Religion & Politics

Good morning, church.

Our sermon text for today is Luke chapter 20, verses 19 through 26.

Luke 20:19–26

That's page 826 in the Pew Bible.

Let me invite you to turn there with me.

Luke chapter 20, verses 19 through 26, page 826.

Luke 20:19–26

Let me pray, and then I'll read for us.

Amen.

O Lord God, we pray with the psalmist that the words of our mouths and the meditations of

our hearts would be acceptable and pleasing in your sight.

O Lord, you and you alone are our rock and our redeemer.

So we pray that through attending to your word this morning, that truth would become more

and more real to our hearts, that you are an immovable rock and you are a gracious, merciful,

faithful redeemer.

We pray this in the name of Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

Luke 20, verses 19 through 26.

Luke 20:19–26

The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him, that is, Jesus, at that

very hour.

For they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.

So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be sincere that they might catch him in something

he said so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor.

So they asked him, teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly and show no partiality,

but truly teach the way of God.

Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar or not?

But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, show me a denarius.

Whose likeness and inscription does it have?

They said, Caesar's.

He said to them, then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things

that are God's.

And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but

marveling at his answer, they became silent.

Well, we've all heard it said that the two things you should never discuss in polite company

are religion and politics.

But our text this morning forces us to face these twin issues head on.

In particular, the question is, how should Christians relate to the governing authorities?

Now, that's a tricky question.

And history has shown that when we get it wrong, well, the consequences can be pretty far ranging

and often pretty damaging to the gospel.

So this is an important question.

Now, I think as humans, we often can fall into two traps.

Either we can demonize governing authority.

That is, we view it as corrupt and evil, and therefore we want nothing to do with it.

We despair over it.

Or on the other hand, we can deify governing authority.

That is, we view it as the ultimate source of what's really going to make things better.

And therefore, we invest it with our hope, with our trust, with our allegiance.

Now, of course, few of us fall completely into one trap or the other, but that doesn't make

the question any less difficult or any less important.

But what for us is an important and difficult question was, in Jesus' day, a dangerous question.

Now, remember where we are in the Gospel of Luke.

Jesus has just entered Jerusalem, and his conflict with the religious authorities, that

is, the scribes and the chief priests, those who sort of controlled the temple system, that

conflict is coming to a head.

And Jesus has just told a parable in verses 9 through 18 of Luke, warning the temple leaders

that if they continue to reject him, they will find themselves, in fact, rejecting God's

own authority.

And so, the religious leaders have had enough.

They want Jesus eliminated, out of the picture.

But the people, the people are enthusiastic about this young, vibrant teacher from Galilee.

Some even think that he is the long-awaited liberator, the Messiah.

So, the scribes and chief priests, rather than risk a confrontation with the people and falling

out of their favor, they send what Luke calls spies, who pretend to be sincere, but in reality,

they're out to catch Jesus in something he says in verse 20.

That is, they want to trap him in his words.

Why?

So, they can hand him over to the Roman governor, Pilate.

You see, the Jewish authorities in that time, living under Roman rule, didn't have the authority

to sentence someone to death.

But the Roman governor did.

And so, in an attempt to trap Jesus, these spies ask him, under the guise of much flattery,

you can hear them just laying it on really thick, can't you?

They ask a seemingly innocent, but in reality, a dangerous question.

Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar or not?

Jesus, how should we relate to this governing authority?

So, this morning, first, I want to take a look at this question in a little more depth,

and then we're going to look at Jesus' two-fold response.

And then third, I want to consider why this question can be so difficult for us.

So, that's where we're headed.

The question, Jesus' response, and then our hearts.

So, first, let's look at the question.

Now, the tribute in question here is actually a particular tax that the Roman Empire would

levy on people, groups, and kingdoms that they had conquered.

This is the sort of tax that back in Luke chapter 2, you remember, Caesar Augustus was

Luke 2 · chapter mention

taking a census, right?

We read that every Christmas time.

He was taking a census.

Well, why was he taking a census?

He was taking a census so he could lay a tax on them and burden them with a taxation.

And this question that these spies asked isn't whether or not such taxes in general are

necessary or legitimate.

It's a question of whether it's lawful for us to pay them.

That is, good, faithful Jews who, according to the law of Moses, are to have one God and

one Lord only.

Is it lawful for us to pay his tax?

It's a brilliant trap if you think about it.

One can almost see their self-satisfaction as they ask it.

We've got him.

After all, think about it.

If Jesus says, yes, it is lawful to give tribute to Caesar, then he risks alienating himself

from the people.

The people who hate Caesar and his oppressive taxes.

The people who just, days before, were heralding him as their king.

The people whose admiration at that very moment is the only thing keeping the scribes and the

chief priests from openly arresting him.

What's more, if Jesus says, yes, he could even be accused of disloyalty to the God of Israel.

After all, Caesar made the most blasphemous claims about himself, and those claims were

written on every single Roman coin.

What did Caesar call himself?

Lord, Savior, Son of the Gods.

Was Jesus going to suggest that we endorse those claims?

By paying tribute?

But think about if Jesus says, no.

No, it's not lawful to give tribute to Caesar.

Well, then, it's not hard to see.

He would be accused of sedition.

Sedition against the state, political insurrection.

And Rome had little patience and little mercy for rebels in their empire, especially in backwoods

areas like Judea.

And so, the trap is laid.

And they're going to catch Jesus either being disloyal to Israel on one hand or disloyal

to Caesar on the other.

One answer will prove him to be an enemy of the people.

The other will prove him to be an enemy of the state.

And so, how will Jesus answer this difficult, this even dangerous question?

Will he demonize the state?

Rejecting its claims?

Advocating for withdrawal?

Or will he deify the state, rendering it unyielding obedience and allegiance?

And those are the traps before us too, aren't they?

Sometimes we can get so frustrated with the governing authorities, can't we?

We see the flaws.

We see the hypocrisies.

We see the failure to bring about change.

And we just want to give up altogether.

But on the other hand, sometimes we see the power.

We see the influence.

We see the importance.

Sometimes we can place so much emphasis and trust in it, so much of our hope in it, that

it ends up stealing our heart's allegiance.

How do we get out of this trap?

The answer Jesus gives is brief.

Yet, brilliant.

And it contains the seed of all clear thinking and acting when it comes to the question of

how Christians ought to relate to the governing authorities.

And note, lest we think that Jesus' answer here is just a clever way in the moment of avoiding

arrest, consider how his opponents respond at the end of our passage.

They're not frustrated because he slipped away.

They're not plotting their next question.

They marvel, Luke says.

And that tells me that Jesus' answer struck even his enemies as more than just a clever answer

to avoid trouble.

They marvel because he's actually answered their question.

He's answered an insincere question with a genuine answer.

That is exactly what their flattery said.

Truthful, rightly, and without partiality.

So what is that answer?

Well, it's twofold.

First, Jesus says, we must render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's.

Now, the first thing Jesus does, seeing through their flattery and their craftiness, is he asks

them for a denarius.

Now, a denarius was a silver coin.

It was Roman currency.

It was worth about a day's wage for a common laborer.

This is the kind of coin that they would use to pay the tax.

And what happens?

Out of their own pockets, they pull out the Roman money.

Proving that they themselves use it.

They rely on it.

They trade with it.

They buy and sell with it.

They, too, are participants in the Roman system.

And then Jesus asks, whose likeness and inscription does it have?

You see, as I mentioned earlier, on a Roman denarius, there would be a picture that is

a likeness of Caesar's head.

And there would be an inscription written on it.

And on a lot of denarii in that time, the inscription read, Tiberius Caesar Augustus, son of the deified

Augustus.

So Jesus says, whose likeness, whose inscription, and out of their own mouths, they have to answer

and say, Caesar, it's his image on the coin.

Jesus forces his opponents to admit, then, that they are participants in the Roman system,

whether they like it or not.

They cannot escape it.

They use Caesar's coins, then use them to pay Caesar's tax.

Render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.

Now, if we press into this a little deeper, we see that Jesus is showing them that there is an unavoidable

and somewhat legitimate authority that the governing authorities possess.

It's not ultimate authority.

It's not unquestionable authority.

But it's real nonetheless.

And the rest of the New Testament is going to unpack this a little bit for us.

In Romans 13.1, the Apostle Paul is going to unfold some of what Jesus is teaching here,

saying that governing authorities are actually part of God's providential plan to maintain civil order.

What means has God instituted to keep human society from spinning into anarchy and injustice?

Part of the answer is, God has instituted human governing authorities.

They are imperfect, yes.

But that's still part of how God chooses to rule his world.

And because this is the way God providentially orders things,

listen to what Paul will say in Romans 13.1-7.

He says,

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.

For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.

Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority?

Then do it as good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good.

But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain.

For he is a servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.

Therefore, one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath, but also for the sake of conscience.

For because of this, you also pay taxes for the authorities or ministers of God attending to this very thing.

Pay to all what is owed to them, taxes to whom taxes are owed,

revenue to whom revenue is owed,

respect to whom respect is owed,

honor to whom honor is owed.

Now, if you're like me,

the first thing you think when you hear a passage like that is,

are you kidding me?

Human governments are so corrupt.

How can Paul say that they're instituted by God?

But,

if anyone knew

that human rulers

were corrupt,

it was the Apostle Paul.

The Roman Empire was pagan,

pragmatic,

brutal,

and militaristic.

Paul had spent many nights in a Roman jail.

He was no stranger to political injustice.

So, Paul can't be saying,

he is not saying,

that every government is,

in and of itself,

honoring to God.

Paul isn't saying that there's no room for civil disobedience,

or protest,

or seeking to change how governments think and work.

In fact,

many scholars think that one of the main reasons Luke wrote the book of Acts

was to influence prevailing Roman opinion about the legality of Christianity in the empire.

There's a very book in the New Testament that's trying to change how people think

when it comes to political policies.

But what Paul is saying,

in line with what Jesus himself taught in our text in Luke 20,

is that human governments,

under God's ultimate providential authority,

have been instituted to exercise a limited degree of power.

And in that respect,

we must render to them what they are due.

Taxes where taxes are due.

Yes.

Despite the high rates of taxation in Connecticut,

we should still pay our taxes as Christians.

I know, that just makes you want to groan.

Revenue to whom revenue is owed.

Respect to whom respect is owed.

Honor to whom honor is owed.

And you know,

this line of thinking isn't just unique to the Apostle Paul.

Listen to what Peter says in 1 Peter 2, 13 through 17.

The Apostle Peter says,

Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution,

whether it be to the governor as supreme,

to the emperor as supreme,

excuse me,

or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil

and to praise those who do good.

For this is the will of God,

that by doing good,

you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

Live as people who are free.

Not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil,

but living as servants of God.

Honor everyone.

Love the brotherhood.

Fear God.

Honor the emperor.

The consistent teaching of Jesus and the apostles then

is that we must respect the limited authority

God has granted to human governing institutions.

We should pay taxes.

We should honor those in leadership positions.

We should obey the laws of the land

insofar as they do not contradict God's laws.

Paul even says in 1 Timothy

that we should pray for kings and all those in high positions,

which is the passage Greg read out for us earlier.

And remember that all this is laid down

with the unflinching realism

that governing authorities will be imperfect

and even at times unjust.

Now, the New Testament obviously was written

in a time when the prevailing form of government

was an empire.

And today, we live in a representative democracy.

It's more than a little different, isn't it?

So what does rendering to Caesar

what belongs to Caesar mean for us

in a time when the form of human government

is quite different?

Well, some have suggested

that in our day,

rendering to Caesar what belongs to Caesar

now entails meaningful participation

in government insofar as we are called.

For many, this means voting in elections,

serving in jury duty,

which I had the honor of doing this month.

Yay!

Yay!

For some,

for some of us,

we'll be called.

Well, friends,

part of what it means

to be the church of Jesus Christ

is to bear one another's burdens

and to not be so stuck

in our own purposes and plans

that we fail to forget

that we're real living human beings

sitting next to each other

who need love and care and support.

So thank God for that reminder this morning.

And thank God that we're reminded

of our own frailty, right?

You know,

a lot of us in this room are young

and yet we need to have the reminder

from those who are a little further

down the race than us

that this is a finite life that we live.

And we start our life in dependence

and we will end our life in dependence.

And part of what it means

to prepare to meet God

is to grow into that second dependence

and to be okay with that

and to let that be a testimony

to the goodness of God

and the faithfulness of God

and the trustworthiness of God.

I think Fred's going to be okay.

If they're taking him to the hospital,

he's going to be all right.

He fainted.

But let's not lose the opportunity

that God's given us this morning

to attend to one another

and to attend to ultimate realities.

So why don't we pray?

I'm going to preach the rest

of this sermon to you guys

and then we're going to eat

the Lord's Supper together.

Does that sound good?

Let's do that.

Lord Jesus, we are grateful

that you are a good shepherd

and you love your sheep.

And Lord, that the trials and hardships

we go through in this life,

we don't go through them alone.

Jesus, you are truly God with us

in the good times and in the bad times

and sickness and in health.

And Lord, what a privilege it is

that we as brothers and sisters

get to be present to one another

in that same way

and get to be a reflection of you,

Lord Jesus.

So God, we do pray for Fred.

We pray for restored health.

God, we pray for good care

at the hospital.

God, we pray that good friends

would surround him

and encourage him

to place his hope in Jesus.

We ask all this in Christ's name.

Amen.

Amen.

Growing up,

when the pastor would go over time,

he would usually say something

about a roast burning at home.

I don't think anyone has a roast

in the oven these days,

but it's probably going to burn

if you do.

We're going to keep going.

So friends,

we've looked at the first half

of what Jesus tells us

when it comes to how we ought to relate

to human governing authorities.

And he says,

we ought to render to Caesar

what belongs to Caesar.

There is a certain limited

but legitimate authority

that human governing structures have,

and we ought to render them

what is their due.

However,

a lot of that's going to take

prayerful,

biblical,

communal discernment

as to what that actually looks like.

Jesus lays down a principle

that we then have to apply.

So a lot of these things

will need to be worked out

together,

prayerfully.

But the biggest thing

we need to remember

as we go about doing that work

is that we remember

the second half

of what Jesus says

in verse 25,

and that is

that we must render to God

the things that are God's.

There is a certain duty

or obligation

that we owe

to the governing authorities,

but Jesus is clear

that our ultimate allegiance

must always and only

belong to God alone.

You see,

there's a subtle

but maybe not so subtle

connection that Jesus

is making here, right?

There's an image

on the coins,

the image of Caesar,

and therefore

render it to Caesar.

But there's another image.

There's an image on you,

God's own image.

And therefore,

you must render to God

what belongs to God.

You must render

your whole self

to God.

God is the creator

and the sustainer

of everything.

Everything belongs to him.

Caesar's authority

is limited.

It's temporary.

It's finite.

God's authority,

God's ownership,

God's rulership

is unlimited

and forever

and ultimate.

Everything belongs to him.

Our bodies,

our minds,

our time,

our money,

everything belongs

first and foremost

to him.

And that means

when we relate

to governing authorities,

we must never fall

into the trap

of placing

our unyielding hope

or trust

in any one

political party

or political cause

or political project.

And I think

where the rubber

meets the road

for us today

is that if we think,

if we think

that being a Christian

means

an exclusive allegiance

to this political party

or that political party,

whether Republican

or Democrat

or anything else,

if we think

that's what it means

to be a Christian,

to yield unyielding allegiance

to a particular party,

then we have failed

to render to God

the things that are God's.

Jesus is saying

our ultimate citizenship

as the church

is in heaven.

God alone

is our hope

and trust

and the gospel

of Jesus Christ

and the kingdom of God

is neither Republican

nor Democrat.

Now that's not to say

that a Christian

can't be a member

of a political party.

That too can be

maybe part of what it means

to render to Caesar

the things that are Caesar's.

But we must always

keep our feet

firmly planted

in the soil

of rendering to God

what belongs to God.

And you see,

when we've rendered to God

the things that are God's,

that is when we've rendered

our ultimate allegiance

to him and him alone,

something incredible.

happens.

When we get that alignment right.

On the one hand,

we're able to be bold

and truthful

about what we think

is for the common good.

We're able to articulate

ideas winsomely

even when they're unpopular.

It gives us a certain

amount of boldness.

But it also gives us

at the same time

the right kind of humility

and distance that we need.

At the same time,

we're able to critique

not just the shortcomings

of other political parties

or ideas,

whichever they may be,

but we're able to critique

our own

and listen to critiques

of our own.

And we're able to have

charitable conversations

with other Christians

and non-Christians

about the difficult issues

where we disagree.

And we're able

to be honest

about the shortcomings

of our political leaders.

just like Paul and Peter

when they dealt with Rome.

They were not trying

to whitewash

governing authorities

into something

they were not.

These are some

of the signs

that we're rendering

to God

the things that are God

while we render

to Caesar

the things that are Caesar.

Do you see that ability

in your own heart

to be able

to do those things?

The church

should be the place

that leads the way

in this kind of

approach

and critical distance

to what's happening

with governing authorities.

For Christians,

our citizenship

is ultimately in heaven,

as Paul says

in Philippians 3.20.

And again,

that doesn't mean

withdrawal from the world.

We have to render

to Caesar

the things that are Caesar's.

We have to seek

to love our neighbor

as ourself.

But it does mean

that as we engage

in the world,

we do it with a hope

and with a confidence

that's not rooted

in this world.

And so we don't despair.

But neither

do we make Caesar

our Lord.

And so there's the answer.

There's the principle

that Jesus lays out for us.

How should Christians

relate to governing authorities?

We have to render

to Caesar

the things that are Caesar's.

That is,

we have to respect

and responsibly engage

in the governing institutions

over us.

But ultimately,

we have to render

to God

the things that are God's.

That is,

give our unyielding allegiance

to God

and God alone.

And yet,

this brings us

to the third

and last thing,

doesn't it?

That that is a lot

easier said than done.

Why is it so hard?

I mean,

on paper,

we get that,

right?

Like,

yeah,

duh.

Give God

your unyielding allegiance.

You know,

respect the limited authority

that government has.

Don't get too caught up in it.

And yet,

it's really difficult,

isn't it?

And we live in a time

where that's very difficult.

Well,

there are lots of reasons

why it's difficult,

lots of things

we could come up with.

But let me point to just one thing

that we see here in Luke.

And that thing is fear.

Look again at verse 19.

The religious authorities

don't dare

come after Jesus openly

because they're afraid

of the people.

They're afraid

that the people

might turn against them.

But they're not just afraid

of what the people might do.

Reading between the lines,

they're also afraid

of what Caesar might do.

Jesus,

after all,

is claiming to be king.

And if Pilate thinks

that these temple authorities

are on Jesus' side,

then Pilate's going to make sure

that those temple authorities

pay too.

And then who knows

what will happen?

But even deeper,

under the fear

of the people,

under the fear

of Rome,

I think is the fear,

and this is clear

as you look at the rest

of Luke's gospel,

the fear that they will

lose their power.

And if they lose their power,

well, what then?

I think that under much

of the church's struggle

to relate rightly

to governing authorities today

is also fear.

Fear of what people

might think of us.

Fear of where the future

is headed.

Fear of losing power

and influence.

But in the midst

of our fears,

we have to look

not just to Jesus'

teaching

in this passage.

We have to look

at Jesus himself.

Consider how the rest

of Luke's gospel unfolds.

Soon the Jewish authorities

will arrest Jesus

at night,

away from the crowds.

And then they will think

that they are rendering

to Caesar

what belongs to Caesar.

Jesus is a criminal

and they will render

to Caesar

such a criminal

for punishment.

But as they render

Jesus over to Caesar,

Jesus in that same moment

is making another

much more profound move.

Jesus in that very moment

of being rendered over

to Caesar

is going to be rendering

to God

what belongs to God.

Jesus is going

to render to God

the perfect payment

for our human sin.

All the times

that we placed

our trust

in human governing

institutions

to do what only God

can do.

All the times

that out of an allegiance

to a particular project

we've let our own

obedience to God

slip by the way.

All the times

in which we've defamed

the name of Christ.

All the times

in which we've made

Caesar Lord.

All these things

which deserve

God's just

and righteous punishment.

Jesus in that moment

is rendering to God

what belongs to God

on our behalf

and paying it in full.

The Apostle John says

perfect love

drives out fear.

And friends

as the church

of Jesus Christ

we know

that we have been shown

perfect love.

All that we owe

to God

has been rendered

in full

by Christ.

And on the third day

Jesus rose

from the grave

to prove

that it had been

paid in full

and to conquer death.

what is it

you're afraid of?

All the little deaths

that drive us

to be afraid

and to seek our hope

and our trust

in some kind

of human institution.

Jesus has conquered

and risen victoriously

over all of our fears

including the most

basic fear of all

our fear of death.

And then Jesus

ascended to the right

hand of God

Paul says

far above all rule

and all authority

and all dominion.

that the one

who sits on the throne

of the universe

is the king of love

who will make sure

that nothing

will harm his people

in an ultimate way.

You see there's nothing

we need to fear

because Jesus

not Caesar

is Lord.

The psalmist says

some trust

in chariots

but we trust

in the name

of the Lord our God.

the name

that we know

is the name

of Jesus.

So brothers and sisters

render to Caesar

what belongs to Caesar

but now

and forevermore

let the church

be known

as the place

where we render

to God

what belongs

to God.

All our love

all our praise

all our confidence

all our hope

and let that be

good news

to everyone

who sees it.

Amen?

Amen.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus

as we come to your table now

we pray

that this would be

a moment for us

where we continue

to receive your gifts

and render back to you

what belongs to you

our whole selves.

Amen.

I wonder if those

who were helping