Sunday, January 7, 1996
"And Render to God What Is God's"
Matthew 22:15-22
(see also Mark 12:13-17, Luke 20:20-26)
By P. G. Mathew, M.A., M.Div., Th.M.
Copyright © 1996 by P. G. Mathew
God in his grace has allowed us to see this day. Countless
multitudes were not allowed to see it, so we who are alive now
have an obligation to glorify God and not use God's grace for our
own selfish purposes. We must resolve by divine help to render
unto God that which is God's, so that we may be the salt of the
earth, the light of the world and the city on a hill that Jesus
spoke about.
Historical Background
"Give to Caesar what is Caesar, and to God what is
God's." (Matt. 22:21) In what context did Jesus speak these
words? He was in Jerusalem during the last week of his ministry
on earth. After his triumphal entry, Jesus had cleansed the
temple and began to teach. The Pharisees, chief priests and
elders asked Jesus by what authority he was doing these things,
and Jesus' answer, which he gave through several parables,
enraged them. In the parable of the tenants, the authorities were
depicted as wicked tenants who would be destroyed by the owner of
the vineyard, God himself. In the parable of the wedding banquet,
the authorities were the invited guests who treated the king and
his son with contempt, and therefore received destruction. Upon
hearing these parables, then, these leaders knew that Jesus was
speaking about them (Matt. 21:45), and they became angry. Rather
than repenting when they heard the word of God, they made plans
to trap Jesus through his teaching. They wanted to cause him to
be handed over to the Roman authorities to be killed.
The Enemies' Strategy
In verses 15-16 we notice the Pharisees and the Herodians, two
parties that were traditionally opposed to one another, coming
together against a common enemy, Jesus Christ, with a question
about taxes. Why did they choose that issue?
The Pharisees were orthodox religious practitioners, who believed
in the idea of a theocracy, although, as a people the Jews had
not been in one for a long time. Because of their disobedience to
his divine covenant, God had sent them into captivity long ago,
first to Assyria, then to Babylon, and now to Rome. But because
of their belief in theocracy, these Pharisees did not consider it
right to pay taxes to the pagan Caesar. To them Jehovah alone was
the sovereign of Israel. They did, however, pay the taxes
required by Caesar, in order to avoid persecution by the Roman
authorities, but they resented having to do so.
In addition to the Pharisees, there were the ultra-orthodox
Zealots who refused to pay any taxes. In A.D. 6, when Archelaus,
the son of Herod the Great, was deposed from power, the Roman
procurator who succeeded him levied taxes, and Judas the
Galilean, a Zealot, joined with other anti-Roman factions in
revolt (Acts 5:37). To the Zealots, paying taxes to Rome was a
high crime against the only sovereign of Israel, God himself.
They would and did resort to force to remove Roman hegemony from
their lives.
The Herodians consisted of those who supported the dynasty of
Herod, who was ruling under Roman authority. Herod Antipas, the
ruler of Galilee and Perea, loved the way of Rome, and his
supporters also supported Rome and its pagan ways. Therefore, in
contrast to the Pharisees and the Zealots, the Herodians gladly
paid Roman taxes.
The Trick Question
So these Pharisees and the Herodians came together to destroy
their common enemy, Jesus, the eternal Son of God. They took
counsel together and developed a plan, hoping they could catch
Jesus on the highly-charged question of taxation. Must they, as
God's people, pay tax? This was a concern for all the Jews. The
Romans levied several taxes from the Jews, beginning with the
ground tax--ten percent of grain and one-fifth of wine and oil.
Then there was an income tax, which was one percent of all cash
income, and the poll tax, which, of course, the Zealots and the
Pharisees particularly resented. Every male Jew from fourteen to
sixty-five years old was required to pay the poll tax--one
denarius--just for being alive. And every female Israelite from
twelve to sixty-five years old also had to pay one denarius.
Altogether the Jews paid about thirty-three percent in taxes to
Rome, so this was an issue that affected them greatly.
These enemies wanted to confront Jesus, hoping they could trap
him into speaking against the Roman taxes. Why? If he did, they
could charge him with rebellion against the Roman authority and
hand him over to the Romans, who would then dispose of him. But
they did not come in a straightforward way. They asked, "Is
it lawful?"--meaning, is it according to Scripture? They
made it a theological question. They came to Jesus pretending to
be sincere but they were full of malice. They used flattery,
speaking about Jesus as a man of integrity, as one who taught the
way of God truthfully. They correctly said that he was fearless,
not one who would be swayed by human opinion. They acknowledged
truthfully that Jesus Christ did not show partiality. Why did
they say all of this? They thought that by flattering him, they
could catch Jesus off guard. That might happen to us, but not to
the Son of God.
They also carefully framed their question so that Jesus would
have to answer yes or no. They wanted to impale him on the horns
of a dilemma. They reasoned that if he said, "Yes, you must
pay taxes to Rome," he would become instantly unpopular,
because most people resented the taxation. But if he said no,
then he could be handed over to Rome for teaching sedition. These
leaders were hoping and expecting Jesus to say no.
We find a similar situation in Matthew 19, where some Pharisees
came to Jesus asking about divorce. Their question was, "Is
it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every
reason?" Within the Jewish community at that time there were
two schools of thought, that of Rabbi Hillel, who would allow
divorce for any and every reason, and that of Rabbi Shammai,
whose position was more conservative. These Pharisees thought
Jesus would side with one view or the other, but Jesus is wisdom.
He did not side with any fallible authorities. He affirmed the
Scripture: "In the beginning it was not so," and
silenced his questioners.
In the same way, in this passage these authorities tried to trap
Jesus with flattery and a trick question. But Jesus is the
omniscient Son of God. He knows what is in a man. He knows our
hearts, our thoughts, our imaginations. "You
hypocrites," he said, "why are you trying to trap
me?"
Wisdom's Brilliant Answer
How did Jesus answer? "Show me the coin used for paying the
tax." He knew what they would bring--a silver Roman
denarius. In those days coinage showed kingship. As soon as a
king or emperor came to his throne, he struck his own coinage,
and it was considered to be the property of the one whose image
it bore. The emperor's authority extended everywhere his coins
circulated, and taxes were to be paid to him using his coin. The
coin of Caesar was circulating in Israel at that time, meaning
the people of Jerusalem were, in fact, under the authority of
Rome. So when these people brought Jesus the coin, they brought a
denarius on which was the image of Caesar and the inscription:
Tiberius Caesar Augustus, son of the divine Augustus, pontifex
maximus (high priest).
Jesus asked, "Whose portrait is this? And whose
inscription?" His enemies answered, "Caesar's."
You see, these hypocrites were not really interested in Jesus
solving any theological issues for them. They were already paying
taxes. They knew they had been subservient to Rome for many
years. The Jews pretended that they were a free people, but there
had not been a theocracy for many centuries. With this coin Jesus
put before his enemies' faces the fact of their enslavement to
Rome. He humiliated them.
So he told them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's,"
meaning pay the tribute, because Caesar provided them with
government, with the Roman organization, security of person and
property, means of transport, and a legal system. For the Roman
government to provide these services required taxes, and it was
an acknowledged fact wherever Caesar's coin circulated he had the
right to collect taxes. So Jesus was saying that since they were
under Caesar already, they should pay him what they owed him.
"And to God What Is God's"
But that was not the end of Jesus' answer. The brilliance here
is, "and to God what is God's." In other words, Jesus
was saying to render to God what they owed him. PGM If the state
provided certain services and demanded certain tribute, what did
they owe God? What authority does God have?
God rules over everything. You see, all forms of earthly
government have been established by God and are under God's
authority. Before the fall of man (Genesis 3) God in his
sovereignty ruled over everything by his word, but after the Fall
he ordained three spheres of authority--the family, the state and
the church--through which his creation is ruled. But even though
these spheres of authority exist, they are still under the
authority of God and his Christ. Within those spheres God has
established delegated authorities who are answerable to him.
In the sphere called family, parents are God's delegated
authorities. They rule in the fear of God and are accountable to
God for their children. Children are to submit to and obey their
parents in the Lord. To maintain order in the family, God has
granted parents the power of the rod.
The second sphere is called the state. In the Westminster
Confession of Faith, chapter 23, section 1, we read: "God,
the supreme Lord and King of all the world, hath ordained civil
magistrates to be under him, over the people, for his own glory
and the public good; and to this end hath armed them with the
power of the sword, for the defense and encouragement of them
that are good, and for the punishment of evildoers." So the
state--in this case, Caesar--was ordained by God after the Fall
to be an authority for the enforcement of justice and the
prevention of social chaos. The state is God's servant to do
good, to commend the good and to punish the wicked. The state is
accountable to God, and God has granted the state the power of
the sword to deal with those who are wicked.
The church is the third sphere which God instituted, and church
elders are God's delegated authorities under Jesus Christ, the
head of the church. They proclaim the gospel, and their power is
the power of the key which admits people or puts them out (Matt.
16:19). They have no police powers like those of the state. They
do not even have the rod that belongs to the family. The
authority of the church is spiritual authority, and the leaders
of the church have the authority to admit people, or put people
out when that is warranted, in accordance with the Scripture.
Sometimes, however, the state wants to overreach its authority
and dominate the family and the church. You see that tendency
even in the superscription on the Roman denarius. Caesar called
himself the high priest and son of the divine Augustus. By doing
so, he was encroaching on the sphere of spiritual authority. The
true state, the biblical state, should operate according to God's
plan as revealed in Romans 13:1-7. It should promote justice,
punish the wicked, commend the righteous, and be accountable to
God. But when a state moves away from the sphere God has assigned
to it, it becomes demonic, as we read in Revelation 13, where the
state is represented by a beast which "opened his mouth to
blaspheme God and to slander his name and his dwelling place and
those who live in heaven." (v. 6) Throughout history there
have been governments that have refused to submit to God's
authority. They have pretended to be in the place of God, and
have persecuted and killed the people of God. When a state
commands what the Bible forbids, or forbids what the Bible
commands, Christians must disobey the state and obey God rather
than men.
What Do We Owe God?
As Christians we must recognize that we have dual citizenship.
Every Christian belongs to a state, that is, the country in which
he lives, and every Christian also belongs to the kingdom of
heaven. In Acts 22 the centurion asked St. Paul, "Are you a
Roman citizen?" "I am," Paul said. But he also
knew that he belonged to the kingdom of heaven. In Philippians
3:20 he expressed this: "But our citizenship is in heaven.
And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus
Christ."
As citizens of this world, Jesus wants us to take part in the
political life of our state. Christians ought to be the best
citizens in a country. We need to be informed of what our elected
representatives are doing. We need to get involved in the
political process, pay our taxes, pray for authorities, and vote
for the candidates of our choice. We should protest
anti-Christian policies and laws, protest injustice, and persuade
others from a Christian point of view. We must support policies
that help the weak and downtrodden, and that promote biblical
morality. We must speak against the rape of the environment, the
pollution of the school system, and policies that destroy
families.
As Christians, we are also citizens of heaven and we owe to God
all worship and adoration. Jesus Christ is Lord of all the
spheres, and we must render to him his due. The denarius which
bore the image of Caesar belonged to Caesar, and even so we who
bear the image and likeness of God by virtue of creation and
redemption belong to God. He is Lord, and has absolute authority
over us! No father has absolute authority over his children and
no state has absolute authority over its citizens, but the
authority of Christ is absolute. We therefore must worship our
triune God in spirit and in truth. We have been accepted in the
Beloved. We should rejoice in worshiping him alone with all our
heart, mind, soul and strength.
So, first, we must worship Christ, for we are his. In Colossians
1:16 we read, "[Jesus Christ] is the image of the invisible
God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were
created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities. All things
were created by him and for him." God "raised him from
the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every
title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in
the age to come." (Eph. 1:20-21). He alone is Lord and
Christ. Every knee shall bow before him, and every tongue shall
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, for the glory of God our
Father (Phil. 2:10-11).
What else do we owe God? We must fear God and shun evil (Job
28:28) We must keep away from all filth. How can we do wicked
things, whatever they are, and sin against this holy, righteous
God who owns us? Like Job, Christians should be blameless.
We must love God--that is something we render to him. And if we
love God, we will keep his commandments, which are not grievous
(Matt. 11:30) God has given us a new, divine nature, and so we
think his thoughts, will his will, and delight in his ways. In
Matthew 22 Jesus spoke about the first and the greatest
commandment, which is to "love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."
And the second is like unto it: "Love your neighbor as
yourself." What does the Lord require of us? To act justly,
meaning to do righteousness, to show mercy, and always walk
humbly before our God (Micah 6:8).
What else should we render unto God? "You have been bought
with a price," Paul says, "therefore, honor God with
your body." (1 Cor. 6:20). Our bodies belong to him, and we
must live for the glory of God alone. Paul says elsewhere,
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all
for the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:31)
We must obey God. In his high priestly prayer Jesus said to God
the Father, "I have brought you glory on earth." (John
17:4) How did he do this? By completing the work God gave him to
do. When we obey God, we render unto him his due, and thus honor
and glorify him. This is our purpose in life! As we read in the
Shorter Catechism, "Man's chief end is to glorify God and to
enjoy him forever." So whatever we do, whether in word or
deed, may we do it all in the name of Jesus Christ, giving thanks
to God the Father through him.
We must worship this God and obey him absolutely, no matter what.
Jesus rejected Caesar's claim of divinity. That was blasphemy. He
denied that Caesar was the pontifex maximus. No, Jesus Christ is
the Lord of all and he alone is the great high priest! Similarly,
Jesus corrected Pilate when Pilate said to him, "Don't you
realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?"
Jesus told him, "You would have no power over me if it were
not given to you from above." There is an above. There is a
Sovereign God who is above all.
In the book of Daniel we read that Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden
image and demanded that everyone, including three godly Hebrew
boys, fall down and worship the image. These boys said no, and
they were thrown into the fiery furnace. Throughout the centuries
Christians by the thousands have refused to worship the demonic
Caesars, the states that do not submit to God, and they were
killed. But Jesus said, "Do not fear those who kill the
body, but fear him who is able to destroy both body and soul in
hell," and so we fear him. We cannot worship Caesar or obey
him when he demands obedience which is contrary to the supreme
law of God in the Scripture. When Caesar becomes demonic, we
oppose him with all our God-given strength.
What Are We Rendering to God?
The Pharisees and Herodians, the hypocrites who came to trap
Jesus, were astonished at his answer. They were humiliated. These
spies became silent. Why? They were convicted by his answer. They
were not rendering unto God that which was God's.
In John 1:11 we read "He came to that which was his own, but
his own did not receive him." These religious leaders
refused to repent and believe on Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
the Son of David, the Messiah, the Prophet, the Priest and the
King. They hated him. Why? They were children of the serpent,
agents of Satan. They would not worship, love, fear or trust
Christ. They would not be saved.
Within days of this interaction with Jesus, these authorities
would declare before Pilate, "We have no king but
Caesar!" (John 19:15) They thus rejected Jesus, the King of
kings, the King of the Jews, the King and Savior of the world.
They put themselves outside of God's eternal kingdom.
May God deliver us from falling into such hypocrisy in this new
year! Let us be good citizens of our respective countries, but
let us first render to God that which is God's. As Dr. Brouwer, a
Dutch theologian said, "The coin bears Caesar's image; man
bears God's image, so give the coin to Caesar" - meaning pay
tax - "but give yourself wholly to God." 1 Let us give
ourselves wholly to him--to trust him, love him, obey him, and
live for him this day and all the days he gives us on this earth.
Let us resolve to render to God that which is God's by our
absolute surrender, total worship and complete obedience to the
holy will of God, that we may glorify him and enjoy him forever.
Amen.
1. Dr. Brouwer, Jesus en de Sociale Vragen , p. 244, cited by Norval Geldenhuys in The Gospel of Luke , p. 508, Eerdmans, 1979.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
"NIV" and "New International Version" are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark office by International Bible Society.
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