“WHAT WE ARE TO RENDER TO AND GOD” (:15-22)

The two subjects we’re told to avoid talking about is politics and religion. You can talk about the weather, you can talk about the grandkids, but stay away from politics and religion. We all know that talking about religion can stir up tension. You can be talking to someone about how the fishing is or the storm front that’s moving in, and things are breezy and light. But bring up God and suddenly the walls go up. How about politics? Right now, politics that may be even more divisive than religion, and arguing over politics is nothing new. In 1858 – just a few years before the Civil War – things got heated at a late-night session of congress where slavery and state’s rights were being debated. A Republican from Pennsylvania and a Democrat from South Carolina began insulting each other – imagine that – and soon they were shouting at each other, and then one of them threw a punch and a fist fight broke out right on the floor of the congress. 30 other congressmen left their seats and joined in on the fight before the sergeant-of-arms was able to break it up. Two years before that, a senator from South Carolina walked up to a fellow senator from Massachusetts on the senate floor and started beating him with a cane, and nearly killed him. Political tensions are nothing new, and many see parallels between our political divide today and that of the days leading up to the Civil War. Our relationship to those who govern over us presents a unique challenge for because spiritually we don’t really belong to this world. said, “My kingdom is not of this world, and those who belong to me are not of this world.” Paul said, “Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we eagerly await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” But at the same time, while we physically live on this earth, and we are citizens of the United States, of Curry County, and of Gold Beach. We have a dual citizenship, and God wants us to be model citizens of both our heavenly home and our earthly home, fulfilling our obligations and responsibilities to both. Today we’re going to talk about politics and religion, and we’ll see Jesus delivers one of His most familiar and profound sayings – one that is timeless and very relevant to the times we are living in. In Matthew 22 we find Jesus just a few days away from His crucifixion. He has triumphantly ridden into Jerusalem to present Himself as Israel’s king. The Jewish religious leaders have long been seeking a way to kill Jesus, and by entering Jerusalem so publicly, He forces them to act on their plan, knowing that His mission for coming to earth – to die for our sins – was about to be accomplished. Throughout the book of Matthew. We’ve a seen a number of clashes between Jesus and the – the most influential political and religious party in Israel. They resent Jesus for challenging their authority and calling on them to repent. They’re always looking for a way to trap Jesus in His words and discredit Him before the eyes of the people. Once the have the crowds on their side, they can feel more at ease with . In the last part of chapter 22 we find the Pharisees ask Jesus a series of questions in a last-ditch effort to discredit Him. The first question, which we will look at today, is found in verse 15-22… “Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?’” (15-17). This is fascinating. The Pharisees are desperate to trap Jesus, and this time they enlist the help of the Herodians. Who are the Herodians? They obviously have something to do with King Herod. Herod is the family name for a dynasty that ruled over Israel in the time of Jesus. There are several different Herod’s mentioned in the Bible, and they were like governors over different areas. While the Herod’s ruled over Israel, they were accountable to Rome and the Roman Emperor Caesar. Caesar could have sent Romans to rule Palestine, but he decided to let the Herod’s be in charge, as long as they collected taxes for Rome and kept things peaceful and orderly. The Herodians were a Jewish political party that supported the Herod’s. They thought their best bet as a nation was to keep peace with Rome and support whoever they had in power. The Pharisees were the polar opposite. They hated Rome with a passion, and resented the Herod’s that ruled over them. They detested being subservient to Rome and paying taxes to their enemy. It’s only natural that the Pharisees hated the Herodians because they were political sellouts – they were pro-Rome. The political tension between these two groups was sky-high – even more than the political tensions we see today. Now we see in verse 15 that the Pharisees and the Herodians come together to question Jesus. This would be the equivalent in our day of President Trump and Nancy Pelosi coming together on some issue. Is that a vivid enough picture for you? These guys couldn’t agree on anything, but they come together on one single issue – getting rid of Jesus. We already know why the Pharisees want to get rid of Jesus – they want a Messiah who will lead them in a rebellion against Rome and bring Israel back under the power of the . When Jesus doesn’t do that, and instead tells them to repent, they’re furious. They see Jesus as a threat to their power and control over the people, and plot to kill Him. The Herodians see Jesus as someone who threatens the peaceful status-quo of the system, someone that might upset the Roman emperor and send them an even harsher ruler. They agree that Jesus has to go, so this pro-Rome group joins together with an anti-Rome group to go after of Jesus. They begin with flattery… “’Teacher,’ they said, ‘we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are’” (16). They say all this, not because they believe it, but to butter Jesus up so that He’ll walk into their trap. They’ve thought out every detail of their ruse. They say, “Jesus, you are a great man of integrity (they don’t believe it); you teach the truth of God (they don’t believe that either); you speak your mind no matter what anyone else thinks – you’re not swayed by the polls – and you don’t run from a controversy.” Do you see what they’re doing? They’re goading Jesus into answering their question directly and honestly, and if He does, He’s sure to get into trouble. The question is this: Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? It’s a brilliant question. Just like today, paying taxes in Jesus’ day was a hot-button issue. If you were a Jewish person under Roman rule, you were required to pay a variety of taxes – there was income tax, there was property tax, there was taxes on customs and goods and trade. And like us today, they didn’t like it. They thought they were overtaxed.

But what added salt to the wound is that their taxes were going to the hated Romans. Imagine another country like Russia or China coming into our country, overtaking us, and forcing us to pay taxes to the ones who conquered us. We’d be outraged. But notice that they ask Jesus about a specific tax – the imperial or . This was an annual tax paid by everyone 20 years and older and it signified that you belonged to the Romans – they not only owned the land, but they owned you. The Jewish people saw themselves as belonging to God, and the land was given to them by God. What’s worse is that this tax was used to finance the occupying Roman army – the very army that came in and ransacked you. As you can imagine, it was the most hated of all the Roman taxes. But there’s even more to this tax – the coin that was used to pay the tax was a particular coin called the – a silver coin that amounted to a day’s wage. The coins were minted by the Romans and bore the image of the face of Caesar on one side, and on the other Caesar sitting on a throne clothed in robes of deity. To a Jew, this coin represented idolatry. The second commandment said, “You shall not make any false image and bow down to it.” This wasn’t just a question of money, it was a question of faithfulness. Can I as a follower of the one true God, pay a tax with this coin to Caesar who holds himself up as deity? So, Jesus, what’s your opinion? Should we pay the imperial tax or not? It’s a brilliant question because no matter how Jesus answers it, He’s in trouble. If He says, “Pay it,” He’ll make the Jews mad. They’ll say, “How can you side with the hated Romans? How can you have us pay something that’s associated with idolatry? If you say pay the tax, I can’t support you or follow you.” On the other hand, if He says, “Don’t pay the tax,” He’ll make the Herodians mad. They’ll accuse Him of treason and report Him to Rome. They’ve caught Jesus in the perfect trap, or so they think. Verse 18, “But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, ‘You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me?’” Jesus sees through their flattery to their true intent. They’re hypocrites. Outwardly, they flatter Jesus and heap praise on Him, but in their hearts, they want to kill Him. He sees through their pretense, and as He’s done so many times before, He blows them away with His answer. Verses 19-22, “’Show me the coin used for paying the tax.’ They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, ‘Whose image is this? And whose inscription?’ ‘Caesar’s,’ they replied. Then he said to them, ‘So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.’ When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.” What a brilliant answer. Jesus was supposed to takes sides, but He doesn’t. He says, “Render unto Caesar’s what is Caesar’s, and unto God what is God’s.” There is something we to give to Caesar and our earthly rulers – and there is something we are to give to God – our heavenly Father. Let’s start with Caesar – what are we to give to those who govern over us? Five things… To start with, we are to give them our submission. 1 Peter 2:13 says, “Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors.” Romans 13:1-2 says, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so bring judgment on themselves.” The “governing authorities” here are those people and institutions that are part of the government of the country the Christian finds him or herself living in. For the early Christians Peter and Paul write to, this would be the Roman Emperor Nero, as well as the local government. The reason God wants us to submit to our human authorities is because He’s the one who put them there. God is a God of order, and part of His order for creation is authority. Without authority there is chaos, like we’ve seen on the streets of Portland. God has also established lines of authority in the family and the church – wives are to submit to their husbands, children to their parents, and the church to their leaders. When these lines of authority are broken down, the result is chaos and dysfunction. A big part of the problems we have today is because we have ignored God’s lines of authority. Yet we read the word “submission” and bristle, because the authorities God has placed over us are imperfect and flawed. Government makes bad decisions and policies; husbands are imperfect, parents are imperfect, and church leaders are imperfect. Because all these institutions are imperfect, God does not call us to blind obedience, and we’ll talk about in a moment. But let’s not forget that God’s design for creation is that we submit to our authorities, because God is the one who has placed them in that position. As the book of Daniel says, God sets up kings and He removes kings. They serve under His sovereignty. When Jesus stood before Pilate, Pilate said, “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above” (John 19:10-11a). God’s in control, and no matter who gets into office this fall, they are ultimately accountable to God. The second thing we are to render unto Caesar is our taxes. That’s the direct application of Jesus’ words. He says, “Give your denarius back to Caesar.” Paul said the same thing in Romans 13:6-7, “This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.” According to God’s design, taxes are intended to enable the beneficial running of society. If your house catches on fire, your taxes pay for the fire department to come and put it out. If you need the service of the police, they are there to protect you. We pay for the military to defend our nations, and for maintenance crews to keep our roads paved, and so forth. We may not agree with all that is done with our taxes, and we should vote and voice our opinions, but we honor God when we pay our taxes. Third, we are to render unto our governing authority our prayers. 1 Timothy 2:1-2a says, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority.” We are to pray for our leader’s salvation, and for wisdom and guidance in making decision. Notice Paul doesn’t say, “Pray for the leaders you like and the leaders who you agree with.” In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus calls us to not just pray for our friends, but our enemies and those who persecute us, and tick us off, and put into legislation things that we disagree with. We are to pray even for them. Praying for our leaders is important because it takes our frustration and anger with our leaders and brings it to God’s throne. Praying for them keeps our hearts from becoming bitter and proactively does something to help the situation. Fourth, we are to render our respect. 1 Peter 2:17 says, “Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.” Acts 23:5 describes an interesting scene in which the Apostle Paul had spoken harshly to the high priest without knowing who it was. When he was told who it was, he said, “I did not realize it was the high priest, for it is written, “Do not speak evil about your ruler.’” Once again, the rub comes when we’re called on to respect those who aren’t respectable, and who disrespect us and what we stand for. At the time Paul and Paul wrote these words, Nero was in power. Nero was not a good guy – read about him sometime. He burned Christian’s alive and used them as human torches in his garden. Paul would eventually die by his hands. Compared to Nero, our government leaders look pretty tame. But Paul recognized that God was in control and just as quickly as God set him up, God could take him down. Paul was able to look at the bigger picture and set his mind on his heavenly home. Warren Wiersbe said, “Even if we cannot respect the people in office, we must respect the office.” The fifth thing we are to render to those in authority over us is our cooperation… In that text I just read from 1 Timothy 2, immediately after that Paul adds… “…that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior” (1 Timothy 2:2b-3). As we live temporarily in this world, God wants us to be good citizens and a good witness to those who don’t yet know the Lord. He doesn’t want us to be rebel-rousers and those who demand our rights. Instead, we are to live quiet and peaceful and dignified lives. We are to stand out in the world as godly, holy people. While we are to render to Caesar all these things, there are things we are not to render to him. Number one, we are not to render our blind allegiance. We are to question and discern and evaluate what our leaders ask or tell us to do. Very few countries in history have had the freedom of speech to speak up and speak out on issues, and we need to take every advantage of that in a dignified and respectful way. There are times when our allegiance to God supersedes our obedience to earthly authorities. We see this played out in Acts 5, where Peter and the apostles are arrested, flogged, and told not to preach or teach the name of Jesus. Acts 5:29 says, “But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’” The apostles didn’t scream or shout, they didn’t lead a protest – they simply obeyed God and humbly accepted the consequences for their disobedience to earthly authorities. When Pharaoh issued the edict ordering all the boy babies born to Hebrews slaughtered, some brave midwives and mothers said, “We’re going to break the law. We’re going to let these baby boys live.” When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were ordered to bow down to a pagan statue they said, “No, we’re not going to do it.” And they accepted the consequences. When Daniel was told to pray only to the King Darius, he simply continued his daily habit of praying three times a day to the true God of Israel. In my lifetime there has been very few times in our country we as Christians have had to practice this kind of , but in recent years – in recent months and even weeks – that is changing – and we may have to decide if we will obey God or men. But I believe we should do so very wisely and make sure we pick our battles appropriately. As you look at the life of Jesus, He did not try to change politics or attack the government. As God, He had every right to. His sole mission was to preach the kingdom of God and call people to repent. Our purpose is the same – to preach Christ and Him crucified. When government unfairly prohibits us from our mission, then we must disobey, and at the same time be willing to suffer the consequences in a Christlike way. Not only are we not to render our blind allegiance to Caesar, but we also are not to render our rights as citizens. In Acts 22 Paul is doing his preaching the gospel and is brought in to be flogged, and he states in Acts 22:25, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty? Paul says, “I have certain right and privileges as a citizen of Rome,” and the same is true of us. We have just as much right as any other citizen to voice our opinion and seek laws that are in keeping with God’s design for the world. But we do so with respect and dignity and wisdom. If this is what we are to render and not render to Caesar, then what are we to render to God? The answer is everything. Just as we are to give back to Caesar the coin that bears his image, we are to give back to God what bears His image. That’s us. We are made in the image of God, we are His creation, and we belong to Him. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” While Caesar gets a denarius, God get everything – our whole life. Practically speaking, this means that we render our bodies to God. Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God…” The world says, “It’s my body and I choose what I do with it.” But God says, “Your body is not your own – you are bought with a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.” We are to render unto God our worship. Hebrews 13:15 says, “Let us continually offer unto God a sacrifice of praise.” How about your job? Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.” Do everything for the glory of God. How about your money? God instructed Israel to bring a tithe, a portion of their crops, to the temple as a symbol that it all belonged to God. Likewise, all our money and possessions belong to God, and He told the Corinthians that on each Lord’s Day they were to set aside a sum of money in keeping with their income and give it to the Lord. How about your time? Who does your time belong to? There’s never a time when we cease being God’s creation – we belong to Him 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” God gives us only so many days, and He wants us to use them wisely and productively for His glory. We are also to render to God our gifts and talents. He calls each of us to serve according to our gifting, so that we may use the ways He has uniquely made us to glorify Him. The question is: Are you rendering to God what is due Him? Likewise, are you rendering to Caesar what is due Him? Submitting to our human authorities really comes down to first submitting to God’s authority. Once you say to God, “You are God and I bear your image. You are my creator and I belong to you,” then you can take your denarius and give it to Caesar. You give it to honor God, and you trust that no matter how flawed or imperfect Caesar is, God has put him in that position and he is accountable to God. One day Jesus will return to rule and reign over the earth, and there will be no more human authorities. Until then, render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and unto God what is God’s.