Government From God's Point Of View Series

Government from God's Point of View

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon by Rick Crandall

(Prepared January 10, 2023)

BACKGROUND:

*Please open your Bibles to Matthew 22:15. Jesus was in Jerusalem to die on the cross for our sins. The city and surrounding villages were crowded with over 2 million Jewish pilgrims there for the annual Passover Feast. (1)

*Early that week, Jesus went into the Temple to drive out the moneychangers and dove merchants because they had turned the Court of the Gentiles into a den of thieves by cheating the pilgrims. Then in Matthew 21:14-16, "The blind and the lame came to (Jesus) in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, 'Hosanna to the Son of David!' they were indignant and said to Him, 'Do You hear what these are saying?' And Jesus said to them, 'Yes. Have you never read, "Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise"?'''

*The next day, Jesus went back to the Temple. Luke 20:1 tells us that Jesus was there teaching the people and preaching the gospel to them. That's when the chief priests, scribes, and elders confronted the Lord again. This time, those Temple rulers questioned the Lord about the source of His authority.

*Jesus refused to answer their question directly, because it wasn't quite time for His death on the cross. Instead, the Lord used a question and three parables to highlight the festering corruption and raging hatred in the hearts of these Temple rulers. They had completely rejected their promised Messiah, and had been plotting His murder for months. So, the Lord openly condemned them in Matthew 21:43 where Jesus told them, "I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it."

*After hearing Jesus, the Pharisees and Sadducees should have repented from their wicked plans. But in today's Scripture, the Pharisees decided to attack the Lord from a different angle. Verse 15 tells us that they "went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk."

*They decided to trap Jesus into taking a public stand against the Roman government. But you can't trick God, so the Lord knew exactly what to say. And in today's Scripture, Jesus helps us understand government from His point of view. Please think about this as we read Matthew 22:15-22.

MESSAGE:

*How good of a job do you think our federal government is doing right now? Well, if you're like most people, you are not too happy. Last November, only 22% of people approved of the way Congress is handling its job. And I think our government is more off-track right now than at any other time in my life. But a much more important question is: What does God think about our government? We can look into His Word today and see. (2)

1. FIRST, JESUS WANTS US TO KNOW THAT HE DESIGNED GOVERNMENT FOR OUR GOOD.

*The Lord designed government to help give peace and order in this fallen world. The evidence here is in vs. 21 where Jesus said, "Render (or give) to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

*Here Jesus was recognizing the rightful place of government in our world. The Apostle Paul was also clear about this in Romans 13:1 where he said, "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God."

*Please understand that this Scripture does not mean God appointed dictators like the evil Nazi Adolph Hitler, or the Russian Communist Joseph Stalin, or the Communist rulers in China. Ungodly, cruel, corrupt politicians have been one of the worst plagues of mankind.

*One horrible example is Lavrentiy Beria. He was the most ruthless and longest-serving secret police chief during Joseph Stalin's reign of terror in the Soviet Union. Beria's famous boast was, "Show me the man and I'll show you the crime." He led the expansion of the slave-labor camps and secret detention facilities for political prisoners. I have seen estimates of 100 to 148 million people killed under brutal Communist dictatorships, including 65 million in China and up to 60 million in the nations once controlled by the Soviet Union. (3)

*And yes, God is ultimately in control of everything, but wherever there is sin in our world, God's perfect will is not being done. And as Hal Lindsey said years ago: "Satan is alive and well on planet Earth."

*Think about it this way: If God had appointed Adolf Hitler, then the Allies in World War II would have been sinful by going to war against Hitler. Romans 13:1 doesn't tell us that God appointed monsters like Hitler. It tells us that God created government to help the world exist in a good way. All government leaders are responsible to God, and they always get into trouble when they put themselves above God.