Good morning, church.
Our sermon text for today is Luke chapter 20, verses 19 through 26.
That's page 826 in the Pew Bible.
Let me invite you to turn there with me.
Luke chapter 20, verses 19 through 26, page 826.
Let me pray, and then I'll read for us.
Amen.
O Lord God, we pray with the psalmist that the words of our mouths and the meditations of
our hearts would be acceptable and pleasing in your sight.
O Lord, you and you alone are our rock and our redeemer.
So we pray that through attending to your word this morning, that truth would become more
and more real to our hearts, that you are an immovable rock and you are a gracious, merciful,
faithful redeemer.
We pray this in the name of Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
Luke 20, verses 19 through 26.
The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him, that is, Jesus, at that
very hour.
For they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.
So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be sincere that they might catch him in something
he said so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor.
So they asked him, teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly and show no partiality,
but truly teach the way of God.
Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar or not?
But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, show me a denarius.
Whose likeness and inscription does it have?
They said, Caesar's.
He said to them, then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things
that are God's.
And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but
marveling at his answer, they became silent.
Well, we've all heard it said that the two things you should never discuss in polite company
are religion and politics.
But our text this morning forces us to face these twin issues head on.
In particular, the question is, how should Christians relate to the governing authorities?
Now, that's a tricky question.
And history has shown that when we get it wrong, well, the consequences can be pretty far ranging
and often pretty damaging to the gospel.
So this is an important question.
Now, I think as humans, we often can fall into two traps.
Either we can demonize governing authority.
That is, we view it as corrupt and evil, and therefore we want nothing to do with it.
We despair over it.
Or on the other hand, we can deify governing authority.
That is, we view it as the ultimate source of what's really going to make things better.
And therefore, we invest it with our hope, with our trust, with our allegiance.
Now, of course, few of us fall completely into one trap or the other, but that doesn't make
the question any less difficult or any less important.
But what for us is an important and difficult question was, in Jesus' day, a dangerous question.
Now, remember where we are in the Gospel of Luke.
Jesus has just entered Jerusalem, and his conflict with the religious authorities, that
is, the scribes and the chief priests, those who sort of controlled the temple system, that
conflict is coming to a head.
And Jesus has just told a parable in verses 9 through 18 of Luke, warning the temple leaders
that if they continue to reject him, they will find themselves, in fact, rejecting God's
own authority.
And so, the religious leaders have had enough.
They want Jesus eliminated, out of the picture.
But the people, the people are enthusiastic about this young, vibrant teacher from Galilee.
Some even think that he is the long-awaited liberator, the Messiah.
So, the scribes and chief priests, rather than risk a confrontation with the people and falling
out of their favor, they send what Luke calls spies, who pretend to be sincere, but in reality,
they're out to catch Jesus in something he says in verse 20.
That is, they want to trap him in his words.
Why?
So, they can hand him over to the Roman governor, Pilate.
You see, the Jewish authorities in that time, living under Roman rule, didn't have the authority
to sentence someone to death.
But the Roman governor did.
And so, in an attempt to trap Jesus, these spies ask him, under the guise of much flattery,
you can hear them just laying it on really thick, can't you?
They ask a seemingly innocent, but in reality, a dangerous question.
Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar or not?
Jesus, how should we relate to this governing authority?
So, this morning, first, I want to take a look at this question in a little more depth,
and then we're going to look at Jesus' two-fold response.
And then third, I want to consider why this question can be so difficult for us.
So, that's where we're headed.
The question, Jesus' response, and then our hearts.
So, first, let's look at the question.
Now, the tribute in question here is actually a particular tax that the Roman Empire would
levy on people, groups, and kingdoms that they had conquered.
This is the sort of tax that back in Luke chapter 2, you remember, Caesar Augustus was
taking a census, right?
We read that every Christmas time.
He was taking a census.
Well, why was he taking a census?
He was taking a census so he could lay a tax on them and burden them with a taxation.
And this question that these spies asked isn't whether or not such taxes in general are
necessary or legitimate.
It's a question of whether it's lawful for us to pay them.
That is, good, faithful Jews who, according to the law of Moses, are to have one God and
one Lord only.
Is it lawful for us to pay his tax?
It's a brilliant trap if you think about it.
One can almost see their self-satisfaction as they ask it.
We've got him.
After all, think about it.
If Jesus says, yes, it is lawful to give tribute to Caesar, then he risks alienating himself
from the people.
The people who hate Caesar and his oppressive taxes.
The people who just, days before, were heralding him as their king.
The people whose admiration at that very moment is the only thing keeping the scribes and the
chief priests from openly arresting him.
What's more, if Jesus says, yes, he could even be accused of disloyalty to the God of Israel.
After all, Caesar made the most blasphemous claims about himself, and those claims were
written on every single Roman coin.
What did Caesar call himself?
Lord, Savior, Son of the Gods.
Was Jesus going to suggest that we endorse those claims?
By paying tribute?
But think about if Jesus says, no.
No, it's not lawful to give tribute to Caesar.
Well, then, it's not hard to see.
He would be accused of sedition.
Sedition against the state, political insurrection.
And Rome had little patience and little mercy for rebels in their empire, especially in backwoods
areas like Judea.
And so, the trap is laid.
And they're going to catch Jesus either being disloyal to Israel on one hand or disloyal
to Caesar on the other.
One answer will prove him to be an enemy of the people.
The other will prove him to be an enemy of the state.
And so, how will Jesus answer this difficult, this even dangerous question?
Will he demonize the state?
Rejecting its claims?
Advocating for withdrawal?
Or will he deify the state, rendering it unyielding obedience and allegiance?
And those are the traps before us too, aren't they?
Sometimes we can get so frustrated with the governing authorities, can't we?
We see the flaws.
We see the hypocrisies.
We see the failure to bring about change.
And we just want to give up altogether.
But on the other hand, sometimes we see the power.
We see the influence.
We see the importance.
Sometimes we can place so much emphasis and trust in it, so much of our hope in it, that
it ends up stealing our heart's allegiance.
How do we get out of this trap?
The answer Jesus gives is brief.
Yet, brilliant.
And it contains the seed of all clear thinking and acting when it comes to the question of
how Christians ought to relate to the governing authorities.
And note, lest we think that Jesus' answer here is just a clever way in the moment of avoiding
arrest, consider how his opponents respond at the end of our passage.
They're not frustrated because he slipped away.
They're not plotting their next question.
They marvel, Luke says.
And that tells me that Jesus' answer struck even his enemies as more than just a clever answer
to avoid trouble.
They marvel because he's actually answered their question.
He's answered an insincere question with a genuine answer.
That is exactly what their flattery said.
Truthful, rightly, and without partiality.
So what is that answer?
Well, it's twofold.
First, Jesus says, we must render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's.
Now, the first thing Jesus does, seeing through their flattery and their craftiness, is he asks
them for a denarius.
Now, a denarius was a silver coin.
It was Roman currency.
It was worth about a day's wage for a common laborer.
This is the kind of coin that they would use to pay the tax.
And what happens?
Out of their own pockets, they pull out the Roman money.
Proving that they themselves use it.
They rely on it.
They trade with it.
They buy and sell with it.
They, too, are participants in the Roman system.
And then Jesus asks, whose likeness and inscription does it have?
You see, as I mentioned earlier, on a Roman denarius, there would be a picture that is
a likeness of Caesar's head.
And there would be an inscription written on it.
And on a lot of denarii in that time, the inscription read, Tiberius Caesar Augustus, son of the deified
Augustus.
So Jesus says, whose likeness, whose inscription, and out of their own mouths, they have to answer
and say, Caesar, it's his image on the coin.
Jesus forces his opponents to admit, then, that they are participants in the Roman system,
whether they like it or not.
They cannot escape it.
They use Caesar's coins, then use them to pay Caesar's tax.
Render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.
Now, if we press into this a little deeper, we see that Jesus is showing them that there is an unavoidable
and somewhat legitimate authority that the governing authorities possess.
It's not ultimate authority.
It's not unquestionable authority.
But it's real nonetheless.
And the rest of the New Testament is going to unpack this a little bit for us.
In Romans 13.1, the Apostle Paul is going to unfold some of what Jesus is teaching here,
saying that governing authorities are actually part of God's providential plan to maintain civil order.
What means has God instituted to keep human society from spinning into anarchy and injustice?
Part of the answer is, God has instituted human governing authorities.
They are imperfect, yes.
But that's still part of how God chooses to rule his world.
And because this is the way God providentially orders things,
listen to what Paul will say in Romans 13.1-7.
He says,
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 it as 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 a 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 or 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.
Now, if you're like me,
the first thing you think when you hear a passage like that is,
are you kidding me?
Human governments are so corrupt.
How can Paul say that they're instituted by God?
But,
if anyone knew
that human rulers
were corrupt,
it was the Apostle Paul.
The Roman Empire was pagan,
pragmatic,
brutal,
and militaristic.
Paul had spent many nights in a Roman jail.
He was no stranger to political injustice.
So, Paul can't be saying,
he is not saying,
that every government is,
in and of itself,
honoring to God.
Paul isn't saying that there's no room for civil disobedience,
or protest,
or seeking to change how governments think and work.
In fact,
many scholars think that one of the main reasons Luke wrote the book of Acts
was to influence prevailing Roman opinion about the legality of Christianity in the empire.
There's a very book in the New Testament that's trying to change how people think
when it comes to political policies.
But what Paul is saying,
in line with what Jesus himself taught in our text in Luke 20,
is that human governments,
under God's ultimate providential authority,
have been instituted to exercise a limited degree of power.
And in that respect,
we must render to them what they are due.
Taxes where taxes are due.
Yes.
Despite the high rates of taxation in Connecticut,
we should still pay our taxes as Christians.
I know, that just makes you want to groan.
Revenue to whom revenue is owed.
Respect to whom respect is owed.
Honor to whom honor is owed.
And you know,
this line of thinking isn't just unique to the Apostle Paul.
Listen to what Peter says in 1 Peter 2, 13 through 17.
The Apostle Peter says,
Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution,
whether it be to the governor as supreme,
to the emperor as supreme,
excuse me,
or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil
and to praise those who do good.
For this is the will of God,
that by doing good,
you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
Live as people who are free.
Not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil,
but living as servants of God.
Honor everyone.
Love the brotherhood.
Fear God.
Honor the emperor.
The consistent teaching of Jesus and the apostles then
is that we must respect the limited authority
God has granted to human governing institutions.
We should pay taxes.
We should honor those in leadership positions.
We should obey the laws of the land
insofar as they do not contradict God's laws.
Paul even says in 1 Timothy
that we should pray for kings and all those in high positions,
which is the passage Greg read out for us earlier.
And remember that all this is laid down
with the unflinching realism
that governing authorities will be imperfect
and even at times unjust.
Now, the New Testament obviously was written
in a time when the prevailing form of government
was an empire.
And today, we live in a representative democracy.
It's more than a little different, isn't it?
So what does rendering to Caesar
what belongs to Caesar mean for us
in a time when the form of human government
is quite different?
Well, some have suggested
that in our day,
rendering to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
now entails meaningful participation
in government insofar as we are called.
For many, this means voting in elections,
serving in jury duty,
which I had the honor of doing this month.
Yay!
For some,
for some of us,
we'll be called.
Well, friends,
part of what it means
to be the church of Jesus Christ
is to bear one another's burdens
and to not be so stuck
in our own purposes and plans
that we fail to forget
that we're real living human beings
sitting next to each other
who need love and care and support.
So thank God for that reminder this morning.
And thank God that we're reminded
of our own frailty, right?
You know,
a lot of us in this room are young
and yet we need to have the reminder
from those who are a little further
down the race than us
that this is a finite life that we live.
And we start our life in dependence
and we will end our life in dependence.
And part of what it means
to prepare to meet God
is to grow into that second dependence
and to be okay with that
and to let that be a testimony
to the goodness of God
and the faithfulness of God
and the trustworthiness of God.
I think Fred's going to be okay.
If they're taking him to the hospital,
he's going to be all right.
He fainted.
But let's not lose the opportunity
that God's given us this morning
to attend to one another
and to attend to ultimate realities.
So why don't we pray?
I'm going to preach the rest
of this sermon to you guys
and then we're going to eat
the Lord's Supper together.
Does that sound good?
Let's do that.
Lord Jesus, we are grateful
that you are a good shepherd
and you love your sheep.
And Lord, that the trials and hardships
we go through in this life,
we don't go through them alone.
Jesus, you are truly God with us
in the good times and in the bad times
and sickness and in health.
And Lord, what a privilege it is
that we as brothers and sisters
get to be present to one another
in that same way
and get to be a reflection of you,
Lord Jesus.
So God, we do pray for Fred.
We pray for restored health.
God, we pray for good care
at the hospital.
God, we pray that good friends
would surround him
and encourage him
to place his hope in Jesus.
We ask all this in Christ's name.
Amen.
Growing up,
when the pastor would go over time,
he would usually say something
about a roast burning at home.
I don't think anyone has a roast
in the oven these days,
but it's probably going to burn
if you do.
We're going to keep going.
So friends,
we've looked at the first half
of what Jesus tells us
when it comes to how we ought to relate
to human governing authorities.
And he says,
we ought to render to Caesar
what belongs to Caesar.
There is a certain limited
but legitimate authority
that human governing structures have,
and we ought to render them
what is their due.
However,
a lot of that's going to take
prayerful,
biblical,
communal discernment
as to what that actually looks like.
Jesus lays down a principle
that we then have to apply.
So a lot of these things
will need to be worked out
together,
prayerfully.
But the biggest thing
we need to remember
as we go about doing that work
is that we remember
the second half
of what Jesus says
in verse 25,
and that is
that we must render to God
the things that are God's.
There is a certain duty
or obligation
that we owe
to the governing authorities,
but Jesus is clear
that our ultimate allegiance
must always and only
belong to God alone.
You see,
there's a subtle
but maybe not so subtle
connection that Jesus
is making here, right?
There's an image
on the coins,
the image of Caesar,
and therefore
render it to Caesar.
But there's another image.
There's an image on you,
God's own image.
And therefore,
you must render to God
what belongs to God.
You must render
your whole self
to God.
God is the creator
and the sustainer
of everything.
Everything belongs to him.
Caesar's authority
is limited.
It's temporary.
It's finite.
God's authority,
God's ownership,
God's rulership
is unlimited
and forever
and ultimate.
Everything belongs to him.
Our bodies,
our minds,
our time,
our money,
everything belongs
first and foremost
to him.
And that means
when we relate
to governing authorities,
we must never fall
into the trap
of placing
our unyielding hope
or trust
in any one
political party
or political cause
or political project.
And I think
where the rubber
meets the road
for us today
is that if we think,
if we think
that being a Christian
means
an exclusive allegiance
to this political party
or that political party,
whether Republican
or Democrat
or anything else,
if we think
that's what it means
to be a Christian,
to yield unyielding allegiance
to a particular party,
then we have failed
to render to God
the things that are God's.
Jesus is saying
our ultimate citizenship
as the church
is in heaven.
God alone
is our hope
and trust
and the gospel
of Jesus Christ
and the kingdom of God
is neither Republican
nor Democrat.
Now that's not to say
that a Christian
can't be a member
of a political party.
That too can be
maybe part of what it means
to render to Caesar
the things that are Caesar's.
But we must always
keep our feet
firmly planted
in the soil
of rendering to God
what belongs to God.
And you see,
when we've rendered to God
the things that are God's,
that is when we've rendered
our ultimate allegiance
to him and him alone,
something incredible.
happens.
When we get that alignment right.
On the one hand,
we're able to be bold
and truthful
about what we think
is for the common good.
We're able to articulate
ideas winsomely
even when they're unpopular.
It gives us a certain
amount of boldness.
But it also gives us
at the same time
the right kind of humility
and distance that we need.
At the same time,
we're able to critique
not just the shortcomings
of other political parties
or ideas,
whichever they may be,
but we're able to critique
our own
and listen to critiques
of our own.
And we're able to have
charitable conversations
with other Christians
and non-Christians
about the difficult issues
where we disagree.
And we're able
to be honest
about the shortcomings
of our political leaders.
just like Paul and Peter
when they dealt with Rome.
They were not trying
to whitewash
governing authorities
into something
they were not.
These are some
of the signs
that we're rendering
to God
the things that are God
while we render
to Caesar
the things that are Caesar.
Do you see that ability
in your own heart
to be able
to do those things?
The church
should be the place
that leads the way
in this kind of
approach
and critical distance
to what's happening
with governing authorities.
For Christians,
our citizenship
is ultimately in heaven,
as Paul says
in Philippians 3.20.
And again,
that doesn't mean
withdrawal from the world.
We have to render
to Caesar
the things that are Caesar's.
We have to seek
to love our neighbor
as ourself.
But it does mean
that as we engage
in the world,
we do it with a hope
and with a confidence
that's not rooted
in this world.
And so we don't despair.
But neither
do we make Caesar
our Lord.
And so there's the answer.
There's the principle
that Jesus lays out for us.
How should Christians
relate to governing authorities?
We have to render
to Caesar
the things that are Caesar's.
That is,
we have to respect
and responsibly engage
in the governing institutions
over us.
But ultimately,
we have to render
to God
the things that are God's.
That is,
give our unyielding allegiance
to God
and God alone.
And yet,
this brings us
to the third
and last thing,
doesn't it?
That that is a lot
easier said than done.
Why is it so hard?
I mean,
on paper,
we get that,
right?
Like,
yeah,
duh.
Give God
your unyielding allegiance.
You know,
respect the limited authority
that government has.
Don't get too caught up in it.
And yet,
it's really difficult,
isn't it?
And we live in a time
where that's very difficult.
Well,
there are lots of reasons
why it's difficult,
lots of things
we could come up with.
But let me point to just one thing
that we see here in Luke.
And that thing is fear.
Look again at verse 19.
The religious authorities
don't dare
come after Jesus openly
because they're afraid
of the people.
They're afraid
that the people
might turn against them.
But they're not just afraid
of what the people might do.
Reading between the lines,
they're also afraid
of what Caesar might do.
Jesus,
after all,
is claiming to be king.
And if Pilate thinks
that these temple authorities
are on Jesus' side,
then Pilate's going to make sure
that those temple authorities
pay too.
And then who knows
what will happen?
But even deeper,
under the fear
of the people,
under the fear
of Rome,
I think is the fear,
and this is clear
as you look at the rest
of Luke's gospel,
the fear that they will
lose their power.
And if they lose their power,
well, what then?
I think that under much
of the church's struggle
to relate rightly
to governing authorities today
is also fear.
Fear of what people
might think of us.
Fear of where the future
is headed.
Fear of losing power
and influence.
But in the midst
of our fears,
we have to look
not just to Jesus'
teaching
in this passage.
We have to look
at Jesus himself.
Consider how the rest
of Luke's gospel unfolds.
Soon the Jewish authorities
will arrest Jesus
at night,
away from the crowds.
And then they will think
that they are rendering
to Caesar
what belongs to Caesar.
Jesus is a criminal
and they will render
to Caesar
such a criminal
for punishment.
But as they render
Jesus over to Caesar,
Jesus in that same moment
is making another
much more profound move.
Jesus in that very moment
of being rendered over
to Caesar
is going to be rendering
to God
what belongs to God.
Jesus is going
to render to God
the perfect payment
for our human sin.
All the times
that we placed
our trust
in human governing
institutions
to do what only God
can do.
All the times
that out of an allegiance
to a particular project
we've let our own
obedience to God
slip by the way.
All the times
in which we've defamed
the name of Christ.
All the times
in which we've made
Caesar Lord.
All these things
which deserve
God's just
and righteous punishment.
Jesus in that moment
is rendering to God
what belongs to God
on our behalf
and paying it in full.
The Apostle John says
perfect love
drives out fear.
And friends
as the church
of Jesus Christ
we know
that we have been shown
perfect love.
All that we owe
to God
has been rendered
in full
by Christ.
And on the third day
Jesus rose
from the grave
to prove
that it had been
paid in full
and to conquer death.
what is it
you're afraid of?
All the little deaths
that drive us
to be afraid
and to seek our hope
and our trust
in some kind
of human institution.
Jesus has conquered
and risen victoriously
over all of our fears
including the most
basic fear of all
our fear of death.
And then Jesus
ascended to the right
hand of God
Paul says
far above all rule
and all authority
and all dominion.
that the one
who sits on the throne
of the universe
is the king of love
who will make sure
that nothing
will harm his people
in an ultimate way.
You see there's nothing
we need to fear
because Jesus
not Caesar
is Lord.
The psalmist says
some trust
in chariots
but we trust
in the name
of the Lord our God.
the name
that we know
is the name
of Jesus.
So brothers and sisters
render to Caesar
what belongs to Caesar
but now
and forevermore
let the church
be known
as the place
where we render
to God
what belongs
to God.
All our love
all our praise
all our confidence
all our hope
and let that be
good news
to everyone
who sees it.
Amen?
Amen.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus
as we come to your table now
we pray
that this would be
a moment for us
where we continue
to receive your gifts
and render back to you
what belongs to you
our whole selves.
Amen.
I wonder if those
who were helping