Good morning, everyone. It's a great joy and privilege to be with you, worship with you,
! and to get to preach God's Word to you this morning. So please open up your Bible to Matthew
! We've, for various reasons, gone back and forth from our series in Matthew 22 for the
last few weeks, and we're back in it now. Matthew 22, verses 15 to 22.
Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word. Heavenly Father, I stand before
you with a deep sense of my own inadequacy, for how can we plumb the depth of your wisdom
revealed in your Word? There is so much here, and we ask for your help. Help me to communicate
clearly, accurately. Help us all to understand.
Bring these truths of your Word home to us in our hearts and in our lives by the power of your Holy
Spirit. Make us a church, and make us, as individual Christians, make us all more fully submitted to God,
you submitted to you, and submitted to your Son, Jesus Christ. Teach us, give us wisdom and discernment to know how to
relate to our governing authorities, and to every other authority you have placed in our lives.
Speak to us now, Lord. Your servants are listening. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Please stand, if you are able. Let us honor God as we read from His Word. Matthew 22, verses 15 to 22.
Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle Him in His words. And they sent their disciples to Him
along with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully,
and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.
Tell us, then, what you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?
Show me the coin for the tax. And they brought Him a denarius. And Jesus said to them,
Whose likeness and inscription is this? They said, Caesar's. Then He said to them,
Therefore, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.
When they heard it, they marveled, and they left Him and went away.
This is God's holy and authoritative word. Please be seated.
Time and time again throughout history, governments have overreached and interfered
in spiritual matters and in the lives, in the matters of the church.
And sometimes the church has also acted in ways more like the state than the church.
In the 11th century, the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII engaged in an infamous
power struggle called the investiture controversy.
By that point, the lines between spiritual authority and political authority had already been significantly blurred.
And emperors treated Christian bishops almost like state officials.
Henry IV and emperors before him liked using Christian bishops as their state officials.
Why? Because in those days, the vast majority of Christian ministers were all celibate.
And because they were celibate, they did not have children. They had no heirs.
If they appoint, unlike their kind of secular nobility, the aristocracy,
if they appointed them to rule and to govern,
they would pass down their dukedoms and their counties,
whatever they were given to their children, to their heirs.
And power would reside within the nobility and the aristocracy.
But if he could give it to the clergy and have them govern their provinces,
well then, when they die, it all comes back to the emperor.
And then he can find another person that's loyal to him and then give it to them
and maintain control and power that way.
And so, because vast swaths of their lands and their kingdoms belong to these clergy,
the emperor demanded that it's his right to appoint the bishops.
Pope Gregory VII, however, insisted that bishops hold spiritual offices
and that it was the church's prerogative to appoint bishops.
This led to nearly 50 years of conflict and much bloodshed,
and this was settled by their successors in the compromise of the Concordat of Worms.
The pope got to select the bishops, but the emperor got to preside over their appointments.
And in a separate ceremony, the emperor would give the land to the bishops,
to the bishoprics, to the bishops, the diocese,
and then the bishops in that ceremony would have to pledge fealty, loyalty to the emperor,
swear an oath of allegiance to the emperor.
Christian bishops, an uneasy compromise.
In the European wars of religion in the 16th and 17th centuries,
we noticed a similar tension and problems.
Christians conflated political loyalty with religious conformity,
and so princes, for that reason, imposed Christianity on people by force.
They pressured Jews and Muslims to convert.
Heretics were prosecuted, and religious dissenters were considered guilty of treason.
Millions of people died as a result.
When the Puritans settled in New England, where we live,
one pastor in particular wanted to avoid those mistakes
and to apply the lessons from history,
and his name was Roger Williams.
Some of you guys from Providence and Brown probably have heard of him.
He argued that uniformity of religion throughout a nation should never be enforced,
and he wrote memorably that, quote,
forced worship stinks in God's nostrils.
He further argued that there should be a hedge or wall of separation
between the garden of the church and the wilderness of the world,
because whenever that wall is torn down,
the garden of the church itself becomes crowded with weeds and becomes a wilderness.
He enshrined equal freedom of religion and conscience into the Rhode Island Charter in 1663,
which then influenced Thomas Jefferson
and the famous religion clause of the First Amendment of our Constitution,
which says,
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
No one, in other words, should be coerced or pressured into religion.
I think we can all agree on that.
But where exactly are the lines in this so-called separation of church and state?
That issue is fiercely contested.
How should we, as Christians, behave in the public square?
Do we need to check our religion at the door when we go into the public spheres?
How should we relate to our governing authorities,
especially when they demand allegiance in a way that violates our consciences
and when they legislate laws that contradict the very words of God?
Jesus teaches us in this passage,
render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's
and to God the things that are God's.
And that's my main point this morning.
Give earthly rulers what you owe them.
Give God what you owe Him.
And we'll unpack what that means in two parts.
First, we'll talk about, this is the main exhortation in the first half,
regard the truth of God, not the opinions of men.
Secondly, repay what you owe to your governing authorities and to God.
To remind you where we are in the series in the Gospel of Matthew,
we're still in the middle of Holy Week,
the final week before Jesus' crucifixion, His death, and then His resurrection.
On Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem as the messianic king riding on a donkey.
And then on Monday, He cleansed the temple of the pigeon sellers and the money changers,
turning it back, restoring it to be a house of prayer rather than a den of robbers.
On Tuesday, He cursed the fruitless fig tree, which is a symbol of fruitless Israel.
And then on Wednesday, Jesus entered the temple again and started to teach the crowds.
At which point, the Jewish leaders asked Jesus in chapter 21, verse 23,
by what authority are you doing these things?
And who gave you that authority?
We're in charge of the temple precincts.
And we did not give you permission to teach here and to do what you're doing in the temple.
So what are you doing?
And at that point, Jesus told three parables in rapid succession.
Three parables, all denouncing the Jewish religious leaders.
In the parable of the two sons, Jesus says that the Jewish leaders are like a son
who promises to obey his father and go and work in his vineyard,
but instead turns around and doesn't do any other work, doesn't go into the vineyard at all.
And in the parable of the tenants, Jesus compares the Jewish leaders to the tenants of a vineyard
who refuse to give to the master, the owner of the vineyard,
the fruit that comes out of that vineyard that they were hired to work.
And then in the third parable, the parable of the wedding feast,
Jesus says that the Jewish leaders are like guests who are invited to a king's feast,
wedding feast for his son, but then they refuse to come,
and instead they seize the king's servants and kill them.
Jesus is denouncing the wickedness and the faithlessness of the Jewish religious leaders
during his day, and that's where our passage picks up this morning.
So no wonder he says in verse 15 that the Pharisees went and plotted
how to entangle Jesus in his words.
The Pharisees are furious.
They're plotting to trip Jesus up to get him into trouble,
and we see them lay their snare in verses 16 and 17.
Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully,
and you do not care about anyone's opinion,
for you are not swayed by appearances.
Tell us then what you think.
Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
This seems kind of far removed from us, from the context that we live in,
but this is literally the most controversial hot-button issue you can ask
any religious teacher, any Jew during Jesus' day.
You may have heard the saying,
never discuss religion or politics in polite company, right?
I don't agree with that, because, I mean, if you agree with that,
we can never share the gospel with anybody, right?
I mean, that doesn't make any sense.
But I do think discussing religion and politics requires special care and humility,
because they can be so polarizing, and people are so committed to those things
and feel so passionately about those things.
And the Pharisees' question here concerns both religion and politics.
It's a double whammy.
First, this was a political issue because it was about Caesar's taxes.
It's a reference to the census tax or the poll tax
that the Roman civil magistrates collected.
Roman citizens were exempt from this tax.
It was only imposed on a conquered and subjugated people like the Jews.
It's for this reason that Tertullian,
a later church father Christian theologian from the 2nd century,
called this poll tax, a quote, a badge of slavery.
It was a symbol of the Jews' political subjugation by the Romans.
Secondly, this was a religious issue,
because the question is,
is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
Of course, it's lawful according to Roman law.
That's not the question.
These Jews are asking,
is it lawful according to God's law?
It's a religious question.
Is it lawful according to the Torah?
The Jews are supposed to have only God as their king.
Even their theocratic monarchy was a concession.
When the Israelites asked for a king,
like their surrounding nations,
God said to them in 1 Samuel 8, 7,
they have rejected me from being king over them.
So zealous Jews deeply resented the Caesar's rule over them.
God is our king, they said.
We are the chosen people of God.
We are God's special possession.
You are not our king.
God's our king.
In fact, just a couple decades earlier
before this confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees,
there was a man named Judas of Galilee
who rallied the Jewish people around this issue.
He riled up their resentment toward this poll tax,
this very tax,
in order to start a revolution,
a revolt against the Roman rulers.
This is what he said as he incited his fellow Jews.
They were cowards, he says.
If they would endure to pay a tax to the Romans
and would, after God,
submit to mortal men as their lords.
So all that to say,
is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
Is the most controversial hot button issue.
And here's how they've set up their trap.
If Jesus answers that it is lawful
for them to pay the poll tax to Caesar,
then Jesus will immediately lose credibility
with the patriotic, religious Jewish zealots,
many of whom are in Jerusalem.
They were deeply offended by Caesar's rule
and by his poll tax,
and Jesus would lose credibility with them.
But if Jesus says that it is not lawful
to pay the poll tax,
then they will snitch
and inform the Roman rulers.
Do you remember Judas?
I think his name was Judas
from 20 years ago.
Do you remember the revolt
that he led against Rome?
That wasn't fun, was it?
You don't want that to happen again, do you?
See, there's this guy.
His name is Jesus.
And guess what?
He's also from Galilee.
And he's telling people
not to pay the poll tax.
That's exactly what Judas said 20 years ago.
You better squash that
before it gets any larger.
We know this is their intention
because in the parallel passage
in Luke 20, 20,
it tells us explicitly
that they wanted to catch Jesus in something
so that they could deliver him
to the authority and jurisdiction
of the governor.
They have designed
a lose-lose situation for Jesus.
This is why in verse 16,
the Pharisees' disciples come
along with the Herodians.
That's very interesting.
That's unusual bedfellows.
The Pharisees were more sympathetic
to the Jewish zealot ideology
like Judas of Galilee.
In fact, Judas of Galilee's
close associate and partner in crime
was a Pharisee named Zadok.
So they are more aligned with them.
But the Herodians
are in cahoots with the Romans.
They're living large
and ruling
at the behest of the Romans.
So this is,
it's in their interest
to stay on Rome's good side.
So this is a case of
the enemy of my enemy
is my friend.
Pharisees and Herodians
have made common cause
to make Jesus their common enemy,
and they're trying to trap him.
If Jesus answers one way,
the Pharisees can denounce Jesus
to the Jewish zealots.
If he answers another way,
the Herodians can denounce
Jesus to the Romans.
Either way,
they can get Jesus
into sufficient trouble
to get rid of him,
which is what they want to do.
So their question
is not a sincere question.
It's a setup.
But they don't want Jesus
to know that,
which is probably why
the Pharisees send
their disciples to Jesus
instead of coming themselves.
You guys notice that?
It says that they sent
their disciples.
They've already had
their own confrontations
with Jesus.
They've been embarrassed
by Jesus once too often.
And Jesus knows
who they are,
and so they send
their unknown,
anonymous disciples.
Hey, you go sneak
into the crowd.
You ask them this question.
You act like a sincere
seeker.
That's why Luke 20, 20
calls them spies.
But Jesus sees right
through it in verse 18.
Jesus, aware of their malice,
said,
Why put me to the test,
you hypocrites?
Jesus doesn't pull any punches.
Imagine being called that
by Jesus.
My heart would just drop.
While his interrogators
are hiding behind
their disingenuous flattery,
Jesus tells them
to their face
that they are hypocrites.
The Greek word
that means hypocrite
literally means actor.
And it metaphorically
refers to someone
who is pretending
to be something
that they are not,
like here.
In the Sermon on the Mount
in chapter 6,
Jesus gave several illustrations
of what hypocrites
look like.
He said that hypocrites
are those who sound
the trumpet
when they are giving
alms to the needy.
Because they care less
about actually caring
for the poor
and more about being noticed
while they're giving
to the poor.
They're like,
here's a trumpet.
Is there enough people
watching?
Blow the trumpet here.
Everybody's watching
give to the poor.
Hypocrites, he says,
are those who stand
in prominent places
to pray.
Not because they actually
want to talk to God,
but only because
they want to be seen
by men as talking
to God.
Hypocrites are those
who disfigure their faces
intentionally
to make it look like
they've been fasting
and praying for a long time.
Not because they actually
care about fasting,
but because they care
about being noticed.
Not because they care
about humbling themselves
before God in fasting,
but because they care
about exalting themselves
before men
in their superior spirituality.
or their imagined
spiritual superiority.
The disciples of the Pharisees
are hypocrites
because they're pretending
like they sincerely want
Jesus to answer
their question
when in reality
they're just trying
to frame him
and trap him.
Let's look at what they say
in verse 16.
Teacher,
we know that you are true
and teach the way
of God truthfully
and you do not care
about anyone's opinion
for you are not swayed
by appearances.
Notice that everything
that they say here
about Jesus
is actually true.
But their speech
is still false
because they don't mean it.
It's flattery.
unlike genuine praise
which is intended
to encourage
and build up
the other person,
flattery
is intended
to build yourself up
and put yourself
in an advantageous situation.
It's self-serving.
Our Kent Hughes,
another pastor,
memorably said,
gossip is saying
behind a person's back
what you would never
say to their face.
Flattery
is saying
to a person's face
what you would never
say behind their back.
These Pharisaic agents
are just trying
to butter Jesus up
to make him
slip and fall.
Nonetheless,
what they say
about Jesus
is entirely true.
Jesus is true.
He does teach
the way of God
truthfully.
Jesus does not
care about
anyone's opinion.
It says in John 2,
24-25
that Jesus did not
entrust himself
to people
and to their
esteem or opinion
about him.
Jesus is not
swayed by appearances.
That phrase,
not swayed by appearances
in the original Greek
is literally
Jesus,
you do not see
faces.
What does that mean?
You do not see
faces.
This is a Hebrew
idiom
for showing
partiality
towards certain
people or faces.
Deuteronomy 10,
17 says that
God is not
partial
and takes
no bribe.
Literally,
in the Hebrew,
that's God
does not
take faces
and does not
take bribes.
Similarly,
in Acts 10,
34,
he says that
God shows
no partiality.
And there,
the literal expression
in Greek
is God
does not
take up
faces.
So to not
take a face
is to show
no partiality
to anyone
regardless
of their
appearance,
position,
or power.
This is what
God enjoins
Samuel in
1 Samuel 16,
7.
Do not look
on his
appearance
or on the
height of his
stature
because I have
rejected him.
For the Lord
sees not
as man
sees.
Man looks
on the outward
appearance,
but the Lord
looks on
the heart.
The Lord
does not
see faces,
he sees
hearts.
Jesus
is therefore
like his
father because
he's God's
son and
because he's
one with
him,
he sees
no faces.
He's not
swayed by
appearances.
He doesn't
pay more
attention to
beautiful and
handsome people
or rich and
powerful people.
it's an
amazing quality
about our
savior that
we should
seek to
emulate.
Whether
people love
him or
hate him,
whatever
people's
opinion of
him might
be,
Jesus is
always true
and teaches
the way of
God truthfully.
And how
different is
Jesus from
the Pharisees?
When Jesus
asked them
earlier in
chapter 21,
25,
the baptism
of John,
where does it
come from?
From heaven
or from man?
They refused
to answer,
give Jesus
a straight
answer.
They refused
to tell him
honestly what
they think
because they
despised John
the Baptist
and they
definitely did
not think
that his
baptism came
from heaven
but they
did not
dare to
say that
because it
says they
were afraid
of the
crowd for
they all
hold that
John was
a prophet.
And again
in chapter
21,
45,
46,
after hearing
the parables
that Jesus
spoke denouncing
them,
the Jewish
leaders,
it says that
they were
seeking to
arrest Jesus
but they
feared the
crowds because
they held
him to be
a prophet.
The Pharisees
are unwilling
to say what
they really
think and
to do what
they really
think is
right
because they're
afraid of
people's
opinions,
unlike Jesus
who does
not care
about anyone's
opinion.
The Herodians
are concerned
about pleasing
the Romans
and doing
their bidding
because they
see people's
faces,
they only
see powerful
people's
faces,
but Jesus
does not
see people's
faces.
What about
you?
Do you
see people's
faces?
Do you
pay more
attention to
people who
are good
looking and
well dressed?
do you
respect and
value every
person that
you talk
to simply
because they
are created
in the image
of God?
Do you
gravitate
toward the
rich, the
successful and
powerful people,
people who can
do something for
you, give you
a favor?
And then do you
tend to ignore
people who have
nothing to offer?
imagine if
Jesus treated
us that way.
We had
nothing to
offer.
Not many of
you are wise
according to
worldly standards,
not many were
powerful, not
many were of
noble birth, but
God chose what
is foolish in
the world to
shame the
wise.
God chose what
is weak in
the world to
shame the
strong.
what about
you?
Do you care
about people's
opinions?
Do you
regard the
truth of God
or do you
regard the
opinions of
men?
Do you
stand upon
the truth of
God's word no
matter how
inconvenient it
is for you,
no matter how
unpopular it is
among your
friends or in
the culture?
Or do you
champion God's
truth only when
it suits?
you?
Do you
hesitate to
share the
gospel with
your neighbors
and coworkers
because you're
afraid that
they'll judge
you and think
less of you?
Does your
interpretation of
countercultural,
hard-to-accept
passages of
scripture shift
with the
ever-changing
culture?
Are you like a
chameleon?
Do your
beliefs change
and morph
wherever you
are,
whatever peers
you are
surrounded by
and what
they think
and believe?
Why should we
care about
what creatures
think?
What matters is
what the
creator thinks.
why should we
care what
these spectators
in the
courtroom
think?
Only thing
that matters
is what the
judge thinks.
Let us
not go
limping between
two opinions.
Let's let our
yes be yes
and our no
no.
If we're going
to believe in
God's word,
let us believe it
fully and wholly
and stake our
very lives upon
it and stand
and say,
here I stand,
I will not
move.
Regard the
truth of God,
not the
opinions of
men.
Now let's
look at
Jesus'
response to
their question
in verses 19
to 22,
which is
absolutely
brilliant.
He says in
verses 19
to 20,
show me the
coin for the
tax.
The poll
tax amount
was a
denarius and
that was the
silver coin that
people used to
pay the tax.
So understandably,
when Jesus says,
show me the
coin for the
tax, they bring
him the Roman
denarius.
And then Jesus
says, whose likeness
and inscription is
this?
At that time,
because who the
emperor was at
the time, on the
front, a denarius
had the likeness or
image of Tiberius
Caesar.
And on the back,
it had the image of
Tiberius' mother,
Livia, depicted as
the goddess of
peace.
So the Roman
denarius was a
violation of the
second of the
Ten Commandments.
You shall not
make for yourself
a carved image or
any likeness of
anything that is in
heaven above or
that is on the
earth beneath or
that is in the
water under the
earth.
Not only that,
the coin, that
denarius, had an
abbreviated Latin
inscription that
said, Tiberius
Caesar, son of the
divine Augustus.
Augustus.
That's what it
said on the
front.
On the back, it
said, Pontifex
Maximus, meaning
high priest.
Tiberius, the
emperor, was
claiming both to
be the high priest
of God and the
son of God, which
is a direct
violation of the
first of the
Ten Commandments.
You shall have no
other gods before
me.
The very sight of
this coin would
have been repulsive
to faithful Jews.
They wanted no
part in this
emperor cult.
And this is why
in 66 AD, during a
short-lived
independence during
the Jewish revolt,
another Jewish
revolt, one of the
first things that
they do as soon as
they have some
control over their
own lives is mint
their own coins.
To devout Jews, the
very possession of
this idolatrous Roman
denarius would have
been incriminating.
And apparently, Jesus
doesn't have one.
So he asks his
interrogators, show
me.
Show me the coin
for the tax.
And who hands him
this coin?
It's the Pharisees'
disciples and the
Herodians.
The co-conspirators
just happen to have
a denarius in their
pocket.
And that fact alone,
they're losing some
major points with the
Jewish zealots that
they were trying to
discredit Jesus with
in that crowd.
I imagine there are
gasps and murmurs.
They pull out the
coin.
Oh, yeah.
It's like,
and maybe I'm
dramatizing too much.
I'd imagine at least
there were like raised
eyebrows.
Like, huh?
Like, what's going on?
You're carrying that
vile token of idolatry
and symbol of our
subjugation in your
pocket?
You use it?
Right here, you're
inside the temple
precincts during the
holiest feast, the
Passover feast.
You have that in your
pocket?
It's just as
offensive as the
money changers and
the pigeon sellers in
the temple.
And when Jesus asked
them, whose likeness
and inscription is this,
they sheepishly answer,
Caesar's.
And Jesus says to
them, therefore,
render to Caesar the
things that are Caesar's
and to God the things
that are God's.
And when they heard
it, they marveled and
they left him and went
away.
The word render can
literally be translated
as repay.
It's a Greek word that
translates repaying the
debt that you owe to
somebody or paying a
wage to someone who
wages, someone whom
wage is owed to because
of their work or rendering
a reward to someone who
deserves a reward or a
punishment.
It's but giving something
that is owed.
It's a repay someone.
So that's why the new
international version,
NIV, translates verse
21 this way.
So give back to Caesar
what is Caesar's and
give back to God what
is God's.
Well, this is what Jesus
is saying.
If you're already using
this idolatrous Roman
coin and carrying it
around in your possession
and the coin has Caesar's
likeness and inscription on
it, then give it back to
him.
Pay your poll tax.
Jesus doesn't flinch when
he tells him the truth.
Pay your taxes.
This applies to us too.
Pay your taxes.
I've heard a pastor joke
one time that, quoting
Benjamin Franklin, I think
he's the one who said,
right, the only two things
are certain in life, that
one is debt, the other is
taxes.
And it seems like some
people try to avoid taxes
even more than they avoid
death.
Should not be so with us.
And in saying this, Jesus
articulates a very important
principle.
The citizens of a country
are in a real way indebted
to their civil authorities
for their services and
its appropriate and right
to pay taxes to them.
When our country is invaded
by a foreign nation and our
families are threatened,
isn't it the government
that mobilizes and commands
the military to repel the
enemies, the invaders?
Isn't it the government
that catches, prosecutes,
and imprisons criminals so
that our streets are safe?
Isn't it the government that
provides clean water and
various health services?
Isn't it the government that
offers free education whether
you take advantage of it or
not?
Jesus is teaching us that there
is something that we actually
owe to our governing
authorities.
Paul captures this perfectly
in Romans 13, 1 through 7.
I'm going to read it and
project it for you on the
screen.
Let every person be subject to
the governing authorities.
For there is no authority except
from God, and those that exist
have been instituted by God.
Therefore, whoever resists the
authorities resists what God has
appointed, and those who resist
will incur judgment.
For rulers are not a terror to good
conduct but to bad.
Would you have no fear of the one who
is in authority?
Then do what is good, and you will
receive his approval, for he is
God's servant for your good.
But if you do wrong, be afraid, for
he does not bear the sword in vain.
For he is the servant of God, an
avenger who carries out God's wrath
on the wrongdoer.
Therefore, one must be in subjection,
not only to avoid God's wrath, but
also for the sake of conscience.
For because of this, you also pay
taxes, for the authorities are
ministers of God, attending to this
very thing.
Pay to all what is owed to them.
Taxes to whom taxes are owed.
Revenue to whom revenue is owed.
Respect to whom respect is owed.
Honor to whom honor is owed.
There are people to whom respect and
honor are owed by virtue of their
position and authority.
I think this applies to every
authority structure in our society,
starting with the family, with the
parents, in our governors.
There are governing authorities to
whom taxes are owed because of their
protection and provisions.
being subject to human governing
authorities and being subject to God,
Jesus is saying, are not necessarily
mutually exclusive.
As long as the Jews are not themselves
worshiping Caesar Tiberius, paying the
poll tax does not violate, does not
compromise them.
It does not violate their conscience.
It need not.
Sometimes we get hung up about what other
people do with the things that we give
them.
I'm sure you guys have heard this.
I've heard this from people that I love.
Can we really buy stuff from Amazon and
other companies who use the money that
we give them to support various movements
and initiatives that are opposed to God
and his word?
Can we pay taxes to our governing
authorities who will use our money to
fund abortion and wars that we don't
support?
But God seems to care more about what we
do, what we do directly, than about what
we do indirectly.
What other people do through things that
we have to provide for one way or another.
And God seems specifically to care a lot
about how we honor and submit to our
governing authorities.
Authorities in society, authorities in
church, authorities in your home.
In fact, Romans 13 is very clear.
We ought to submit to God by submitting to
our governing authorities.
And those who resist the authorities, he
says, incur God's judgment.
Isn't that wild?
Of course, there is an assumption here that
these rulers are not a terror to good
conduct, but to bad.
That's their God-given job, to punish
bad conduct and enforce good conduct,
encourage good conduct.
However, sometimes human rulers do directly
command us to do things that God expressly
prohibits.
And sometimes these human rulers forbid us
from doing things that God expressly
commands us to do.
And in such situations, numerous biblical
precedents teach us that we must obey God
rather than men.
Think of the Egyptian midwives who disobey
Pharaoh's command to kill the Jewish male
babies as they are born.
Or Obadiah who disobeys Queen Jezebel's
command to kill the Lord's prophets and
instead hides them and feeds them.
Or think of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah
during Nebuchadnezzar's time who refused
to bow down to the golden image of Nebuchadnezzar.
Think of prophet Daniel who disobeys King
Darius' edict that no one in the kingdom
should pray to any God except for to the king.
In Acts 5.29, when strictly charged by the
Jewish leaders, the official Jewish authorities,
to stop teaching in Jesus' name, Peter and the
apostles answer, we must obey God rather than men.
But it's important to note that these are all
extraordinary circumstances of overt persecution.
I was about to say overt circumcision.
No, overt persecution.
Sorry.
Need a little bit more sleep.
Sorry.
And that's not the situation that we find
ourselves in here in the U.S.
Sometimes I think we get carried away
by our Massachusetts independent
and revolutionary spirit.
Whenever we disagree with our governing authorities,
we want to make signs and banners saying,
resist.
No kings.
We go on to protest and show of defiance.
When we don't like the election results,
we go storming the Capitol,
disrupt the certification process and election outcome.
I'm not saying that you guys actually did this.
Just.
But the New Testament never commands or commends
this kind of behavior.
Never.
It's so tempting for us to blur the line
between church and state and to seek to
co-opt the state's power of the sword
to advance our power of the key.
To use the state as a vehicle
to advance our agenda,
the church's agenda.
But Jesus says clearly in John 18, 36,
my kingdom is not of this world.
And as soon as you make one of the kingdoms
of the earth,
your kingdom and God's kingdom,
he sees this to be God's kingdom.
That's not it.
He says,
if my kingdom were of this world,
my servants would have been fighting
that I might not be delivered over to the Jews.
But my kingdom is not from the world,
Jesus says.
Don't succumb to the temptation
to make nationalism or revolution your religion
or a socialist utopia your vision and hope.
It's never going to be.
In fact, 1 Peter 2 teaches us
that we ought to be subject for the Lord's sake
to every human institution,
whether it be to the emperor as supreme
or to governor as sent by him.
He tells us to love the brotherhood,
fear God, honor the emperor.
I could hear all the objections in my ears.
I could imagine the objections in my ears.
But what if that ruler is sliding
toward authoritarianism?
He's going to become a tyrant.
Do you know who the emperor was
when Peter was writing?
He was Nero.
Nero is the guy,
when there was a huge fire in the city of Rome,
burning three-fourths of the city down,
people were blaming him, yeah,
because, I mean, he's the ruler.
And so in order to find a scapegoat,
he blamed the Christians.
Oh, the Christians caused this.
And then he subjected Christians to torture,
gladiatorial games,
and killed them by fire,
saying that it caused fire.
Second century Christian author,
Tertullian,
as well as third century,
Lactantius,
they both note
that Nero was the first emperor
that persecuted Christians
in such official and extensive way.
And it's during Nero's reign
that Peter writes,
honor the emperor.
Be subject to him
for the Lord's sake.
Peter explicitly says
in 1 Peter 2, 18-19,
that we should be subject
not only to the good and gentle masters,
but also to the unjust.
For this is a gracious thing
when mindful of God,
one endures sorrows
while suffering unjustly.
Why should we submit
to unjust authorities?
Because we are mindful of God
who put those authorities in charge.
We are supposed to learn submission
to God's authority
by submitting to the various human authorities
God has placed around us in our lives.
Jesus sets an example for us in this.
The Roman governor, Pilate,
has Jesus flogged
without just cause.
Pilate admits it himself twice.
He says,
I find no guilt in Jesus
in John 19.
And then he eventually condemns
Jesus to death
by execution on the cross.
And when in John 19, 9-11,
he's frustrated by Jesus' refusal
to speak and defend himself,
Pilate says to Jesus,
do you not know
that I have authority
to release you
and authority to crucify you?
And Jesus answers,
you would have no authority
over me at all
unless it had been given you from above.
Here's the man
who's gonna condemn him
to death on the cross.
And Jesus says,
you have authority over me
to do this
because God gave it to you.
My father gave you that authority.
In our society,
which places a premium
on individual liberty,
we're suspicious of authority.
But God has a much higher regard
for authority than we do.
He cares that we submit
to our governing authorities.
Therefore,
he says,
render to Caesar
the things that are Caesar's.
But that's not all.
Jesus also says,
and render to God
the things that are God's.
In one sense,
Jesus tells us
to be submissive
to the human governing authorities.
But in another sense,
what Jesus says here
is very subversive
for a few reasons.
At the very least,
Jesus is asserting
that Caesar,
contrary to his own
presumptuous claims,
is not God
since Jesus distinguishes
what belongs to Caesar
and what belongs to God.
You follow me
what I'm saying?
Render to Caesar
things that are Caesar's,
God things that are God's,
because Caesar is not God.
He's putting Caesar
down a notch.
And Jesus' answer
raises a natural question.
Okay, so honor Caesar
and we owe taxes to him,
so we pay taxes to him
because he provides
these services to us,
but what about to God?
What do we owe him?
What are we supposed
to repay him?
What are the things
that we render to him?
What do you think
is the answer?
What do we owe God?
Our lives.
Everything.
It's perfect.
Psalm 24,
we read from it
for called to worship.
The earth is the Lord's
and the fullness thereof,
the world and those
who dwell therein.
Matthew 5.45 says
that God makes his sun
to rise on the evil
and on the good
and he sends rain
on the just and the unjust.
The sun that warms us
and gives us light,
the rain that falls
to water the earth
and produce crops
so that we have food to eat
without which there is no life.
All of these things
come from God.
They're his.
Acts 17.28 says,
In God,
we live and move
and have our being.
The very breath
in our lungs,
the very strength
in our fibers,
the very souls
of our being
come from God.
We owe God everything.
I was dealing with
an arm sprain
this past week
and I was humbled
by the realization
that such a small thing
can be so debilitating.
And yet,
how many days
have I lived
without thanking God
for that health
in my arm
that I now miss?
I've taken it
for granted
every single day
of my life.
Yes,
we owe our governing
authorities some things,
but we owe God
everything.
I think another aspect
of this passage
confirms this,
how did Jesus
come to the conclusion
that the denarius text
belongs to Caesar?
What was the logical process,
the reasoning process?
Because
his likeness
and inscription
were on it.
Right?
So that begs
the question,
where do we find
God's likeness
and inscription?
Josh is getting
all the,
yeah,
he's pointing at himself.
Yes,
us.
The Greek word
for likeness
is the same word
that is used
in the Greek translation
of Genesis 1, 26
when God says,
let us make man
in our image
after our likeness.
What in all of creation
has God chosen
to put his stamp
of likeness upon?
It's us,
human beings,
God's image bearers.
Aren't God's people
the ones who,
according to Revelation 14,
one,
have the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ
and his father's name
written on their foreheads
in a spiritual sense?
God's likeness
and inscription
are written
on us,
stamped upon us.
And the word
render,
I mentioned to you,
is the same word
that means
to give back
or to repay.
It's the same word
that's used
in the parable
of the vineyard
in the preceding chapter
to talk about
giving back to God
the fruit of the vineyard.
What is the vineyard
in that parable?
It's the people of God.
The fruit you're supposed
to give back to God
are the people
that belong to him.
So what are we supposed
to render to God?
You yourselves.
You,
your body,
your soul,
your words,
everything you have
and everything you are
belong to him
and that is incredibly subversive.
Note well what Jesus
is not saying here.
He's not saying
Caesar and God
are equivalent authorities.
Caesar has his spear.
God has his spear.
Absolutely not.
No.
Caesar's here.
God's here.
Over all of it.
God's claim upon our lives
and on our world
trumps Caesar's
or any ruler's
and Abraham Kuyper
was right.
There is not
a square inch
in the whole domain
of our human existence
over which Christ
who is sovereign over all
does not cry
mine.
And I started out
by mentioning
Roger Williams
and the idea
of separation
of church and state.
Secular liberalism
has run amok
with this idea
of separation
of church and state
and they've taken it
way beyond anything
Roger Williams
ever intended.
the original argument
that there should be
no force or coercion
in religion
has morphed
into secularism.
The exclusion
of religion
from the public sphere
and the relegation
of religion
to the private realm
of values
and personal opinions.
Williams called
for the toleration
of other religions
but held firmly
to the exclusive truth
of Christianity
but that has
in our culture
morphed into
moral relativism
and religious
indifferentism.
The liberal creed
that no religion
is better than another.
Williams wanted
to protect
the church
from the corrupting
influences
of the state
because he deemed
religious matters
too high and holy
and the state
therefore incompetent
to adjudicate
such matters.
But secular liberalism
or our state
current states
our governing authorities
are more concerned
with keeping
religious influence
and especially
Christianity
and its morality
out of the public square.
This is the exact
opposite of what
Roger Williams
envisioned
and that is a heresy
!
An affront
to the sovereign
lordship of God.
Think about it.
If you ever become
a public servant
a teacher
a mayor
a city councilor
a judge
a house representative
a president
can you check
your Christianity
at the door
and then serve
as a secularist?
No, absolutely not.
Whether you are
at home
or work
God's likeness
and inscription
is on you
and you belong
to him.
yes, give your
eight hours a day
to your boss
or to your professor
but remember
that 24 hours
of your day
belongs to God.
Yes, give your
10%
or 37%
if you're really rich
in paying taxes
to your governing authorities
but remember
that 100%
of your income
belongs
to God.
Yes, you are
accountable
for the things
that you say
at your workplace
to your boss
but remember
that you are
accountable
for everything
you do
and say
in or out of work
in private
or in public
to God.
How does that work?
How can we give
a part of our lives
a portion of our
things
to this human authority
and then
give all of it
to God?
How can you do that?
Because God's authority
transcends it all
because even when you work
you're not working
only for your boss
ultimately you're
working unto God.
When you submit
to your governing authorities
you're doing it
not ultimately
for their sakes
but ultimately
for the Lord's sake.
All of it gets assumed
under your submission
and your obedience
to God.
God has no rival
He has no peer
we were singing it earlier
He is holy
there is no one
like Him
there is none
beside Him
and He deserves
and demands
our exclusive
allegiance and worship
total worship.
But we haven't done this
have we?
we have withheld
from God
parts of our lives
that rightly
belong to Him
there are
corners of our lives
and our relationships
we have not surrendered
to Him
we haven't given
God
who
to whom we owe
everything
we have not
given Him
His due
you know what
we haven't even
given our human
governing authorities
their due
I've repented
many times
of how I've
spoken of them
in disrespectful
and dishonorable ways
so what hope
is there for us
and that's why
God sent His
Son Jesus
because we are
rebels
from the very
core of who we are
we don't like
submitting to authority
we don't like
having kings
why?
because we want
to be king
we want to do
what we want
we want to be
masters of our
own faith
that's ultimately
why we don't
want kings
we've lived like
that
we've lived as
rebels against
God
going against
His ways
and yet
God so loved
us that He
sent His only
Son Jesus
Christ
not to come
and crush
that rebellion
but to come
and offer us
rebels
an olive branch
of peace
in His
blood
sacrifice
on the cross
by dying
for our
rebellion
and because
of that
and because
Jesus died
for us
and redeemed
us with His
blood
you have been
ransomed
not by perishable
things such as
silver or gold
but by the
precious blood
of the Lamb
the blood
of Jesus Christ
because God
has done that
we as Christians
have even more
reasons to
give ourselves
wholly to God
even non-Christians
owe everything
to God
they have to
give Him
what is His
due
but we
have been
redeemed
we've been
ransomed
purchased
1 Corinthians 6
19 20
says
do you not
know that
your body
is a temple
of the Holy
Spirit within
you
whom you
have from
God
you are
not
your own
for you
were bought
with a price
so glorify
God
and that's
our privilege
to render
to Caesar
what is Caesar's
to render
to God
what is
God's
and oh
glorious
everything
belongs
to God
let's pray
Father
help us
we want
to submit
wholly to
you
we want
to give
of
ourselves
completely
every aspect
of our
lives
to you
because
you
deserve
no less
make us
a people
who give
you
the worship
that is
due
the obedience
that is
due
thank you
for redeeming
us
by the blood
of your only
son
Jesus
Christ
in his
name we
pray
amen
so
Thank you.