Caesar And God
Matthew 22:15-22
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
St. Matthew 22:21 And [Jesus] said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ our Lord… You know the saying that if you want to avoid conflict with people, you shouldn’t talk about politics or religion. Well, Jesus was never one to avoid conflict, and the Word of God for today requires us to talk about both politics and religion. For God is at work in both – in the left hand kingdom of the Law, and in the right hand kingdom of the Gospel.
For some, politics is almost a religion in itself; they daily pay attention to the latest news and polls and political talk shows, acting as if everything important hangs on who gets elected. It’s almost as if Jesus is not still at the right hand of the Father as Lord of all and King of kings. Other people are just as religious in avoiding politics altogether; they don’t care to be bothered with what’s going on in government, and they shirk their duties as citizens.
And it goes the other way, too. Some are very political in their religion. They see their religion as a means to accomplish political goals in the kingdoms of this world. For them being Christian is all about “social justice” or getting certain laws and policies enacted and trying to set up the kingdom of God on earth. Do not be fooled: sin and evil cannot be overcome and a perfect world cannot be established by the right laws and political structures.
But the kingdom of God is not of this fallen world; we know that no utopia can be established that is comprised of and run by sinful humans. And, by the way, that word “utopia” is a Greek word meaning literally “no place.” So, if you’re looking for utopia, it ain’t a thing! We are only pilgrims here on this earth; this is not our ultimate home. And while Christians do work for the good of their fellow man in this life, the church is primarily and most importantly about proclaiming repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Christ so that people might have eternal life with God.
One of the results of the Fall of man into sin is that we tend to confuse politics and religion and their God-given place in our lives. That certainly happened in today’s Gospel. The Pharisees tried to entangle Jesus in His talk. They didn’t like much of what He had been saying, so they tried to trip Him up and cause Him problems publicly – sort of like a questioner at a political debate who tries to make a candidate say something that will cause him to look foolish or lose popularity.
The Pharisees, who were very serious religious types, got together with some Herodians, who were political types, supporters of King Herod and the Roman polity. The Pharisees had nothing in common with the Herodians except that they both wanted to get rid of Jesus – proving once again that politics makes for strange bedfellows. After trying to flatter Jesus, they asked Him, “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” Of course, that is a trap. If Jesus says “no,” it is not right to pay taxes to Caesar, then He will be guilty of treason against Rome and the political Herodians would be the first to report Him. If Jesus says “yes,” it is right to pay taxes to Caesar, then He will be guilty of disloyalty to Israel, and the religious Pharisees could use that to turn the people against Him.
These guys must have thought they were pretty smart; they must have thought they had Jesus cornered. Just as we like to think we’re pretty smart, too, the way we tend to turn things into complicated ethical dilemmas as soon as the Word of God starts getting a little too close for comfort and condemning us for our sin. Sinful Christians are very good at changing the subject or coming up with questions about the latest issue of the day that distract from the main issues of repentance and forgiveness, and of who Jesus is and what He has done for us. Don’t play tricks with God; don’t try to avoid His words with the clever language of lawyers and loopholes. He knows the way we try to evade who He is and what He says.
Repent. Jesus will not be distracted. He will not be caught in men’s feeble traps. He asked the Pharisees and the Herodians to show Him the tax money. And He asked them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” The coin had a portrait of Tiberias on the one side, and a picture of him seated on his throne on the other. The inscription declared Tiberias to be the great ruler. Then Jesus said, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at His words and went their way. You get the sense that Jesus wanted to get beyond mere politics to the real business of theology, the things of God.
But first things first. As much as we might hate to admit it, politics has its place. St. Paul says in Romans 13:1, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist have been established by God.” Therefore, we are to honor them and pray for them; and if they’re tyrannical and ungodly to pray for the end of their reign. We are to pay our taxes and follow the laws of the land as long as those laws do not cause us to sin. No Christian says that since God is his King, he doesn’t have to obey earthly rulers. God has given them their authority, even if they don’t use it wisely, whether we like them or not, whether they’re Christian or not. Tiberias was a pagan and no believer. “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.”
Detailed information on erectile dysfunction or impotence Impotence viagra discount online is basically faced only by the men who are above the age of 18. Each of these ingredients are of synthetic versions that are just similar to naturally occurring female sex hormones, oestrogen generic cialis and progesterone within the body. When this happens, the signs and symptoms of TMJ syndrome include the following:- Pain or tenderness in the jaw (especially common area). cialis cheapest Most suppliers cialis price online or dealers will supply in packets.
Now if the civil authorities cause us to sin – if they require us to deny God’s Word in some way and to do things that are morally wrong and go against our faith in Christ, then we are obligated to disobey Caesar. As Peter and the other Apostles said in Acts 5:29, “It is necessary to obey God rather than men.” We only honor Caesar for God’s sake. And if Caesar wants us to deny the God who gave him his civil authority, then we must obey God rather than men.
That is why we do not and must not EVER submit to the government’s sinful definition of marriage just because it is “the law of the land.” We dare NEVER to endorse the unconscionable and horrific murder of unborn children through abortion; and we must NEVER do or say anything that condones or supports those blatant, ungodly, and sinful things. But even then, should the day come when the church is persecuted for standing firm for her beliefs – and that day is surely coming no matter which way the current presidential election controversy goes – we recognize that God is even at work there. He works all things – even the evils of ungodly government – for our eternal good, for the purification of the church, and for the strengthening of our confession of the faith. The church has always been strongest in times of persecution. God accomplishes His greatest good through suffering, most especially through the cross of our Lord Jesus.
Which brings us to the second half of Jesus’ statement, which is really most important: “Render unto God the things that are God’s.” Well, guess what? Everything is God’s anyway, so give Him everything. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is Yahweh’s and all its fullness.” Paying taxes then, is really nothing. God wants all that we are and all that we have. He doesn’t just want a couple of hours on a Sunday morning and some money put into the plate so we feel like we have done our duty. He wants to be our real life everywhere, 100% of the time, at the heart of all we are and all we do.
He Himself is our very life! He is the Source, the Creator, the Redeemer. To render to God the things that are God’s, then, means to honor Him as the true owner of everything we have and to manage it in a God-pleasing way. That starts with the percentage of our income that should go in the offering plate here to support the mission of the church, but it continues with the rest of what we have been given to use and manage out there for the good of our neighbor and the glory of God.
Remember, it’s all about the image. The coin bore Caesar’s image, so it was given to Caesar. And what bears God’s image? You do. You are in the image of God. You are given to God.
But remember this as well: We do not give ourself to God. We are brought to God in Christ. For while we are in God’s image, Jesus actually is the image of the invisible God Himself according to Colossians 1. The image of God was broken in us through sin, but it is restored only in Christ. Just as an image of a president is pressed into a coin, so Christ Himself is the image of God “coined” in our human flesh. And as money is offered up to pay taxes, so Jesus was offered up to God to pay for our sins on the cross, rendered to the Father as a sweet sacrifice. Jesus purchased and redeemed each and every one of us, not with gold or silver but with His holy, precious blood. And there was even an inscription that was placed over Jesus’ head at Calvary by an agent of Caesar himself. It read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews” (Matt 27:37). There is Jesus on His throne for you.
When it comes to settling accounts with God, we can do one of two things: either we can render to Him our own works and our own goodness, which things always fall short, or we can trust in the works and the sacrifice of Christ rendered to the Father as the full and complete payment for our sins. So then at its heart, to render to God the things that are God’s is simply to rely on Christ and believe in Him. It is to point to Christ the crucified and say, “There is my salvation. He alone is the offering that wins for me everlasting life.” To put it another way, we render to Caesar obedience, but we render to God the love and trust of our hearts.
And there is still more, for through our baptism into Christ, the Lord put His own inscription on us, His own Triune name. On us, whose image was tarnished and corrupted, Jesus stamped the sign of the cross and joined us to Himself. In Jesus the very image of God is restored to our humanity. We are now God’s holy coinage; we are His cherished treasure. And living in Christ, we offer up our bodies by the mercies of God as living sacrifices by loving and serving our neighbor.
Dear friends, we know that we are now citizens of heaven. We are as foreigners, only passing through this life and onto our true homeland. That means we don’t have to live as if we are so attached to the things of this life. We are citizens of this country only for a short time, but we will live under Christ in His kingdom for eternity. Set the deepest love of your hearts, then, on that better, heavenly country. Let your highest attachment not be to the American flag and to government entities or benefits, but to the holy cross. Let that be the real joy and delight of your hearts.
St. Paul wrote in the Epistle, “We eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body.” By the all-encompassing power of God, these lowly bodies of ours will undergo a wonderful and mysterious transformation on the day of resurrection, so that they will be like the glorious body of Jesus after His resurrection. Our bodies will finally no longer be threatened by all of the troubles and sin and sickness and death they experience in this world. Rather, we will live before God amidst the holy pleasures of the new creation eternally.
Let us, therefore, render unto Caesar what is his and to God what is His. Let us, above all else, give allegiance to the eternal Father, and to Jesus who is Lord over all things for the sake of His church, holding to His saving Word and to our catechism and creeds which faithfully confess that Word. Let us raise up the holy crucifix of Christ as our great flag and banner of salvation. For though it is a stumbling block for Jews and foolishness for Gentiles, Christ’s cross remains the power of God and the wisdom of God and the only way to enter His everlasting, unshakable kingdom.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
