God's Money and Caesar's Hands

July 25, 2010 Preacher: Randy Smith Series: Matthew

Scripture: Matthew 22:15–22

Transcript

God's Money and Caesar's Hands

Matthew 22:15-22
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Pastor Randy Smith


 

As you know we have been working our way verse-by-verse through the gospel of Matthew. Matthew was chosen by Jesus to be one of His twelve disciples. Yet before Matthew became an apostle, his former career was that of a tax collector. A brief reading though the Bible will reveal the bitterness that the people at that time had toward tax collectors.

Though our means of collecting taxes is more civilized and regulated, even today most of us still struggle with the concept of taxes. Often we feel our well-earned money is taken in excess and the use of that money is either squandered or devoted to causes that we would prefer not to support. The topic of taxes has been the subject of agony and ridicule throughout the centuries.

  1. There will always be death and taxes; however, death doesn't get worse every year.
  2. Golf is a lot like taxes. You drive hard to get to the green and then wind up in the hole.
  3. A fool and his money are soon parted. The rest of us wait until income tax time.
  4. A good name is to be chosen over great riches. It's tax free...so far!
  5. The average man now lives thirty-one years longer than he did in 1850. He has to in order to get his taxes paid.
  6. A lot of people still have the first dollar they ever made; Uncle Sam has all the others.
  7. One man put it in great perspective, "It's awfully difficult to believe that only about two hundred years ago we went to war to avoid excessive taxation."
  8. Don't you long for the good old days when Uncle Sam lived within his income and without most of yours?
  9. One of the great blessings about living in a democracy is that we have complete control over how we pay our taxes: cash, check, or money order.
  10. We wonder why they call them "tax returns" when so little of it does.
  11. Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred dollars and a substantial tax cut save you thirty cents?
  12. In Russia, the people have only what the government gives them; in America the people have only what the government does not take away from them in taxes.

(adapted from: www.antion.com/humor/speakerhumor/taxes.htm)

Though there is much angst and confusion over this topic of taxes (even amongst Christians), I believe Jesus will settle the debate once and for all. Let's examine His teaching and the wise direction He provides for our lives.

1. THE CONSPIRACY (verse 15)

We begin with "The Conspiracy."

We have observed over the past few months the growing hatred that the Jewish leaders had toward Jesus. They loved pre-eminence. Jesus extolled humility. They trusted in themselves. Jesus demanded trust in God. They upheld their self-righteousness. Jesus proclaimed a righteousness only He could impart. They practiced a religion offensive to God. Jesus cleansed their place of worship. They assumed God accepted them. Jesus in the three parables we have recently studied declared that God had judged them.

Corrected. Embarrassed. Shamed. Offended. Embittered. Infuriated. Hostile.

Far from repenting and turning to the One who could save them, these leaders simply wanted Jesus dead. But, as 21:46 says, "When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet." Since outright murder would have made their situation worse, they sought to dispose of Jesus using more crafty and deceptive means.

It is seen in verse 15: "Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said."

What we will witness today is the first of three attempts, all recorded in this chapter, where a carefully calculated question was directed at Jesus in a strategic attempt to ensnare Him in what He said (Mt. 22:17; 24-28; 36). The goal was to publicly discredit Him. The goal was to start an uprising that would eventually lead to Jesus' execution.

2. THE INTERROGATION (verses 16-17)

"The Interrogation," verses 16 and 17.

So once the leaders had plotted their well thought out line of attack, verse 16 informs us, "They sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians." Luke in his gospel simply calls them "spies who pretended to be righteous" (Lk. 20:20).

Question: Why didn't the Pharisees go themselves? Probably because everybody already knew they were out to get Jesus. It is hard to be subtle and manipulative when the whole world already recognizes your motives. No doubt they coached their disciples well as to exactly what they wanted them to say.

Question: What did the Pharisees and the Herodians have in common? Almost nothing! The Pharisees were into self-righteousness. The Herodians were into worldliness. The Pharisees hated Rome. The Herodians were sympathetic toward Rome. Yet they had one thing in common, they both despised Jesus and saw Him as a threat to their respective systems. It's funny how enemies can unite if there is a strong hatred toward a common foe (cf. Lk. 23:12).

Their opening comments to Jesus are almost nauseating. Still in verse 16, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any." Of course all that they said was true. The only problem was that they didn't believe it. It was flattery. It was baiting the trap in preparation for the kill. They thought they could "butter-up" Jesus and force Him to respond to their question, a question which they concluded He would hang Himself in whichever way He answered.

The question is stated in verse 17: "Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?"

The word "Caesar" came from Julius Caesar. And although Julius Caesar was no longer in leadership at this point, the name was retained for successive Roman Emperors. The Caesar at this time was Tiberius (cf. Lk. 3:1). The "poll tax" was one of many taxes. It was a denarius (Mt. 20:2 - basically a day's wage) that each person was required to pay on a yearly basis. It was a census tax.

So Jesus, "[Should we] give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?"

On the one hand Jesus could have said "no." But had He said it is not necessary to pay your taxes, the Romans would have taken Him away for treason - exactly what the Pharisees were hoping for. A Man with a great following that publicly declared Himself in opposition to Rome would have been a great threat to their desire for peace.

Had He said "yes" they should pay their taxes; He would have received all kinds of opposition from His fellow Jews. You see the Jews were exasperated that they needed to pay God's money to pagans occupying their holy land. Furthermore, the emperors claimed divinity (emperor's head on one side with the words, "Tiberius Caesar Augustus Son of the Divine Augustus and on the other side the inscription: "Highest Priest"). So paying taxes to a self-proclaimed god in the mind of the Jews was idolatry.

So Jesus, "[Should we] give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?"

This is a good old-fashioned trap. How could Jesus win? Apparently He loses either way!

3. THE DEFENSE (verses 18-21)

Jesus speaks as we move to the third point. Verse 18, "But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, 'Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites?'"

Do you think He was fooled? With His X-Ray vision He saw right into their hearts. He knew they were fake. He knew their motives were rotten. He knew they were hypocrites, pretending to be one thing, but intending to do another.

We cannot fool Jesus. We can convince the world and even ourselves as to how much we are committed to Him, but He knows the true intentions of our hearts (cf. Jn. 2:24-25). In the next chapter He will call these leaders "hypocrites" a total of seven times (Mt. 23:13, 14, 15, 23, 25, 27, (28), 29). They claimed to be religious and paraded their long robes and long prayers and long list of man-made rules, but Jesus knew it was all for the admiration and praise from others. Their hearts were a million miles away from really wanting to honor the Lord. And while His harshest words were saved for these individuals, Jesus always had kind and tender words for the repentant prostitute and even the tax collector (cf. Mt. 21:31) who wished to come to Him in sincere faith.

So in verse 19 Jesus said, "'Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.' And they brought Him a denarius." Verse 20, "And He said to them, 'Whose likeness and inscription is this?'" Verse 21, "They said to Him, 'Caesar's.' Then He said to them, 'Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's.'"

His answer is marvelous!

On the one hand Jesus makes it clear that we should pay our taxes (later the opposition lied regarding this response - see Lk. 23:2). When He says "Render (apodidomi) to Caesar" (Mt. 22:21), He is using a strong word that speaks of an obligation or debt. He is not saying money to pay taxes is our gift to the government. Rather He is saying it is a responsibility, a requirement to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. In our vernacular, it is returning to Uncle Sam what belongs to Uncle Sam.

The Jews in the first century no doubt chafed under the oppressive rule of the Romans, but the Romans did provide the land with excellent roads and aqueducts and military protection and peace. These privileges, just like the ones we enjoy in our country need to be supported. Therefore, we have a responsibility to pay our taxes.

But what about all the corruption going on in our government? Listen, if Jesus demanded taxes to be paid to the Roman government, that very blasphemous government that would nail Him to a cross in 2-3 days, how can we make that argument? Even the Apostle Peter said, "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority" (1 Pet. 2:13). The emperor who reigned during the writing of those words was Nero. Nero made it a habit to impale Christians, cover them with pitch and light them on fire to illumine his garden parties.

So "yes" we should pay our or taxes. Paul affirmed it in Romans 13: "Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor" (Rom. 13:7). We are called by God to submit to the authorities He has placed above us - in doing so we honor Him, and as Peter said in His epistle, "[We] silence the ignorance of foolish men" (1 Pet. 2:17). We shut the mouths of people who say Christians are not good citizens.

On the other hand, Jesus commands that we "[render] to God the things that are God's" (Mt. 22:21). So what do we owe God? What must we render Him? What obligations do we have toward God?

God commands that we serve Him. We are members of the body of Christ (Eph. 5:30). We are His hands that trim the bushes of the church or construct a set for "Discipletown" or guide a child with a craft during VBS or offer a handshake to greet a believer or prepare food at a church fellowship. We are His mouth that shares the Gospel with a neighbor or encourages a person experiencing affliction or teaches a group of Christian singles or welcomes a newcomer to the church or prays for a man struggling with cancer.

These are not options but obligations. We owe God service. We owe God honor. We owe God gratitude. We owe God praise. We owe God our money.

We are commanded to give back to Him a percentage of what He has given to us. Stressed throughout the Bible, that offering to Him is to be sacrificial and cheerful and from among our very best.

If we are called to "render to Caesar" roughly a third of our paycheck, isn't it safe to assume in the context that we are to "[render] to God" a significant portion as well, a portion that we take more seriously than what we give the government?

We owe this to God, and when we refuse, it is the same as withholding what belongs to Him. As He said through the prophet Malachi, "'Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,' says the LORD of hosts, 'if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows'" (Mal. 3:8-10).

So we give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God. But please understand this, that does not mean there is a division between the sacred and the secular. In God's economy there is no separation between the church and the state. And anyone who is honest when reading our nation's framers will understand that this was their clearest intention. The government has no business to demand how we do church, but that does not mean that the government is unaccountable to God. God is over all.

Paul said it the best in Romans 13: "Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves" (Rom. 13:1-2).

Since God establishes all rulers (Dan. 2:21; Rom. 13:1), when I submit to them, I submit to God. When I resist them, I resist God. So Caesar does not get his share and God gets another share and the rest I can spend as I please. On the contrary, God owns all my money and all is to be devoted to Him. And a percentage of His money He has called me to give to Caesar, a percentage to the church and so forth. Romans 11:36, "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things."

So does that mean we should submit to the state regardless of what they call us to do? Absolutely not and the principle I just mentioned answers the question. All authorities in my life are under God. Yet when any of those authorities call me to do something that dishonors God, God must get the ultimate allegiance. A wife will not rob a bank because a husband asks her to do so. An employee will not "cook the books" if requested by the boss. A church member will not disregard his Bible if suggested by her pastor. And a citizen will not side with the state if the expectation goes against the commandments of God.

Peter and John were forced into this predicament. They preached submission toward authority. But what do they do when the authority "ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus" (Ac. 5:40). "Peter and the apostles answered, 'We must obey God rather than men'" (Ac. 5:29). Acts 5:42, "And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ."

The early church needed to make this tough decision too. The Romans for the most part tolerated all religions. But once a year they required everyone to give full allegiance to Caesar. Their primary purpose was to unify the empire. The command was simple: offer incense on an altar to the divine Emperor and declare the "Caesar is Lord." To refuse resulted in severe persecution and often death. The Christian refused. They declared they have no other Lord, but Jesus. And as a result many lost their lives in the most brutal ways. They declared, "Jesus is Lord."

4. THE VERDICT (verse 22)

Our fourth point, what was the verdict of Jesus' answer? Verse 22, "And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away."

So the hypocrites were defeated. Yet we are saddened by their response. Rather than admit their error and turn to the One that could have saved their souls, the verse says they were simply amazed at His response. Impressed by His answer, but their overall attitude toward Jesus went no further. Lip-service without surrender. And after a moment of astonishment, verse 22 says "they went away." They went away still clinging to a lord other than the Lord Jesus Christ.

Every once in a while I receive a comment from a new person who is interested in attending our church. This is so encouraging! But unfortunately that excitement often fades after a visit or two which is so discouraging. So should we give them whatever they want, "amaze" them to keep them around, or should we preach and live the Word of God because that is what God wants and pray they stay because of that?

It is our goal as leaders to be kind and gentle and considerate toward all. But it is our ultimate goal to have a church that understands what the Christian faith is really about under the authority of Jesus Christ. To have a church of people devoted to the teaching of the Bible who with their lives and mouths confess that Jesus is Lord. People whose life's passion is to render to God what belongs to God.

 

More in Matthew

May 1, 2011

The Great Conclusion

April 24, 2011

Resurrecting Hope (2)

April 17, 2011

The First Prerequisite To Resurrection