

00:50:03.700 --> 00:50:04.460
 are the people

00:50:04.460 --> 00:50:05.519
 that belong to him.

00:50:09.220 --> 00:50:10.840
 So what are we supposed

00:50:10.840 --> 00:50:12.180
 to render to God?

00:50:12.700 --> 00:50:13.740
 You yourselves.

00:50:14.380 --> 00:50:14.640
 You,

00:50:15.019 --> 00:50:15.720
 your body,

00:50:16.019 --> 00:50:16.579
 your soul,

00:50:16.820 --> 00:50:17.480
 your words,

00:50:17.900 --> 00:50:19.140
 everything you have

00:50:19.140 --> 00:50:20.260
 and everything you are

00:50:20.260 --> 00:50:21.059
 belong to him

00:50:21.059 --> 00:50:23.260
 and that is incredibly subversive.

00:50:26.360 --> 00:50:27.559
 Note well what Jesus

00:50:27.559 --> 00:50:28.480
 is not saying here.

00:50:28.559 --> 00:50:29.340
 He's not saying

00:50:29.340 --> 00:50:30.960
 Caesar and God

00:50:30.960 --> 00:50:33.099
 are equivalent authorities.

00:50:34.199 --> 00:50:35.220
 Caesar has his spear.

00:50:35.500 --> 00:50:36.559
 God has his spear.

00:50:36.980 --> 00:50:38.059
 Absolutely not.

00:50:39.599 --> 00:50:40.000
 No.

00:50:42.019 --> 00:50:42.840
 Caesar's here.

00:50:43.280 --> 00:50:44.240
 God's here.

00:50:46.320 --> 00:50:47.519
 Over all of it.

00:50:49.659 --> 00:50:51.460
 God's claim upon our lives

00:50:51.460 --> 00:50:52.800
 and on our world

00:50:52.800 --> 00:50:54.079
 trumps Caesar's

00:50:54.079 --> 00:50:55.139
 or any ruler's

00:50:55.139 --> 00:50:56.599
 and Abraham Kuyper

00:50:56.599 --> 00:50:57.300
 was right.

00:50:57.920 --> 00:50:59.059
 There is not

00:50:59.059 --> 00:51:00.139
 a square inch

00:51:00.139 --> 00:51:01.199
 in the whole domain

00:51:01.199 --> 00:51:02.239
 of our human existence

00:51:02.239 --> 00:51:03.239
 over which Christ

00:51:03.239 --> 00:51:04.980
 who is sovereign over all

00:51:04.980 --> 00:51:06.159
 does not cry

00:51:06.159 --> 00:51:07.039
 mine.

00:51:09.940 --> 00:51:11.119
 And I started out

00:51:11.119 --> 00:51:11.779
 by mentioning

00:51:11.779 --> 00:51:12.519
 Roger Williams

00:51:12.519 --> 00:51:13.079
 and the idea

00:51:13.079 --> 00:51:13.739
 of separation

00:51:13.739 --> 00:51:14.719
 of church and state.

00:51:16.319 --> 00:51:17.319
 Secular liberalism

00:51:17.319 --> 00:51:18.339
 has run amok

00:51:18.339 --> 00:51:19.279
 with this idea

00:51:19.279 --> 00:51:19.819
 of separation

00:51:19.819 --> 00:51:20.739
 of church and state

00:51:20.739 --> 00:51:22.900
 and they've taken it

00:51:22.900 --> 00:51:24.159
 way beyond anything

00:51:24.159 --> 00:51:24.779
 Roger Williams

00:51:24.779 --> 00:51:25.440
 ever intended.

00:51:25.440 --> 00:51:28.720
 the original argument

00:51:28.720 --> 00:51:29.420
 that there should be

00:51:29.420 --> 00:51:30.800
 no force or coercion

00:51:30.800 --> 00:51:31.320
 in religion

00:51:31.320 --> 00:51:32.099
 has morphed

00:51:32.099 --> 00:51:33.220
 into secularism.

00:51:34.460 --> 00:51:35.639
 The exclusion

00:51:35.639 --> 00:51:36.220
 of religion

00:51:36.220 --> 00:51:37.179
 from the public sphere

00:51:37.179 --> 00:51:39.000
 and the relegation

00:51:39.000 --> 00:51:39.519
 of religion

00:51:39.519 --> 00:51:41.240
 to the private realm

00:51:41.240 --> 00:51:41.800
 of values

00:51:41.800 --> 00:51:42.920
 and personal opinions.

00:51:45.900 --> 00:51:46.440
 Williams called

00:51:46.440 --> 00:51:47.460
 for the toleration

00:51:47.460 --> 00:51:48.200
 of other religions

00:51:48.200 --> 00:51:49.119
 but held firmly

00:51:49.119 --> 00:51:50.260
 to the exclusive truth

00:51:50.260 --> 00:51:50.800
 of Christianity

00:51:50.800 --> 00:51:52.039
 but that has

00:51:52.039 --> 00:51:52.579
 in our culture

00:51:52.579 --> 00:51:53.299
 morphed into

00:51:53.299 --> 00:51:54.599
 moral relativism

00:51:54.599 --> 00:51:55.799
 and religious

00:51:55.799 --> 00:51:56.940
 indifferentism.

00:51:57.880 --> 00:51:58.860
 The liberal creed

00:51:58.860 --> 00:51:59.719
 that no religion

00:51:59.719 --> 00:52:00.579
 is better than another.

00:52:03.179 --> 00:52:03.759
 Williams wanted

00:52:03.759 --> 00:52:04.539
 to protect

00:52:04.539 --> 00:52:05.179
 the church

00:52:05.179 --> 00:52:06.219
 from the corrupting

00:52:06.219 --> 00:52:06.639
 influences

00:52:06.639 --> 00:52:07.519
 of the state

00:52:07.519 --> 00:52:10.059
 because he deemed

00:52:10.059 --> 00:52:10.920
 religious matters

00:52:10.920 --> 00:52:12.239
 too high and holy

00:52:12.239 --> 00:52:13.019
 and the state

00:52:13.019 --> 00:52:14.659
 therefore incompetent

00:52:14.659 --> 00:52:15.299
 to adjudicate

00:52:15.299 --> 00:52:16.000
 such matters.

00:52:17.779 --> 00:52:18.880
 But secular liberalism

00:52:18.880 --> 00:52:19.559
 or our state

00:52:19.559 --> 00:52:20.400
 current states

00:52:20.400 --> 00:52:21.319
 our governing authorities

00:52:21.319 --> 00:52:22.239
 are more concerned

00:52:22.239 --> 00:52:22.799
 with keeping

00:52:22.799 --> 00:52:23.899
 religious influence

00:52:23.899 --> 00:52:24.599
 and especially

00:52:24.599 --> 00:52:25.199
 Christianity

00:52:25.199 --> 00:52:26.019
 and its morality

00:52:26.019 --> 00:52:27.339
 out of the public square.

00:52:34.219 --> 00:52:35.219
 This is the exact

00:52:35.219 --> 00:52:36.259
 opposite of what

00:52:36.259 --> 00:52:37.439
 Roger Williams

00:52:37.439 --> 00:52:37.819
 envisioned

00:52:37.819 --> 00:52:40.299
 and that is a heresy

00:52:40.299 --> 00:52:40.319
!

00:52:40.959 --> 00:52:42.259
 An affront

00:52:42.259 --> 00:52:43.119
 to the sovereign

00:52:43.119 --> 00:52:44.099
 lordship of God.

00:52:45.439 --> 00:52:46.319
 Think about it.

00:52:46.359 --> 00:52:47.299
 If you ever become

00:52:47.299 --> 00:52:48.179
 a public servant

00:52:48.179 --> 00:52:49.279
 a teacher

00:52:49.279 --> 00:52:50.379
 a mayor

00:52:50.380 --> 00:52:51.700
 a city councilor

00:52:51.700 --> 00:52:52.260
 a judge

00:52:52.260 --> 00:52:53.260
 a house representative

00:52:53.260 --> 00:52:53.880
 a president

00:52:53.880 --> 00:52:54.980
 can you check

00:52:54.980 --> 00:52:55.660
 your Christianity

00:52:55.660 --> 00:52:56.360
 at the door

00:52:56.360 --> 00:52:57.039
 and then serve

00:52:57.039 --> 00:52:58.019
 as a secularist?

00:52:58.640 --> 00:53:00.180
 No, absolutely not.

00:53:02.660 --> 00:53:03.500
 Whether you are

00:53:03.500 --> 00:53:04.039
 at home

00:53:04.039 --> 00:53:05.099
 or work

00:53:05.099 --> 00:53:07.240
 God's likeness

00:53:07.240 --> 00:53:08.099
 and inscription

00:53:08.099 --> 00:53:09.800
 is on you

00:53:09.800 --> 00:53:10.619
 and you belong

00:53:10.619 --> 00:53:11.240
 to him.

00:53:11.239 --> 00:53:15.619
 yes, give your

00:53:15.619 --> 00:53:16.619
 eight hours a day

00:53:16.619 --> 00:53:17.379
 to your boss

00:53:17.379 --> 00:53:18.639
 or to your professor

00:53:18.639 --> 00:53:21.439
 but remember

00:53:21.439 --> 00:53:22.699
 that 24 hours

00:53:22.699 --> 00:53:23.099
 of your day

00:53:23.099 --> 00:53:23.859
 belongs to God.

00:53:26.359 --> 00:53:27.399
 Yes, give your

00:53:27.399 --> 00:53:28.000
 10%

00:53:28.000 --> 00:53:29.379
 or 37%

00:53:29.379 --> 00:53:30.239
 if you're really rich

00:53:30.239 --> 00:53:31.919
 in paying taxes

00:53:31.919 --> 00:53:33.059
 to your governing authorities

00:53:33.059 --> 00:53:34.599
 but remember

00:53:34.599 --> 00:53:35.860
 that 100%

00:53:35.860 --> 00:53:36.699
 of your income

00:53:36.699 --> 00:53:37.480
 belongs

00:53:37.480 --> 00:53:38.259
 to God.

00:53:41.820 --> 00:53:42.699
 Yes, you are

00:53:42.699 --> 00:53:43.159
 accountable

00:53:43.159 --> 00:53:43.880
 for the things

00:53:43.880 --> 00:53:44.739
 that you say

00:53:44.739 --> 00:53:48.699
 at your workplace

00:53:48.699 --> 00:53:49.719
 to your boss

00:53:49.719 --> 00:53:51.279
 but remember

00:53:51.279 --> 00:53:51.659
 that you are

00:53:51.659 --> 00:53:52.219
 accountable

00:53:52.219 --> 00:53:53.739
 for everything

00:53:53.739 --> 00:53:54.299
 you do

00:53:54.299 --> 00:53:55.000
 and say

00:53:55.000 --> 00:53:56.900
 in or out of work

00:53:56.900 --> 00:53:57.619
 in private

00:53:57.619 --> 00:53:58.820
 or in public

00:53:58.820 --> 00:53:59.960
 to God.

00:53:59.960 --> 00:54:04.400
 How does that work?

00:54:05.699 --> 00:54:06.420
 How can we give

00:54:06.420 --> 00:54:07.500
 a part of our lives

00:54:07.500 --> 00:54:08.220
 a portion of our

00:54:08.220 --> 00:54:08.760
 things

00:54:08.760 --> 00:54:10.360
 to this human authority

00:54:10.360 --> 00:54:10.720
 and then

00:54:10.720 --> 00:54:12.099
 give all of it

00:54:12.099 --> 00:54:12.380
 to God?

00:54:12.460 --> 00:54:13.599
 How can you do that?

00:54:13.659 --> 00:54:14.480
 Because God's authority

00:54:14.480 --> 00:54:15.519
 transcends it all

00:54:15.519 --> 00:54:17.000
 because even when you work

00:54:17.000 --> 00:54:17.679
 you're not working

00:54:17.679 --> 00:54:18.559
 only for your boss

00:54:18.559 --> 00:54:19.220
 ultimately you're

00:54:19.220 --> 00:54:20.440
 working unto God.

00:54:21.579 --> 00:54:22.220
 When you submit

00:54:22.220 --> 00:54:23.119
 to your governing authorities

00:54:23.119 --> 00:54:23.720
 you're doing it

00:54:23.720 --> 00:54:24.280
 not ultimately

00:54:24.280 --> 00:54:24.860
 for their sakes

00:54:24.860 --> 00:54:25.300
 but ultimately

00:54:25.300 --> 00:54:26.380
 for the Lord's sake.

00:54:27.300 --> 00:54:28.460
 All of it gets assumed

00:54:28.460 --> 00:54:29.440
 under your submission

00:54:29.440 --> 00:54:30.079
 and your obedience

00:54:30.079 --> 00:54:30.720
 to God.

00:54:31.920 --> 00:54:33.240
 God has no rival

00:54:33.240 --> 00:54:35.000
 He has no peer

00:54:35.000 --> 00:54:36.159
 we were singing it earlier

00:54:36.159 --> 00:54:37.159
 He is holy

00:54:37.159 --> 00:54:38.720
 there is no one

00:54:38.720 --> 00:54:39.800
 like Him

00:54:39.800 --> 00:54:40.820
 there is none

00:54:40.820 --> 00:54:42.119
 beside Him

00:54:42.119 --> 00:54:43.320
 and He deserves

00:54:43.320 --> 00:54:44.220
 and demands

00:54:44.220 --> 00:54:45.440
 our exclusive

00:54:45.440 --> 00:54:46.519
 allegiance and worship

00:54:46.519 --> 00:54:48.099
 total worship.

00:54:55.679 --> 00:54:57.000
 But we haven't done this

00:54:57.000 --> 00:54:57.340
 have we?

00:54:59.440 --> 00:55:03.000
 we have withheld

00:55:03.000 --> 00:55:03.940
 from God

00:55:03.940 --> 00:55:05.659
 parts of our lives

00:55:05.659 --> 00:55:06.079
 that rightly

00:55:06.079 --> 00:55:06.820
 belong to Him

00:55:06.820 --> 00:55:09.599
 there are

00:55:09.599 --> 00:55:11.579
 corners of our lives

00:55:11.579 --> 00:55:12.320
 and our relationships

00:55:12.320 --> 00:55:13.519
 we have not surrendered

00:55:13.519 --> 00:55:14.119
 to Him

00:55:14.119 --> 00:55:22.760
 we haven't given

00:55:22.760 --> 00:55:23.500
 God

00:55:23.500 --> 00:55:24.059
 who

00:55:24.059 --> 00:55:25.659
 to whom we owe

00:55:25.659 --> 00:55:26.200
 everything

00:55:26.199 --> 00:55:27.759
 we have not

00:55:27.759 --> 00:55:28.219
 given Him

00:55:28.219 --> 00:55:28.679
 His due

00:55:28.679 --> 00:55:31.279
 you know what

00:55:31.279 --> 00:55:32.059
 we haven't even

00:55:32.059 --> 00:55:33.000
 given our human

00:55:33.000 --> 00:55:33.779
 governing authorities

00:55:33.779 --> 00:55:34.299
 their due

00:55:34.299 --> 00:55:37.460
 I've repented

00:55:37.460 --> 00:55:38.039
 many times

00:55:38.039 --> 00:55:38.539
 of how I've

00:55:38.539 --> 00:55:39.960
 spoken of them

00:55:39.960 --> 00:55:40.819
 in disrespectful

00:55:40.819 --> 00:55:41.759
 and dishonorable ways

00:55:41.760 --> 00:55:50.400
 so what hope

00:55:50.400 --> 00:55:51.160
 is there for us

00:55:51.160 --> 00:55:53.520
 and that's why

00:55:53.520 --> 00:55:55.420
 God sent His

00:55:55.420 --> 00:55:55.860
 Son Jesus

00:55:55.860 --> 00:55:58.500
 because we are

00:55:58.500 --> 00:55:58.940
 rebels

00:55:58.940 --> 00:56:00.480
 rebels

00:56:00.480 --> 00:56:01.260
 from the very

00:56:01.260 --> 00:56:02.440
 core of who we are

00:56:02.440 --> 00:56:03.420
 we don't like

00:56:03.420 --> 00:56:04.240
 submitting to authority

00:56:04.240 --> 00:56:04.840
 we don't like

00:56:04.840 --> 00:56:05.480
 having kings

00:56:05.480 --> 00:56:05.820
 why?

00:56:06.320 --> 00:56:07.060
 because we want

00:56:07.060 --> 00:56:07.520
 to be king

00:56:07.519 --> 00:56:10.619
 we want to do

00:56:10.619 --> 00:56:11.460
 what we want

00:56:11.460 --> 00:56:11.920
 we want to be

00:56:11.920 --> 00:56:12.519
 masters of our

00:56:12.519 --> 00:56:13.000
 own faith

00:56:13.000 --> 00:56:13.960
 that's ultimately

00:56:13.960 --> 00:56:14.659
 why we don't

00:56:14.659 --> 00:56:15.219
 want kings

00:56:15.219 --> 00:56:18.900
 we've lived like

00:56:18.900 --> 00:56:19.079
 that

00:56:19.079 --> 00:56:19.820
 we've lived as

00:56:19.820 --> 00:56:20.679
 rebels against

00:56:20.679 --> 00:56:20.940
 God

00:56:20.940 --> 00:56:21.559
 going against

00:56:21.559 --> 00:56:22.059
 His ways

00:56:22.059 --> 00:56:22.739
 and yet

00:56:22.739 --> 00:56:24.320
 God so loved

00:56:24.320 --> 00:56:24.739
 us that He

00:56:24.739 --> 00:56:25.519
 sent His only

00:56:25.519 --> 00:56:26.079
 Son Jesus

00:56:26.079 --> 00:56:26.579
 Christ

00:56:26.579 --> 00:56:28.099
 not to come

00:56:28.099 --> 00:56:28.780
 and crush

00:56:28.780 --> 00:56:29.480
 that rebellion

00:56:29.480 --> 00:56:32.940
 but to come

00:56:32.940 --> 00:56:34.019
 and offer us

00:56:34.019 --> 00:56:34.639
 rebels

00:56:34.639 --> 00:56:36.199
 an olive branch

00:56:36.199 --> 00:56:36.739
 of peace

00:56:36.739 --> 00:56:38.119
 in His

00:56:38.119 --> 00:56:38.579
 blood

00:56:38.579 --> 00:56:39.239
 sacrifice

00:56:39.239 --> 00:56:39.799
 on the cross

00:56:39.799 --> 00:56:40.439
 by dying

00:56:40.439 --> 00:56:41.339
 for our

00:56:41.339 --> 00:56:41.879
 rebellion

00:56:41.879 --> 00:56:48.719
 and because

00:56:48.719 --> 00:56:49.339
 of that

00:56:49.339 --> 00:56:50.379
 and because

00:56:50.379 --> 00:56:51.079
 Jesus died

00:56:51.079 --> 00:56:51.419
 for us

00:56:51.419 --> 00:56:52.119
 and redeemed

00:56:52.119 --> 00:56:52.659
 us with His

00:56:52.659 --> 00:56:53.339
 blood

00:56:53.339 --> 00:56:55.139
 you have been

00:56:55.139 --> 00:56:55.619
 ransomed

00:56:55.619 --> 00:56:56.659
 not by perishable

00:56:56.659 --> 00:56:57.419
 things such as

00:56:57.419 --> 00:56:58.579
 silver or gold

00:56:58.579 --> 00:56:59.179
 but by the

00:56:59.179 --> 00:57:00.459
 precious blood

00:57:00.459 --> 00:57:01.599
 of the Lamb

00:57:01.599 --> 00:57:02.119
 the blood

00:57:02.119 --> 00:57:02.799
 of Jesus Christ

00:57:02.799 --> 00:57:03.359
 because God

00:57:03.359 --> 00:57:03.859
 has done that

00:57:03.859 --> 00:57:04.699
 we as Christians

00:57:04.699 --> 00:57:05.879
 have even more

00:57:05.879 --> 00:57:06.579
 reasons to

00:57:06.579 --> 00:57:07.119
 give ourselves

00:57:07.119 --> 00:57:08.059
 wholly to God

00:57:08.059 --> 00:57:09.659
 even non-Christians

00:57:09.659 --> 00:57:10.199
 owe everything

00:57:10.199 --> 00:57:10.679
 to God

00:57:10.679 --> 00:57:11.920
 they have to

00:57:11.920 --> 00:57:12.360
 give Him

00:57:12.360 --> 00:57:12.880
 what is His

00:57:12.880 --> 00:57:13.179
 due

00:57:13.179 --> 00:57:14.319
 but we

00:57:14.319 --> 00:57:15.000
 have been

00:57:15.000 --> 00:57:15.819
 redeemed

00:57:15.819 --> 00:57:17.099
 we've been

00:57:17.099 --> 00:57:17.799
 ransomed

00:57:17.799 --> 00:57:19.279
 purchased

00:57:19.279 --> 00:57:21.139
 1 Corinthians 6

00:57:21.139 --> 00:57:21.759
 19 20

00:57:21.759 --> 00:57:22.039
 says

00:57:22.039 --> 00:57:22.659
 do you not

00:57:22.659 --> 00:57:23.039
 know that

00:57:23.039 --> 00:57:23.699
 your body

00:57:23.699 --> 00:57:24.360
 is a temple

00:57:24.360 --> 00:57:24.860
 of the Holy

00:57:24.860 --> 00:57:25.420
 Spirit within

00:57:25.420 --> 00:57:25.639
 you

00:57:25.639 --> 00:57:26.400
 whom you

00:57:26.400 --> 00:57:27.079
 have from

00:57:27.079 --> 00:57:27.500
 God

00:57:27.500 --> 00:57:28.639
 you are

00:57:28.639 --> 00:57:29.179
 not

00:57:29.179 --> 00:57:30.380
 your own

00:57:30.380 --> 00:57:31.139
 for you

00:57:31.139 --> 00:57:32.099
 were bought

00:57:32.099 --> 00:57:33.360
 with a price

00:57:33.360 --> 00:57:34.780
 so glorify

00:57:34.780 --> 00:57:35.480
 God

00:57:35.480 --> 00:57:44.900
 and that's

00:57:44.900 --> 00:57:45.460
 our privilege

00:57:45.460 --> 00:57:46.980
 to render

00:57:46.980 --> 00:57:48.320
 to Caesar

00:57:48.320 --> 00:57:49.120
 what is Caesar's

00:57:49.120 --> 00:57:49.440
 to render

00:57:49.440 --> 00:57:50.200
 to God

00:57:50.200 --> 00:57:52.079
 what is

00:57:52.079 --> 00:57:52.780
 God's

00:57:52.780 --> 00:57:53.940
 and oh

00:57:53.940 --> 00:57:54.500
 glorious

00:57:54.500 --> 00:57:55.780
 everything

00:57:55.780 --> 00:57:56.579
 belongs

00:57:56.579 --> 00:57:57.539
 to God

00:57:57.539 --> 00:58:00.420
 let's pray

00:58:00.420 --> 00:58:03.180
 Father

00:58:03.180 --> 00:58:04.079
 help us

00:58:04.079 --> 00:58:06.180
 we want

00:58:06.180 --> 00:58:07.000
 to submit

00:58:07.000 --> 00:58:08.360
 wholly to

00:58:08.360 --> 00:58:08.579
 you

00:58:08.579 --> 00:58:09.240
 we want

00:58:09.240 --> 00:58:10.000
 to give

00:58:10.000 --> 00:58:10.720
 of

00:58:10.720 --> 00:58:11.639
 ourselves

00:58:11.639 --> 00:58:13.500
 completely

00:58:13.500 --> 00:58:14.900
 every aspect

00:58:14.900 --> 00:58:15.300
 of our

00:58:15.300 --> 00:58:15.940
 lives

00:58:15.940 --> 00:58:17.039
 to you

00:58:17.039 --> 00:58:17.539
 because

00:58:17.539 --> 00:58:18.579
 you

00:58:18.579 --> 00:58:19.619
 deserve

00:58:19.619 --> 00:58:20.760
 no less

00:58:20.760 --> 00:58:30.580
 make us

00:58:30.580 --> 00:58:32.820
 a people

00:58:32.820 --> 00:58:34.180
 who give

00:58:34.180 --> 00:58:34.600
 you

00:58:34.600 --> 00:58:35.360
 the worship

00:58:35.360 --> 00:58:35.840
 that is

00:58:35.840 --> 00:58:36.100
 due

00:58:36.100 --> 00:58:38.400
 the obedience

00:58:38.400 --> 00:58:38.980
 that is

00:58:38.980 --> 00:58:39.300
 due

00:58:39.300 --> 00:58:43.820
 thank you

00:58:43.820 --> 00:58:44.600
 for redeeming

00:58:44.600 --> 00:58:44.940
 us

00:58:44.940 --> 00:58:46.240
 by the blood

00:58:46.240 --> 00:58:46.680
 of your only

00:58:46.680 --> 00:58:46.980
 son

00:58:46.980 --> 00:58:47.260
 Jesus

00:58:47.260 --> 00:58:47.740
 Christ

00:58:47.740 --> 00:58:49.160
 in his

00:58:49.160 --> 00:58:49.580
 name we

00:58:49.580 --> 00:58:49.800
 pray

00:58:49.800 --> 00:58:50.580
 amen

00:58:50.579 --> 00:58:51.279
 so

00:58:51.279 --> 00:58:51.279


00:58:51.279 --> 00:58:51.279


00:58:51.279 --> 00:58:51.279


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00:58:51.980 --> 00:59:21.960
 Thank you.