When I say these words, “I pledge allegiance,” every one
of you would be ready to continue on with the words, “to the flag of the United States of America; and to the
republic for which it stands --- one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” Those words roll off your tongue like sweet butter. We pledge
our allegiance to the country of which we are citizens.
But we as Christians have a dual citizenship.
We reside right now on earth here in Kentucky, USA --- but our true home is in heaven. In
Philippians 3:20-21, the Apostle Paul tells us clearly:
But
our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things
to himself.
As 1 Peter 2:11 tells us, we are ‘sojourners and exiles’ --- we
are aliens and strangers in this world. We are part-timers here because eternity
awaits all of us. And we who have trusted in Christ alone for our salvation know
that heaven awaits.
It is a difficult balance to find for a Christian --- how much to we honor
the rule of this world if this is ultimately not our home? If God is our true
king, do we pay honor to the earthly king, or is that taking away from the honor of God?
Some say it is. The Jehovah’s Witnesses do not celebrate holidays
or pledge to the flag ****
It is here that Jesus answers this question with a wisdom that cannot be found
anywhere else. Let’s look at Mark 12:13-17:
And
they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk.
[14] And they came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For
you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we
pay them, or should we not?" [15] But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them,
"Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it." [16] And
they brought one. And he said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said to him, "Caesar's." [17] Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are
God's." And they marveled at him.
I hope each of you see the undeniable brilliance of Jesus in this encounter. Once again, the authorities attempted to trap Jesus.
They sought to undermine His credibility in a two-front attack by two different groups come together to fight one whom
they deemed a mutual enemy --- Jesus of Nazareth.
In verse 13, you notice who these groups are: the Pharisees and the Herodians. Since they both desire Jesus’
silence, one may conclude that they were of the same mind. Sadly, nothing could
be further from the truth.
The Pharisees we know were slaves to the law and the traditions of God. They were conservative and narrow in their thinking:
they sought to preserve Israel’s and the Jewish nationalism
and detested the infiltration and occupation of Rome into
the holy land. They would be known as the right-wingers --- the conservatives.
The Herodians were the realm of Jewish authority that supported Herod and the
rule of Rome. They
were liberal in their convictions in that they did not simply take the worldview of God’s law, but also other worldviews
as well. They supported Rome’s presence
in the Holy Land. They found themselves more
of a political, accommodating mindset --- over and against the Pharisees who were more of a religious, resistance-oriented
mindset.
No two groups could have been more different.
In fact, history tells us that these two groups constantly resisted one another.
It is much like the Republican-Democrat issue in Washington. Seldom do they come across the aisle and vote together on anything --- except in situations
like, say, September 11. Why? There
was a common enemy that was perceived as an imminent threat. Two factious parties
came together (at least at first) in a unified front!
So too did the Pharisees and the Herodians.
And they truly thought they could trap Jesus with one question: “Is
it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” Give the Pharisees and the Herodians credit --- they came up with a question that
many could not answer without getting in trouble with one of those groups. If
Jesus responded, “Yes,” then the religious leaders would brand Jesus as a traitor doing the bidding of Rome and cut off their allegiance to Him. If Jesus responded, “no,” the Roman authorities would arrest Him as a revolutionary trying
to undermine Roman authority. As R. Kent Hughes rightly states, “Rome tolerated diversity in religion, but she used steel to deal with
political problems.” Jesus was trapped. Or was He?
It is usually dangerous for religious figures to dabble in the arena
of politics. In fact, many believe that not only should religious leaders not
speak anything remotely dealing with politics, many feel they have nothing to contribute.
Most governments see those who are religious/Christian as threats and therefore must be silenced and exterminated. Personally, I do not deal with political issues unless there are issues dealing with
moral and ethical issues such as abortion, homosexuality, pornography, creation/evolution debates, etc.
The same is true with economical issues.
Many people’s sole concern when they vote for a particular person is not dealing with moral or ethical issues,
but with economic issues --- issues dealing with money. This is a highly charged
topic --- and hornet’s nest, if you will. And Jesus’ enemies sought
to place Him right in the middle of this.
Jesus exposed their treachery: “Why
put me to the test?” He then asked for a denarius. A denarius was a small silver coin that represented about a day’s wage. On one side bore the image
of Caesar with the inscription: “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus,
Augustus.” On the other side was the inscription “Pontifex Maximus”
or “Chief Priest.” It was a tax levied by Rome just for the privilege of living!
This image was a constant reminder to the average Jewish citizen of Rome’s authority. Most
dared not resist, but they certainly resented their presence. But they still
recognized Rome’s authority by using the currency that
bore Caesar’s images and was backed by Roman authority.
Jesus’ answer was brilliant:
“Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” No one had ever crafted an answer to this issue like Jesus did. Jesus took it beyond a political “yes” or “no” answer to the thrust of being a
citizen of the Kingdom of God while a citizen of the state!
1.
What does it mean to ‘render unto Caesar the things that are
Caesar’s’?
To ‘render’ means to pay back. In this case, Jesus tells us that we are to pay back in the form of taxes to the authorities what they
are due for providing us with their services. These services are those such as
law enforcement within the borders, the military to protect our borders, firefighters, providing for our government officials
in their work of governing their citizens --- and the list goes on.
For the Christian, this may be a grave issue.
If we are free from the kingdoms of the world, why submit to them at all? Jesus
answers that in a conversation with Peter. Look at Matthew 17:24-27:
When
they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the half-shekel
tax went up to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the tax?" [25] He said,
"Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of
the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?" [26] And when he
said, "From others," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free. [27] However,
not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth
you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself."
How tragic when so many, even Christians, fail to ‘render unto Caesar’! They fail to see that obligation. April
15th is just another day! But we see that even Jesus paid His taxes! Why? Because He was a citizen of Israel and under the rule of Rome. He was receiving services that Rome
offered. Thus, He rendered back unto Caesar as a citizen --- even though He was
King of the Universe!
When the pilgrims landed in here in America in 1620, the original charter for this new land was known as the “Mayflower
Compact.” Listen to how it reads:
In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects
of our dread Sovereign Lord, King James, by the Grace of God, of England, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith,
e&. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country,
a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia; do by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence
of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and
Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid; And by Virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal
Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the
General good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In Witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed
our names at Cape Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord, King James of England, France and Ireland,
the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini, 1620.
Jesus’ words to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesars and to
God that which is God’s was foundational to this document and to the establishment of our governmental structure as
well. They understood and so must we that God has placed and established every
human institution of government.
We see this in Romans 13:1-2:
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.
1 Peter 2:13-14 says it similarly:
Be subject for the Lord's sake
to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors
as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.
In these two verses, we see some words that might catch us by surprise. In the Romans passage, you see that God has ‘instituted’ every governing
authority. Some versions say, “Ordained,” others have a footnote
that describes a ‘commissioning.’ And if we resist the authorities,
we resist the God who appointed them and will receive judgment.
In the 1 Peter passages, we are to submit “for the Lord’s
sake” to every governmental institution. Then he says, “whether it
be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who
do evil and praise those who do good.” Yes, that’s right --- ‘as
sent by him.’
For the Jews and Christians of that day, the initial reaction to what Jesus
(and Peter and Paul) states could have ranged from simple confusion to downright disgust!
And even now, many in our country regardless of the president have strong feelings about them and that the notion of
giving honor to someone they do not like because God placed them there is too much to handle.
Warren Wiersbe tells of a time when he carried on a brief correspondence with
a man who objected to the notion in Romans 13 that God placed those individuals there to run our government. He said that all government was of the devil and that Christians must not bow to the authority of “the
powers that be.” Wiersbe tells us:
I pointed out to him that even his use of the United States mail service was an acceptance of governmental authority. The money he spent buying the paper and stamps also came from the ‘powers that be.’ For that matter, the very freedom he had to express himself was a right guaranteed by --- the government.
But we must understand that we do not simply obey the government as Christians
with a blank check. Even the Scriptures tell us when we may not obey them:
1.
When a command of the law violates the command of God.
In Acts 5:28-29 told the disciples:
"We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled
Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this
man's blood upon us." But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God
rather than men.” The Pharisees told them, “Don’t preach or
teach the Word of God.” That is a direct violation of God’s command
to ‘go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19-20).
- When a law on the books
is biblically unethical.
Some laws on the books are actually biblically unethical. Just because the Supreme Court in 1973 in Roe v. Wade declared the murder of an unborn child by its mother
constitutional does not mean that it is biblically right --- because God is the author of life. Just because our courts may one day declare same-sex marriage constitutional does not mean that God deems
it right. Just because pornography is protected under free speech in our country
does not make me going to strip clubs and gazing at racy pictures appropriate!
The Constitution is one of the greatest man-made documents on governing a country
ever written --- but it is a man-made document. We must follow the mandates and
dictates of Scripture, because it is God’s inspired Word.
2. What does it mean to render unto God the things that are God’s?
Now that we have talked about the way we are to render unto Caesar the things
that are Caesar’s. But what about the other part of the equation? What are we to render, or pay back, the things that are God’s? Jesus’ brilliance lies in His simplicity.
Go back to the coin that Jesus asked for --- the denarius. And also go back to the question Jesus asked: “Who’s image is on the coin?” The answer was obvious: “Caesar’s.”
But in continuing by saying, “And give to God the things that are
God’s,” Jesus --- though telling us of the God-ordained nature of civil government --- drew a very distinct line
in saying that there is a higher authority who sits in heaven giving all these powers that be their power and authority.
You see, Caesar was an object of worship!
Many would claim him to be a god! Even the Herods in Judea
received worship! We see this in Acts 12:21-23:
On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon
the throne, and delivered an oration to them. And the people were shouting, "The
voice of a god, and not of a man!" Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him
down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.
Jesus tells the people, “Yes, Caesar is the head of state --- but
He is not the head of the universe!” He tells us now, “Yes, the President
sits in the Oval Office --- but God sits on His throne.”
God asks us to take a look upon each and every person of humanity. Who’s image is upon them? All we have to do is turn
to Genesis 1:26 to find the answer to that: “And God said, Let us make
man in our image, after our likeness.” William Lane puts it so well: “The
duties toward God and Caesar, though distinct, are not completely separate, but are united and ruled by the higher principle
of accomplishing in all things the will of God. Because men bear the image of
God they owe their allegiance to him.”
Conclusion
I pray this has caused us some soul searching this morning. Some of us are like those Herodians --- we look at everything through the eyes of politics. We try to bend and twist the Gospel message in the light of our political affiliation. If a pastor preaches on something that goes against the party line, do we automatically say our party’s
platform is correct or do we look to the Bible which is correct and examine our party’s platform? It is good for us to render unto Caesar --- but we must not render unto Caesar as if he were God!
Some of us this morning are like the Pharisees --- you may be working
and lobbying and writing your Senators and Congressmen to make this country and our leadership more moral. We think if we have a more moral country with good moral values, then God will bless America! Let
me tell you, the Pharisees were the most moral people in the known world --- but they were just as lost as lost can be! They tried to be right by starting with the outside and working inwardly.
What this world needs is Jesus Christ, who changes us on the inside --- He
changes our hearts! Religious moralism of the Pharisees or political activism
of the Herodians lead to a dead end! We must turn to Jesus! Won’t you this morning? Won’t you give to God
the things that are His?
