Church and State

Heavenly Father,

we have gathered once again around your word

to hear you speak to us as our Lord and as our King, as our God.

Knowing that that's what this is about,

knowing that we are reading and preaching your word,

listening to your word,

where I stand here with fear and trembling,

as I wrestle with the text and think about what to say,

or I have fear and trembling

because I don't want to say anything that is not of you.

And I ask for your help now.

Help me to guide me by your Spirit,

even as preached this morning,

so that there are things that I leave out from my manuscript

and things that I say that I haven't yet put down on paper

that you want me to say.

And may everything proceed from your scripture.

Teach us how you want us to live,

to navigate the complexities of this world

as those who pledge allegiance,

their ultimate allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Luke 20, verses 19 to 26.

Luke 20:19–26

The scribes and the chief priests

sought to lay hands on him 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.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

From crusades to jihads,

from religious reformations

to political revolutions,

from emperors and caliphs

forcing conversions,

to popes deposing and appointing kings,

the relationship between religion and politics

throughout history

has been messy, to say the least.

In the United States,

the separation of church and state

is codified in the First Amendment,

which stipulates that Congress

shall make no law respecting

an establishment of religion

or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

Now, I'm not going to debate with you this morning

about what the framers of the Constitution meant,

but I am here to tell you

that the Bible provides,

this was not Thomas Jefferson's original idea,

but the Bible provides guidance

on how the relationship

between church and state ought to function.

And this idea that's contained in this passage

predates Jefferson by 1800 years.

And we do want to talk about what Jesus meant,

whether or not that's exactly

what the framers of the Constitution meant or not.

And we find that here in Luke 20, 19 to 26,

and I do believe it provides abiding principles

that can help us navigate

the complex and ever-changing political landscape

that we live in.

He teaches us here that

while we are to be subject

to various human authorities,

we owe our ultimate allegiance

to the Lord our God.

I think that's the main point

that Jesus teaches here.

And there are two main points to take away.

First is that God's authority

with relation to Caesar's authority,

and then secondly,

Christ's authority

with relation to Jewish leaders' authority.

So that's what we're going to talk about

in two parts.

So first, let's look at God's authority

with regard to Caesar's authority.

This passage begins with verse 19.

The scribes and the chief priests

sought to lay hands on Jesus

at that very hour,

for they perceived

that he had told this parable against them,

but they fear the people.

So the scribes and the chief priests

are responding violently

to the parable that Jesus just told them,

which Ray preached on last week.

This parable was about a vineyard

and its owner.

The owner of the vineyard is God,

and the vineyard represents

God's people, Israel.

And the owner of the vineyard

puts tenants in charge

of tending to the vineyard

before he goes away on a trip.

These tenants are the Jewish leaders.

And when time for the harvest comes,

he sends a servant of his

to receive some of the fruit

of the vineyard.

The servants that the owner sends

represent the prophets of God

that God sends to his people, Israel,

to call them to repentance

and faith and obedience.

And the fruit of the vineyard

represents those fruits

of good works and obedience.

Now, however, instead of giving

to the owner the fruit

that is due to him,

the tenants instead beat

and cast out the first servant

that the owner sends,

then the second servant,

and then the third servant.

And finally, when the owner

is at his wit's end

and decides, you know what,

I'm going to have to send

my own son.

They'll surely listen to my son.

And he sends him his own son,

and then they decide,

if we kill this son,

who is the heir,

we can claim the vineyard

as our own.

And so the owner's son,

of course, represents Jesus,

who will soon be killed

by the Jewish leaders

that are being addressed here.

And at the end of that parable,

Jesus prophesied

that the owner of the vineyard

will eventually return

to destroy those tenants

and give the vineyard to others.

And he warned them

that Jesus, he himself,

is the cornerstone

upon which God's house

is being built.

And if you reject him

instead of being built on him

as the cornerstone,

you're going to stumble over him,

fall, and be crushed by him.

Now, we don't know exactly

to what extent

these Jewish leaders,

elders, scribes,

and chief priests

understood the parable.

Since they still go ahead

and kill Jesus anyway,

maybe they didn't fully grasp

what Jesus was saying here.

But we know this much.

It says in verse 9,

They perceive that he had told

this parable against them.

That much they know.

Maybe they don't know

the details of the parable,

but they know,

I think he's saying

something bad about us.

I think he's speaking against us.

So they're indignant.

How does Jesus,

an unlearned man

from the insignificant village

of Nazareth,

the son of a carpenter,

dare to criticize us?

We're the esteemed leaders

of the Jewish community.

We're the trained scholars,

the professors,

moral exemplars,

the wise elders

among God's people.

And they're so angry

that they sought to lay hands

on Jesus at that very hour.

Right at that moment,

they wanted to seize him,

lay hands on him,

harm him.

But they fear the people.

Just recently,

they witnessed

throngs of Jesus' disciples,

acclaim Jesus as the king,

the messianic king

to come to Jerusalem.

It's saying in chapter 19,

verse 38,

blessed be the king

who comes in the name

of the Lord.

Peace in heaven

and glory in the highest.

So they fear the people,

what they might do to them

if they were to rashly harm

this popular figure.

So they choose to bide their time

and resort to a political ploy.

Instead of confronting Jesus directly,

they had already tried this

and failed multiple times.

They hide behind the scenes

and they pull strings.

They hire spies

to do their dirty work for them.

It says in verses 20 to verse 22,

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?

I think there would have been

great suspense and tension

in the air

after these insincere spies

asked their question

on behalf of scribes

and the chief elders.

There's an old saying

that we're all familiar with,

never discuss religion

or politics

in polite company.

Have you guys heard that?

Yeah.

Why?

I mean,

I don't agree with that

maxim entirely.

I mean,

it's unreasonable

to discuss the discussion

of religion and politics

altogether

but I do think

discussing religion

and politics

requires a special

humility and respect.

And that's because

religion and politics

more than any other subjects

that we can discuss

are polarizing.

They divide people.

People hold those views

very firmly

and ardently.

And so,

as they get impassioned

and as they get into arguments

it can lead to altercations

and strained relationships.

And so the caution

is well founded.

But these spies,

they went there.

Their question deals

with both religion

and politics.

And it's literally

the most controversial

hot button issue

among the Jews

at the time.

Because it concerns

the Roman Empire

and their occupation

and Jewish subjugation.

The spies ask,

is it lawful for us?

They're not asking

about their

Greek and Roman neighbors.

They couldn't care less

that they pay taxes

to Caesar.

They're talking about them

as the Jewish people.

Is it lawful for us

to give tribute

to Caesar or not?

We are the chosen

people of God.

We are God's

special possession.

God is our king,

not Caesar.

Is it lawful for us

to give tribute

to Caesar or not?

And the word tribute

is a word that

specifically refers

to the Roman poll tax.

This is not

the wealth tax

collected by

private tax collectors

like Levi and Zacchaeus

that we saw earlier

in the Gospel of Luke.

The wealth tax

is administered

to everybody,

including all the

citizens of Rome.

The poll tax,

however,

was collected

by the Roman

civil magistrates

and it went directly

to Caesar's coffers.

Not only that,

Roman citizens

were exempt

from this tax.

It was only imposed

on the subjected

peoples of the provinces.

So it's for this reason

that Tertullian,

the second century

Christian theologian,

called the poll tax

a badge of slavery.

In fact,

only about two decades

before this incident,

a Jewish leader

named Judas of Galilee

had rallied

the Jewish people

around their common

resentment toward

this poll tax

and led a revolt

against Rome

in 6 AD.

He had incited

his fellow Jews

by saying this,

quote,

that they were cowards

if they would endure

to pay a tax

to the Romans

and would,

after God,

submit to mortal men

as their lords.

So this is pretty fresh,

just two decades before.

So this is kind of

the political context

behind this,

very controversial issue.

And with that background

in mind,

we can see the trap

that these people

are setting for Jesus.

Remember that

they're not sincere,

they're pretending

to be sincere,

and according to verse 20,

their intention

is to catch Jesus

in something he says

in order to trap him

and to deliver him

to Pilate,

the governing authority

over Judea,

the Roman authority.

Now,

if Jesus says

that it is lawful

to pay the poll tax

to Caesar,

the nationalistic Jews

will be in an uproar.

They will deem

that Jesus is weak,

they will forsake

their hope in him

as their messianic king,

the political savior

that they expect him to be,

they want him to be.

But if Jesus says

that it is not lawful

to pay the poll tax

to Caesar,

then they will snitch

and inform Caesar,

inform the Roman governor.

They'll say to him,

do you remember

6 AD,

two decades ago,

do you remember

Judas of Galilee

that revolted against you

about the poll tax?

Well,

now there's a man

named Jesus of Galilee

and he is inciting

the Jewish people

against your rule,

telling them not

to pay the poll tax.

So this is really

a lose-lose situation

for Jesus.

But the Jewish leaders

really should have

known better

because they had

confronted Jesus

and tried to trap him

in the past

and had failed

multiple times

in the Gospel of Luke

and Jesus sees

right through

their hypocrisy

and deceit.

It says in verse 23

that he perceived

their craftiness.

Then Jesus says to them,

show me a denarius

whose likeness

and inscription

does it have?

They said,

Caesar.

This is brilliant.

Jesus already knows

that the image

and inscription

on the Roman denarius

is of Caesar,

Tiberius.

But he asks them

to show me a denarius

so that these

insincere spies

have to reach

into their pockets

and produce

a denarius.

The Roman denarius

was a silver coin

worth one day's wage

of a common laborer.

And at this time,

on the front,

I think I have an image

actually I can project

to show you.

On the front,

it had the image

of Tiberius Caesar.

It was inscribed

in Latin

in abbreviated form.

Tiberius Caesar,

son of the divine

Augustus,

Augustus.

On the back,

it bore the image

of Tiberius' mother,

Livia,

who is styled,

he's depicted

like the goddess

of peace.

And it has the inscription

Pontifex Maximus,

meaning high priest.

So,

keep that picture in mind.

even the sight

of this coin

would have been

repulsive

to devout Jews.

They wanted no part

in the Roman

pagan religion

and emperor worship.

It has two

idolatrous images

on it.

It contains

the blasphemy

that Caesar

is a son of God.

In fact,

you know that

they were offended

by this

because later

in 66 AD,

about 36 years later,

30 or so years later

after Jesus,

the first Jewish revolt,

one of the first things

that they do

after gaining

their short-lived independence

is they mint

their own coins.

And yet,

these spies

sent by the Jewish leaders

pretending to be

Jewish loyalists,

acting like they're

concerned with

keeping God's law

and wanting

nothing to do

with the idolatry

of Rome,

yet here they are

right in their pockets,

they're carrying

the symbol

of their subjugation,

that economic symbol

of their allegiance

to Caesar

right in their pockets,

readily accessible,

proving not only

that they acknowledge

pragmatically

Rome's rule over them,

they're freely engaging

in commercial activity

using Roman currency.

So in doing this,

in asking them

to reproduce

a denarius,

Jesus is exposing

the spies' hypocrisy

and since they are

acting as the Jewish

leader's proxies,

he's also exposing

the Jewish leader's

hypocrisy as well.

Jesus described

the Jewish leaders

earlier in Luke 16

as lovers of money

and in Luke 19,

45 to 46,

Jesus accused

the temple merchants

and the Jewish leaders

who gave them

permission to sell

there at the temple,

turn the temple,

which is supposed

to be a house of prayer,

into a den of robbers.

Jesus accused them

of that

and we see here again

that their piety

was only a pretext

for their greed.

They pretended

to be offended

by the Roman emperor

worship.

They pretended

to be Jewish purists

who wanted nothing

to do with Rome.

They pretended

to be indignant

toward their fellow Jews

who seemed content

to live under

Roman subjugation.

Yet in reality,

they didn't bat an eye

as they handled

the idolatrous

Roman currency.

As Roman subjects,

Jesus is showing them

that some of the

trappings of the Roman Empire

are unavoidable.

And since the image

of Caesar is on the denarius,

Jesus continues

in verse 25,

then render to Caesar

the things that are Caesar's

and to God

the things that are God's.

The word render

can also be translated

to repay.

It's the same Greek word

that's used to refer

to repaying debt.

So the NIV,

the New International Version,

translates this verse

is then give back

to Caesar what is Caesar's

and to God what is God's.

Jesus is saying,

in effect,

the poll tax

and the denarius

that you used to pay,

they belong to Caesar.

He is your governing authority

and your reliable

patronage

and the services

of his government.

He minted this denarius coin,

so repay to him

what you owe him.

The citizens of a country

are, in a sense,

genuinely indebted

to their civil authorities

for their service.

And it's appropriate

to pay taxes

to them.

This idea is similar

to what Paul writes

about in Romans 13,

1-7.

And it 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 what is good

and you will receive

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 the 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

are ministers of God

attending to this very thing.

Pay to all

taxes to whom

taxes are owed,

revenue to whom

revenue is owed,

respect to whom

honor to whom

honor is owed.

So being subject

to human governing authorities

and being subject

to God

are not necessarily

mutually exclusive

is what Jesus

is teaching here.

In fact,

no human ruler

comes to power

outside of God's

sovereign rule.

All human authorities

exercise derived

authority from God.

They exist

to do God's

business.

So it's appropriate

for Christians

to pay taxes

and be subject

to them.

As long as

in this story,

as long as the Jews

are not themselves

worshiping

Caesar Tiberius

themselves,

paying the poll tax

to him

does not need

to violate

their conscience.

Because in many cases,

political allegiance

to human authorities

is not directly

opposed to our

allegiance to God.

So Jesus is

saying here

that he's not

the political

revolutionary

that many people

wanted him to be.

But Jesus is not

merely being

submissive to the

Roman Empire either.

Because in one sense,

he is calling for

submission to human

authorities,

but in another

sense,

Jesus' answer

is very

subversive.

Because he's

not simply

saying that

Caesar and

God are

these equivalent

but separate

authorities that

should have

nothing to do

with each other.

That's not

what he's

saying.

Look again at

what Jesus

says in

verse 25.

Then render

to Caesar

the things

that are

Caesar's,

and to God

the things

that are

God's.

At the very

least,

then,

Jesus is

asserting here

that Caesar,

contrary to

his own

presumptuous

claims,

is not

God.

The things

that belong

to Caesar

are not

the same

as the

things that

belong to

God.

He

distinguishes

Caesar from

God.

But beyond

this,

Jesus had

asked in

verse 24,

whose likeness

and inscription

does the

denarius have?

And people

replied,

Caesar's.

It's

appropriate for

people to

pay Caesar

the poll tax

because the

denarius,

which is what

it would have

cost,

it has

his likeness

or image

on it.

It's the

same word.

Now,

that begs

the question,

what are

the things

that are

God's?

If the

things that

belong to

Caesar are

the things

that has

his face

on it,

his image

on it,

what has

God's

image on

it?

The word

likeness is

the same

word that

is used

in Genesis

1,

26,

the time

of creation,

when God

says,

let us

make man

in our

image

after our

likeness.

Humans

have God's

image

stamped on

them.

They were

created by

God to

represent him

and to

resemble him

by ruling

over creation

as his

vassal kings,

as his

vice-regents.

So then,

what are

the things

that are

God's?

You can see

why this is

so subversive.

He's saying,

give to

Caesar the

things that

belong to

Caesar,

and give

to God

the things

that belong

to God.

What has

God's image

on it?

And what

he's saying

in essence

is you

owe your

very selves

to God,

your very

lives to

God.

Sure,

you owe

a portion

of your

income to

Caesar,

you owe

taxes to

Caesar,

but you

owe

everything

to God.

As King

David prays

to God

in 1 Chronicles

29,

14,

for all

things come

from you,

and of

your own

have we

given

you.

What Jesus

is teaching

here is

simultaneously

submission to

human government,

but it's

also a

form of

subversion.

He's teaching

us that while

we are to be

subject to

various human

authorities,

we owe

our ultimate

allegiance to

the Lord

our God.

Caesar and

God are not

equivalent

authorities.

God's claim

claim on

our lives

and on

our world

trumps

Caesar's

claim on

our lives

and on

our world.

And Jesus

also in

doing this

is exposing

the idolatry

and condemning

the idolatry

of emperor

worship.

In the

second of

the Ten

Commandments

in Exodus

Exodus 20:4

20,

verse 4,

it says

very clearly

that we

are not

to make

an image

or any

likeness

of anything

as a

representation

of God.

That's why

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 4:15–16

chapter 4,

verses 15

to 16

say this

specifically,

since you

saw no

form on

the day

that the

Lord spoke

to you

at Horeb

out of

the midst

of the

fire,

beware

lest you

act

corruptly

by making

a carved

image for

yourselves

in the

form of

any

figure.

Because we

serve God

who is

spirit,

because we

serve an

invisible God,

he's saying

it's inappropriate

to depict

him.

That's why

the Bible

never describes

God's

appearance.

The New

Testament also

never gives

a picture

of Jesus.

It's not

interested in

how he

looked,

only in

what he

said.

The word,

not the

image,

is what's

prominent

in

Christianity.

And so

Jesus is

teaching the

ultimate

superiority,

the ultimate

allegiance

that we

ought to

give to

God.

His

image is

on you.

It

doesn't

matter how

loyal you

are,

how patriotic

you are,

it doesn't

matter what

kind of

human

authorities

are in

your

lives,

no

president,

no

country,

no

governor,

no

parent,

no

professor,

has a

higher claim

to your

allegiance

than your

creator God

who stamped

on you

his very

image.

That's the

point that

Jesus is

making.

this is

why we

see many

examples

throughout

scripture

of God

commending

civil

disobedience

as well.

The

Egyptian

midwives

disobey

Pharaoh

when Pharaoh

commends

them to

kill the

Jewish

male babies.

Obadiah

disobeys

Jezebel

the queen

when she

commends

him and

everyone else

to kill

the Lord's

prophets.

And Obadiah

instead protects

them and

provides for

them in

secret.

Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

refused to

bow down

and worship

the golden

image of

Nebuchadnezzar.

Daniel

disobeys

King Darius'

edict that

no one in

the kingdom

should pray

to anyone

but to

the king.

And he

prays to

God as

he has

always done.

And in

Acts 5

Acts 5:29

verse 29

when the

apostles of

Christ are

strictly charged

by the

Jewish

authorities

never to

preach in

Jesus'

name again,

Peter and

the apostles

answer them,

we must

obey God

rather than

men.

all these

show that

when submitting

to human

authority means

rebelling against

God, we must

obey God

rather than

men because

he's a

higher authority.

Now, this

shows us also

that there isn't a

strict separation.

Our ultimate

allegiance to God

should affect the

way we pay

allegiance to our

political authorities.

And this is why

I'm going to

digress just a

little bit to

give some

principles that I

think flow from

this.

And this is

why I think

it's inaccurate

and unbiblical

to resign

ourselves to

total political

passivity,

saying, you

know, well, we

can't legislate

morality, right?

We should seek

to influence our

civil authorities

to be more

closely aligned

with what God

teaches us to

be right and

wrong.

We saw earlier

in Romans 13

Romans 13:3

verse 3,

rulers are not

a terror to

good conduct

but to bad.

It is the

government's job

to legislate and

enforce morality.

And they're

going to do

that whether

you like it

or not.

And as

citizens in

a country where

we have the

right to vote,

we need to

exercise that

right.

It's impossible

only to preach

the gospel and

act like we

have nothing to

do with

politics.

To take no

stance at all

is to take a

stance.

And this is

actually the

exact logic that

some Christians

used in the

19th century to

punt on the

issue of

slavery, saying

let's not get

too political,

let's just focus

on preaching the

gospel.

To be neutral

on those things

is to take a

side.

Now let me be

clear in saying

this, that it

is not the

church's mission,

the gatherer

church, it is

not the church's

mission to

legislate morality

and lobby for

political change.

The church's

mission is to

glorify God by

making disciples of

Jesus Christ, by

the power of the

Holy Spirit.

That's our

explicit commission

from the risen

Lord Jesus in

Matthew 28.

That's where our

primary focus

should be.

However, it is

also true that

every Christian

who truly believes

the good news of

Jesus Christ does

good works as

they live in

society, as they

relate to their

neighbors.

And seeking

political change

for the sake of

the common good,

especially in a

democratic society

like ours, is

good works.

It's true that

only the gospel of

Jesus Christ and

the Holy Spirit's

power can transform

us inside and

out.

Only the gospel of

Jesus Christ, only

God can transform

human hearts.

So we shouldn't be

deluded into thinking

that we can somehow

bring about utopia

through political

activism.

That's never going to

happen.

And that's why we

should prioritize the

preaching of the

gospel, also because

that's our unique

Christian vocation.

Unbelievers can be

active politically.

They can lobby for

change.

They can fight for

social justice.

Only believers can

proclaim the gospel.

That's why there

should be a priority

for that.

Priority.

for proclaiming

the gospel.

However, this does

not mean that we

should be totally

detached from the

things of Caesar.

We can't be.

Good laws not only

restrain bad behavior,

they also teach good

behavior.

And there are real

civic responsibilities

that we ought to

carry out.

And in our carrying

out of our civic

responsibility, we

should reflect our

ultimate allegiance to

God.

And I'm going to

just give you two

words of caution as

you engage in

political discourse.

First, we need to

distinguish general

revelation and

special revelation.

General revelation

is what God has

revealed in general

to all of humanity.

It's what we can

know about God and

his will through

natural means.

This would include

our reason, what we

know about God or

what we know about

his creation from

biology, from

history, from

sociology, for

example.

And this would

include our

conscience, the

moral compass that

we have in general

that all of

humanity has.

Even though these

things are compromised

by sin, they are

still there and

there is still a lot

of common ground

with the rest of the

world.

Special revelation,

on the other hand,

is what God has

revealed especially

to his people, to

his people whom he

saves for his glory.

It's knowledge that

can be gained only

through supernatural

means.

As 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2, 1

1 Corinthians 2:6–16

Corinthians chapter 2

verses 6 to 16

teaches, only the

spirit of God can

reveal saving personal

knowledge of God.

That's special

revelation.

We can legislate

things, vote for

things that pertain to

general revelation

because that knowledge

is available to all

of humanity.

We can reason with

them about, for

example, the sanctity

of human life.

We can reason with

them about the

of all peoples, the

dignity of the poor.

We can reason with

them about these

things.

We can legislate

those kinds of

moral issues.

But we cannot

legislate things that

pertain to special

revelation because

that knowledge is

unavailable to

unbelievers.

We can't legislate

faith.

We can't legally

require that people

be Christians to

worship or to pray

to God.

You can force fake

conversions but you

can't force real

ones.

And second

caution is that we

need to distinguish

biblical principles

from the political

policies.

We can all agree

from general

revelation that

caring for the

poor, the

widows, and the

orphans is a good

thing.

Even unbelievers

can recognize that.

As believers, we

are taught this

specifically from

God's word as

well.

That's the

biblical principle

but there could be

a range of

differing opinions

on how we

actually accomplish

that.

Some people

will argue that

the best way to

do that is to

care for the

poor is to let

the free market

run its course so

that there is

increased wealth

overall throughout

society.

Others will argue

that the best way to

care for the poor

is to redistribute

the wealth,

existing wealth

that's concentrated

at the top.

And still others

will land somewhere

in between.

But the Bible does

not provide specific

guidelines for many

political policies

especially in our

specific context.

So we need to

distinguish the

biblical principles

and the policies

and recognize that

good Christians who

agree on the

principles can still

disagree amicably

on the policies.

That was, sorry,

kind of a long

digression.

But I do think it

flows from the text.

Hopefully it forms

you as you think

about these things

about the relationship

between church and

state and about

God and Caesar and

what are obligations

in both spheres.

And so the,

but the main point

to get back to it

is this,

the spies ask Jesus

an either or question.

Is it lawful for us

to give tribute

to Caesar or not?

Should we serve

Caesar as our king

or should we serve

God as our king?

But Jesus answers

with a both and answer.

Render to Caesar

the things that are

Caesar's and to God

the things that are

God's.

There are duties

to civil authorities

that do not infringe

upon our ultimate

duties to God.

Perform those.

But civil authorities

do not have

total claim on us.

Our allegiance to them

is subordinated

to our allegiance

to God.

So then we should

perform our duties

as citizens

of the kingdom of man

without forgetting

our primary identity

and prior responsibilities

as citizens

of the kingdom of God.

I think totalitarian

governments

understand this,

how subversive

this idea is.

that's why

many totalitarian

governments throughout

history have

felt threatened

by Christians,

by churches

and have persecuted

Christians.

I think they're

wrong to think

that Christians

pose a military threat

because Jesus

specifically said

my kingdom

is not of this world.

If it were,

he would have people

fighting for him.

But they're not.

This kingdom

is not of his,

not of his,

his kingdom

is of another world.

So we do not fight

to establish

an earthly kingdom

but we are citizens

of a heavenly kingdom.

But the governments

that try to have

absolute power,

try to have

the total allegiance

of their subjects

have historically

persecuted the church.

And there's an example

of this from

fourth century.

Roman historian

Eusebius

recounts this persecution

of an early Christian

named Sanctus.

This man was tortured

for his faith

in 177 AD

and Eusebius

writes about it

this way,

quote,

with such determination

did he stand up

to their onslaughts

that he would not

tell them his own name,

race,

and birthplace

or whether he was

slave or free.

To every question

he replied in Latin,

I am a Christian.

This he proclaimed

over and over again

instead of name,

birthplace,

birthplace,

nationality,

and everything else.

And not another word

did the heathen

hear from him.

In one sense,

governments should

feel threatened

by the church

if they seek

total allegiance.

We will not

seek the military

might to usurp

the throne

of the kingdom of man,

but should they

seek to usurp

the throne of God,

should they seek

to prevent us

from following God

and obeying God,

they better be afraid

because we have

one master

and one king,

one God.

We will resist

to our death.

That's part of what

Jesus is talking about.

God's authority

vis-a-vis

Caesar's authority,

God's authority

trumps it all.

No,

it doesn't matter

what your name is,

what your nationality is,

what your race is,

what your country

of origin is,

what your country

of citizenship is,

your allegiance

to God

trumps it all.

This is what

Jesus teaches

about God's authority

with relation

to Caesar's authority,

but that's not all

that this passage

is about.

There's something

kind of,

I don't know

if this is the appropriate

way to use this term,

but there's something

kind of meta

going on here.

I had to look it up.

And I've heard

some of you guys

say this before.

In this passage,

Jesus is teaching us

that while we are

to be subject

to various human authorities,

including Caesar,

we owe our ultimate allegiance

to the Lord our God.

And through this passage,

so that's what Jesus

is teaching in the passage,

but through this passage,

Luke, the author,

is also teaching

his audience

that while we are

to be subject

to various human authorities,

including the Jewish

scribes

and chief priests,

we owe our ultimate

allegiance

to the Lord our God

and to Lord Jesus.

Jesus is teaching us

in this passage

that we owe our ultimate

allegiance to God,

and Luke is teaching us

that we owe our ultimate

allegiance to Jesus,

the Son of God.

Remember that this is

one part,

this passage is one part

of a series of confrontations

between Jesus

and the Jewish religious leaders.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem

and entered the temple

in chapter 19,

he cleared the temple

by driving out

the merchants

and the money changers

to create space

for people to pray

and space for people

for him to preach

the good news of salvation.

And the Jewish elders,

the scribes,

and chief priests

were understandably incensed,

and they challenged Jesus

in chapter 20, verse 2,

by demanding,

tell us by what authority

you do these things,

or who it is

that gave you this authority.

They're saying,

we are the power brokers

of the Jewish community.

We are the gatekeepers

of the temple of God.

And we did not give you permission

to do all that you are doing.

So what right do you have?

Who do you think you are?

And from end of chapter 19

all the way through

the end of chapter 20,

it's all a series of confrontations

between Jesus and the Jewish leaders.

And the main question

on the reader's mind is,

who has the real authority?

Whom should we listen to

for guidance,

to find a way of salvation?

The official Jewish religious leaders

or Jesus?

That's the question.

That's the main question

that Luke is answering

in this passage.

And he makes the choice obvious

by drawing a sharp contrast

between Jesus and the Jewish leaders.

He says in verse 19,

the Jewish leaders fear the people.

They're crowd pleasers.

But Jesus,

as his answer shows

in verses 24 to 25,

has fear for neither Caesar

nor for the masses.

And he says in verse 20,

that the spies acting

on behalf of the Jewish leaders

pretended to be sincere.

That phrase is literally

to play the hypocrite.

In contrast,

from the mouths

of these hypocrites,

Jesus is declared

in verse 21

as someone who

speaks and teaches rightly

and shows no partiality,

but truly teaches the way

to do it.

The spies here are insincere,

insincere.

So they don't mean