#49 What is Caesar’s and What is God’s
Series Mark
Chuck Sligh
August 8, 2021
NOTE: A PowerPoint presentation is available for this sermon by request at chuckcsligh@gmail.com. Please mention the title of the sermon and the Bible text to help me find the sermon in my archives.
TEXT: Mark 12:13-17 – And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. 14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? 15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. 16 And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's. 17 And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him.
INTRODUCTION
Joke: Does anyone here know why Sherlock Holmes never paid any income tax?—It was because he made so many brilliant deductions.
Illus. –Years ago, when Ronald Reagan was President, a little boy wanted $50 very badly and prayed for a whole week. When nothing happened, he decided to write God a letter.
When the Post Office received the letter addressed to God, they forwarded it to the White House. President Reagan was both impressed and amused, so he instructed his aide to send the boy $5, thinking that would be a lot to him, which it was in the 1980s.
The boy was thrilled with 5 bucks, so he sat down and wrote a thank you note: “Dear God, thank you very much for sending the money. However I noticed for some reason you sent it through Washington and as usual, they kept most of it.”
Today we’re going to talk about the second of the two inevitable things in life, according to Ben Franklin’s famous proverb: The first is DEATH; the second, today’s topic, is TAXES. In our text, Jesus lays out clearly what we owe the government and what we owe God. In the process, by His remarkable wisdom, He again foils the Jewish leaders’ plan to trick Him. So without further ado, let’s jump right in:
I. NOTE FIRST OF ALL IN VERSES 13-15a A PREMEDITATED ATTACK.
We begin in verse 13 – “And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch him in his words.”
Here we see is the most unlikely of alliances: the Pharisees and the Herodians. No two groups could have been more different in their outlook and goals. The chart on the screen shows how different they were:
• Whereas the Pharisees were nationalistic, and thus opposed Roman rule under Herod…insofar as they could get away with it, the Herodians had sold themselves out to their Roman overlords, supporting Roman rule through their Jewish puppet, Herod.
• In other words, the Pharisees represented resistance to Rome; the Herodians represented accommodation to Rome.
• The Pharisees were concerned with religious matters and were thus narrow and conservative, whereas the Herodians had a political agenda, and were liberal and syncretistic in their religious views.
• Because of this, the Pharisees opposed the Roman taxes, while the Herodians favored them.
But both the Pharisees and the Herodians had one thing in common: They HATED Jesus, and they wanted Him dead! They personified the old saying, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
Mark begins the verse by saying that these two groups of people had been “sent.” – The Greek word means they were sent by a higher authority (which was the Sanhedrin), for a specific purpose. That purpose was to catch Jesus in His words. The Greek word for catch here means to violently hunt and take by force. These guys aren’t messing around anymore: they’re out for the kill.
They hoped to do it by “craft”—that is, by “trickery.” They came with pre-chosen, well-crafted questions, here and in the rest of chapter 12. You can picture the Sanhedrin plotting their questions, their best minds devoting themselves to a way they could trick Jesus to say something that would discredit Him with the people or indict Him with the authorities.
Look now at verse 14-15a – “And when they had come, they said unto him, ‘Master, we know that thou art true, and not swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are.’” What they said was true, but such a person was not likely to be influenced by such insincere flattery. As we’ll see momentarily, Jesus saw right through them. When they said that He taught “the way of God in truth,” these lying, scheming “snakes in the grass” didn’t believe for one moment one word they were saying!
Now look at the second part of verse 14 and the first part of verse 15, “Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? 15 Shall we give, or shall we not give?” The question was not in itself illegitimate, but it was designed to trip Jesus up.
Illus. – Lawyers use this tactic all the time, but sometimes they’re not paying close attention and say some pretty crazy things. One time a lawyer asked a coroner: “Did you check for blood pressure or breathing?”
“No,” replied the doctor
“So, is it possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?”
“No.”
“How can you be so sure, Doctor?”
“Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.”
“But could the patient have still been alive nevertheless?”
“It’s possible he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere.”
Though the Sanhedrin gang’s questions was not a foolish question per se, there was chicanery behind it. They were trying to trip Jesus up.
How so? To the Jews, the annual poll tax of one denarius, equal to one full day’s work of the average worker, was an odious and constant reminder to the Jews that they were subjugated to Rome, for the poll tax went right into the coffers of Caesar. They also had to pay the Romans a 1% tax on income, a ground tax of 10% of grain and 20% of oil and wine, and a business tax on goods transported to different towns and cities of various percentages.
That was on top of the tithes and offerings the Jews had to pay to the Temple, as well as a separate Temple tax during Passover. The Temple taxes, tithes and offerings were tolerated, but they hated every penny they had to pay the despised Romans.
If Jesus unqualifying said they should PAY the tax, He would immediately be seen by the people as a traitor and certainly could not be their Messiah, for He was thought to come to DEFEAT their conquerors, not SUPPORT them. But if Jesus said they should NOT pay the tax, the Roman government would see Jesus as an insurrectionist, and though they tolerated some things, taxes and political questions were dealt with quickly and harshly.
The Sanhedrin gang thought, “We’ve got Him now! Jesus will have no escape from THIS question.” They couldn’t wait to see Him squirm and try to get out of this one.
II. IN VERSES 15b-17, WE SEE A PRUDENT ANSWER.
Look now at verse 15b, “But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, ‘Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny [literally a denarius], that I may see it.”
Jesus saw right through their honey-covered flattery and exposed their hypocrisy and the hateful intent behind pretending to ask an honest question. “Why tempt ye me” literally means, “Why are you trying to test or trap me?” And then He told turns things back on this His enemies.
Now visualize the drama of the situation: The people in the crowd observed the confrontation and probably knew what the delegation from the Sanhedrin was up to. They heard the question and were holding their breath to hear the answer. Unexpectedly, Jesus tells them to give Him a denarius. Imagine the dramatic buildup, and the confusion of the Sanhedrin and Herodian emissaries as they thought to themselves, Uh-oh, what’s He up to now? Verse 16 ¬says, “And they brought it. And he saith unto them, “Whose is this image and inscription?’ And they said unto him, ‘Caesar’s.’ 17 And Jesus answering said unto them, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’”
“[T]hey brought it to Him,” Mark says. – I find it ironic that the very people who opposed the denarius poll tax happened to have a denarius, while Jesus didn’t!
The image on the coin would have been that of Tiberius Caesar who reigned then. The inscription read, “Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus” and the reverse side said, “PONTIFEX MAXIMVS” or “Chief Priest.” That reverse side inscription emphasized the religious nature of Caesar’s reign and was a claim to divinity, which made it especially abhorrent to the Jews.
Jesus’ reply, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” was brilliant and totally unexpected. – In this answer, Jesus did two things:
First, He recognized the legitimacy of human government.
It therefore disassociated Him from all forms of political anarchy, best illustrated by the Zealots who believed in the overthrow of the Romans. Despite the evils and idolatry of the Roman empire, Jesus recognized that there is a sphere for government for the good that it does, and this requires taxes to pay for the benefits received from government.
The Roman state offered…
• protection from other conquerors,
• a common language,
• knowledge of more advanced architecture,
• an advanced road system that offered relatively safe travel and trade,
• major engineering projects, like aqueducts and bridges,
• a relatively fair court and justice system for its day,
• and many other benefits that increased the overall standard of living for all.
Even if there were many evils associated with this vast empire, there was a legitimate role for government and thus the means to pay for it. Second, He made clear that human government’s role is limited and subservient to the rule of God. Yes, there is a sphere for government, but it cannot overstep its role. Yes, we must submit to government where it is legitimate to do so, but we must submit to GOD FIRST AND ABOVE ALL. If there is a conflict between the two, God’s claim is supreme. Our Ultimate King is God.
The response to Jesus’ is found at the end of verse 17: “And they marveled at him.” It’s no wonder: R. Kent Hughes says, “The statement by our Lord was not only astounding the instant it was uttered, but is even today universally acclaimed to be the single most influential political statement ever made in the history of the world! It was decisive and determinative in shaping Western civilization.”
CONCLUSION
What does the Lord want us to take away from this passage of Scripture? I think two big themes emerge that we should think about.
First, we must recognize the legitimate role of human government in our lives.
Government is sometimes seen as a necessary evil.
Illus. – A government surveyor brought his surveying equipment to a farm to do some work for the state that employed him. He knocked on the farmhouse door and asked the farmer for permission to go into one of his fields and take some readings. The farmer refused, fearing the government was going to take some of his land for a public project. The surveyor demanded entry, and again the farmer adamantly refused.
The surveyor then produced an official order authorizing him to do the survey saying, “I have the authority to enter any field in the state to do my work.” Faced with the authority of the government, the farmer begrudgingly opened the gate and allowed the surveyor to enter one of his fields.
The farmer then went to the far end of the field and opened another gate, through which one of his fiercest bulls came charging. Seeing the bull, the surveyor dropped his equipment and ran for his life. The farmer shouted, “Show him that paper, show him that paper!”
I think we all have a little bit of the farmer in us. In everything from driving the speed limit to paying our taxes, our sinful nature resists the government’s control and claim on us.
Turn in your Bibles with me to Romans 13. Though Jesus only laid out the broad principle of the legitimacy of government, Paul—under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit—expanded on what Jesus taught.
He lays out 3 obligations we as Christians have to government:
The first is to OBEY. – Look with me at Romans 13:1-2 – “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers [or “authorities”]. For there is no authority except from God: the authorities that exist are ordained by God. 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the authorities, resisteth the ordinance of God: and those who resist shall receive to themselves judgment.”
As we’ll see shortly, there are times when believers must disobey authorities, but in all other circumstances, Paul teaches that we must submit and obey.
Our second obligation is to PAY.
After mentioning the role of government in administering judgment for criminals, Paul goes on to say in Romans 13:6-7 – “For this cause pay ye taxes also: …7 Pay to all what is due them: taxes to whom taxes are due; revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is owed”
We’re fortunate that we can vote in people to determine how much our taxes should be and what our taxes go for, but I don’t think any of us would want a society without taxes as much as we think we would.
We might haggle over how much should be devoted to each item on the national, state and local budgets, but Christians want just as much as unsaved people…
• safe roads and bridges,
• a strong standing army to protect us,
• Social Security and Medicare for us in our last days,
• Medicaid for the disabled,
• education for our kids,
• police and firefighters to come when we call,
• and tangible help when a catastrophe comes our way.
Those benefits aren’t available to us by magic; they have to be paid for, and Jesus does not give us the option to opt out.
Our third obligation is to PRAY.
Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 – “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”
Let me ask you a question: Do you pray for our governmental leaders? Instead of complaining constantly about them, why not pray for them? In particular, Paul says we should pray that they would rule so that we may live as Christians quietly and peaceably in godliness and honesty. If ever there were a time when we need to pray for our leaders, it’s now.
The second big theme we see from today’s text is this: We must recognize that God’s authority extends over ALL human figures and institutions.
When government stays within its God-given sphere, we’re called upon to obey, pay and pray. But the two spheres of Caesar and God are not independent nor equal. God is sovereign over ALL institutions and leaders and governments, and ultimately, we must obey God rather than government in two circumstances: when it tells us to do something God has forbidden, or when it forbids what God has commanded.
But we must not be naïve about this: There’s a price to pay when we must defy the government.
Illus. – In Acts 4 and 5, the Sanhedrin brought the apostles before them and forbade them from speaking or teaching in the name of Jesus. They immediately went right back to it. They were arrested again, and again they were brought before the Sanhedrin and commanded not to speak or preach in the name of Jesus. Here was their reply in Acts 4:19-20: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
But here’s the thing: their continued civil disobedience led first to harsh persecution of the apostles, and later, to persecution of all the Christians in Jerusalem, and later still, all throughout Palestine and then the whole Roman Empire.
I believe there is a concerted effort to increasingly tighten the screws on Christian liberty. It will take great wisdom to know when to comply, when to disobey, when to face up to persecution and when to go underground. I hope I’m wrong, but the increasing opposition to Christianity in every institution of society—in government, Hollywood, most of the media, academia and Big Tech—seems to point to at least marginalization of any Christian voice, and eventually “canceling” those voices. Where it goes from there, we do not know.
We cannot control the lack of submission of these institutions to God’s authority, but we can control OUR submission to the sovereignty and authority of God. May you and I humbly submit ourselves to God, obey His Word, live out the Gospel in our lives and be shining witnesses in this evil age.
