Sermon manuscript:
For better understanding what is going on in our Gospel
reading, it is helpful to know the context. Our reading today is during Holy
Week. Jesus entered Jerusalem a couple days before on Palm Sunday. The people
hailed him as king. He then went to the Temple, clearing out the money
changers, flipping over tables and such. All of this made the leaders in
Jerusalem very upset. They had always believed that Jesus was no good. So in
the readings for the past few weeks we’ve been hearing about the interaction
between Jesus and these leaders in Jerusalem.
Our reading this morning is another of those interactions,
but in today’s reading the Jewish leaders are trying to trap Jesus in what he
might say. So they come to him with
something of a trick question: “Is it lawful to pay
taxes to Caesar or not?”
To understand why this is a trick question, we need to know
something about the political situation at that time. The Jewish people had not
been able to govern themselves for quite some time. They had been ruled over by
foreigners for a few hundred years. The latest of the foreign rulers were the
Romans, with the Caesar at the head of that government. “Is it lawful to pay taxes to that guy or not?”
I’m not aware of any people who enjoys having foreign
rulers over them, and the Jews were no exception. They resented the presumption,
arrogance, brutality, and so on of the Romans. They were hoping that they could
get their own kingdom back. One of the hopes at the time was that the Messiah,
or the Christ, promised in the Old Testament, would come and restore their
kingdom. So they’d rather not pay taxes to Caesar. Plus they could add some
pretty legitimate sounding excuses. The Caesar was a rank unbeliever. He even
styled himself as something of a god. How could tax-payers give their
hard-earned money towards something like that?
So that’s one part of what is going on. The Jews didn’t like
the Romans or Caesar. The other part of what is going on with Jesus being asked
this questions was that it was dangerous for anyone to say that they didn’t
like the Romans or Caesar. If someone had rebellious thoughts, and the Romans
found out about it, they wouldn’t think twice about killing especially non-citizens
like most of the Jews. I think this is what Jesus’s opponents were hoping would
happen. I think they were hoping he would say that we should throw off the
Roman yoke and start building a better world. And if Jesus’s opponents heard
something like that, the first thing they would have done was to run to Pontius
Pilate. They’d turn Jesus in and all their problems would go away.
But Jesus disappoints them. Instead of saying “Throw off the
Roman yoke,” he says, “Give Caesar’s things to Caesar,
and God’s things to God.” So Jesus avoided their trap.
Now let’s think about what Jesus’s answer means. There are
two parts to his answer: “Give Caesar’s things to
Caesar, and God’s things to God.” We’ll take them in turns. With the
first part of Jesus’s response there seems—to me, at least—to be something of a
dismissal of the whole issue. The saying, “Give Caesar’s
things to Caesar,” strikes me as being something like, “Let sleeping
dogs lie,” or “That’s all a tempest in a teapot.” Not much to see.
To respond in such a manner is unexpected, to say the least.
Maybe it would be along the lines of someone saying, “It doesn’t matter if
Biden or Trump is president,” when we all know that nothing could be more
important than who is president. Right? We have about a dozen cable news
channels that are dedicated to nothing else than covering every last whisper
and wink that comes out of Washington. Jesus just says, “Leave Caesar alone. Give to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar.”
Perhaps what Jesus’s response identifies is a false god that
we easily end up fearing, loving, and trusting in. There’s no denying that
those in government have power, and so we easily believe that if only we were
able to get these things straight—if only we could get our guys or our party in
there—then we’ll be happy. Every four years, every two years, we hear the same
things over and over again. Vote for this guy and then you’ll be happy. Or,
conversely, God forbid the other guy should be elected otherwise the world will
fall apart. Our fear, love, and trust belong with the true God instead of in
anything else. To fear, love, and trust in those who have power in earthly
affairs is just as much idolatry as if we were bowing down and worshiping some
statue.
In order for you to see how idolatry can be present with our
thoughts about government, let me speak briefly about another kind of idolatry,
the idolatry of money. Very similar things are said about money as are said
about the government. “If only I have money, then I’ll be happy.” Or,
conversely, “if I should happen to lose any money, then gloom, despair, and agony
on me.”
Now I have to admit that there’s something going on with
these things we idolize. For example, does it feel good to come into some
money? You bet it does. Does it hurt to lose money? Yes indeed. So also with
the government. There are good governments and bad governments. We’d all like
to have a good government. Does it feel good to have your guy win on election
night? You bet it does. But even though we can get some pleasure and
satisfaction through these things, they are not very good gods. They don’t really
deliver the happiness or blessedness that they are always promising.
So do not put your faith in this person or party being
elected or not elected. A lot of people at Jesus’s time believed that if they
could only get rid of that awful Caesar, then happy days would return again. Whether
Caesars exist or don’t exist is not what will do the trick. What is needed is a
new creation. The things of God are what is needed. We need to be born again of
water and the Spirit. We need to enter into a new relationship with God where
there is true righteousness, justice, peace, and so on—much purer and
profounder than any earthly ruler could ever accomplish under even the best of circumstances.
So do not obsess over who is in power or not in power. God
still exists in heaven above regardless of who is in power. Make it your aim, instead,
to please God.
This is one thought that I believe Jesus is expressing when
he says, “Give Caesar’s things to Caesar.” Leave
him be. Another thing he is saying is actually the answer to their question: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” Jesus
says, basically, “It is.” Pay the things that belong to Caesar to Caesar. Paul
says the same thing in Romans 13: “Pay taxes to whom
you owe taxes.” Why? Because government is a gift from God. They need to
be supported in the work that God has given them to do.
Now I can understand why it might not seem as though
government is a gift from God. There is always waste, corruption, nonsense, if
not even worse things. It can seem as though government is not a gift of God at
all. But just because something that is good can be abused, doesn’t destroy what
is supposed to be good. Admittedly, the government does not always do what is
right. Governments never have! They’ve all been run by poor, miserable sinners.
But there is a lot of goodness that God accomplishes through his gift of
government that is easily overlooked.
Consider how good it is that we can pick up the phone and
call 911, and we don’t have to wonder about whether help is on the way. God’s
gift of government defends us and protects us. God’s gift of government also
prevents all kinds of evils and mischief. Because of the fact that we have
laws, police, judges, prisons, and so forth, those who want to do evil have to
think twice before harming their neighbor. They don’t want to get caught. They
don’t want to get punished. In this way God keeps the lid on all kinds of evil
that otherwise would boil over. God’s gift of government, even if it be
ever-so-imperfect, allows us to live quiet and peaceable lives.
So with Jesus’s words, “Give
Caesar’s things to Caesar,” Jesus is indicating that government has a God-given
role to play. Taxes should be paid to whom taxes are owed, because God works
through those who are in government to maintain peace and prosperity. However,
we should keep our distance when it comes to our heart. Don’t give your heart
or your soul to anyone or anything but God alone.
Which brings us to the second part of Jesus’s response: “Give God’s things to God.” What are the things of God?
What we must think of first and foremost when it comes to the “things of God”
is God’s Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Jesus did the things of God.
And what did Jesus do? Jesus became Lord over everything
that afflicts us the worst. We might think that government or money could fix our
problems—and maybe they could fix some of them—but these things cannot even
come close to addressing our worst and most pressing needs. What makes us
saddest and most miserable is our poor spiritual condition—our coveting, greed,
anger, hatred, lust, meanness, fear, self-loathing, and so on. We could sum all
these things up with the word, “Sin.” And Sin would like to rule us like a
tyrant both now in this life, and eternally in the life to come. Jesus defeats
sin. Sin is not Lord. Jesus is Lord.
And Jesus defeats the gloomy grave. Death and decay in all
around I see. Wave after wave of people go away and there seems to be no
stopping it. But death must let go despite its terrible, seemingly invincible,
grip. We shall rise as Jesus has arisen.
The glory of these things is so magnificent! Jesus gets to
the root and source. There is so much talk of happiness: “I would be happy if
only I …” and you fill in the blank. Happiness is so much higher and holier of
a thing than people imagine. There’s no way government, or money, or any other
earthly thing can truly bring about happiness. Happiness is tied up with God.
So, as Jesus says, “Give to God’s
things to God.” The way we give God’s things to God is by believing him.
Believe what God has done in his Son whom he sent, our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Believe that Jesus is Lord and God. Faith, simply believing God, is the highest
worship. There is no substitute for faith. Either we believe that Jesus Christ
is Lord—in him is my happiness. Or you will be looking somewhere else for your
happiness. Lots of things seem like they should do the trick. None of
them, ultimately, can, except the things of God.
Jesus’s message is therefore remarkably applicable to us
today. The Jews at Jesus’s time were lost in the same kinds of things we get lost
in—political intrigues, lying, meanness, and so on. A lot of the Jews believed
that if only they could attain some change in the government, then we’d have
our happy days. But there is finally only one way to happiness, and that is in
our Lord Jesus Christ, crucified and risen for us.
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