Theme: Paying taxes
Text: Is. 45:1-6; 1 Thess. 4:1-5; Matt. 22:15-21
In the last three weeks we have looked at the parable of the Two Sons, the parable of the Tenants, and the parable of the Wedding Feast. In all these parables Jesus Christ kept referring to the lack of integrity in Israel’s religious leaders. They emerged in these parables as the discontented son, the evil tenants and the guest without the right wedding garment. Respectively they point to the inaction, the dishonesty and the standing of the Jewish leaders. In today’s Gospel reading we see the Pharisees and the Herodians embarking on their first counter-offensive. These two groups, normally opposed to each other, unite to oppose Christ and find a way to eliminate Him. They felt sure that asking Him a trick question about whether it was lawful for them to pay taxes to Caesar would end in success no matter what answer He gave. This was because while the Pharisees resented and opposed the payment of tax to Caesar, the Herodians accepted and supported it. The reason was that the Pharisees saw Israel as a sovereign state under God’s rule and therefore should not pay taxes to another king. On the other hand, the Herodians advocated the paying of taxes because they belonged to the political party of Herod, the king of Galilee, who owed his power to the Romans. Coming to Christ pretending to be sincere, they asked whether the paying taxes to Caesar was lawful or not. In other words whether a state under God’s leadership should be paying taxes to an earthly king.
A negative answer from the Lord would bring Christ before the Roman government for treason. A positive answer, on the other hand, would imply that he did not believe Israel was God’s chosen nation, which would be blasphemy. Moreover, a positive answer would enrage the people who disliked paying tax to the Roman Government. His critics believed that either answer He gave would convict Him. They were certain they had an exceptionally clever Catch 22 question. His critics also believed that this question would disprove Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah, which they refused to accept. They would not accept what He did and who He claimed to be because His actions and claims did not fit their preconceptions of God.
I personally experienced a Catch 22 situation while in Germany. There was a time I needed to renew my work permit. When I went to renew my work permit I was told I could only do so if I renewed my stay permit. And when I went to renew my stay permit I was told I could only do so when I renewed my work permit. You just couldn’t win unless the Lord intervenes. In today’s gospel reading our Lord knew the intention of His critics. They could not fool Him and He replied them by first describing them as hypocrites. Hypocrisy is simply being someone else. It is claiming a virtue one does not have or playing a part that is not your real self. The part, or role the Pharisees were good at playing was that of holy people. Jesus, by calling them hypocrites, was implying that they really were not holy at all. The Pharisees were the good Churchgoers of their day and yet did they know God or understand His law. They looked at Jesus and were confused. They accepted that Jesus was honest and taught about the ways of God regardless of the consequences. They agreed with Jesus that God would judge evildoers and condemn them. What they could not understand and confused them was that Jesus associated with people who were obvious evildoers - prostitutes, tax collectors, adulterers, and many other sinners. The Pharisees just could not understand that. They were also uncertain about how to classify Jesus because he taught that obedience to God and his law was necessary yet he healed people and allowed his disciples to pick corn on the Sabbath day. Jesus also bothered them, because while He taught about the importance of holiness, a concept that was part of their faith, but He kept condemning the very people they considered holy. Jesus just did not fit into their neat little boxes, boxes that defined for them what was good and what was bad, what was holy and what was unholy. On this occasion Jesus again proved that they could not put Him into a box. He asked for the coin used to pay the Roman tax and was given a denarius. Jesus then asked them whose image and whose inscription was on the coin. Obviously they knew that the coin had the image and title of Caesar on it but they did not know this coin was the answer to their question. God’s ways and thoughts are far superior to that of man. We can never deceive or trick Him. He is all-powerful and all knowing. He knows everything about us because it is He who created us. Instead of deceiving ourselves or trying to deceive God, let us listen and submit our lives to Him.
Many people, however, do not want to submit their lives to God. They would rather put God and His ways into easy-to-grasp categories but it does not function that way. Jesus’ critics realised that when Jesus answered what they believed was impossible to answer by simply telling them to “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” By referring to the image of Caesar on the coin Jesus was making a very important statement but He left it to His hearers to decide what He meant on the basis of their own faith and reason. They knew the Scriptures and so should know what belonged to God.
When a child is born what people often say is that the child looks like the father or mother. They immediately notice the family likeness. Similarly it was God’s intention from the beginning that we should bear the likeness of our heavenly Father. At the beginning of Genesis God declared, “ ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.’ So God created man in His own image.” God intended our relationship with Him to remain unbroken so that we could grow up within the family to bear the imprint of His nature. Jesus used the opportunity His critics gave Him to remind them of God’s purpose in creating them. In His usual way, using what was familiar, He asked for a coin and then left it up to His critics to declare whose image it bore. Of course they all knew it bore the image of Caesar. Jesus then told them that the coin belonged to the one whose image was on it. Jesus by His words was reminding them that they bore the image of God. It is true that sin has distorted the image of God in us but it is not totally obscured. Even in the most evil and perverse people God’s image is present and marks that person as really belonging to Him. Just as the coin bore the image of Caesar, the one who made it so we bear the image of God, the One who made us. Many times we find it difficult to decide which part of our lives belongs to God and which part belongs to the world. This is because although we belong to the spiritual realm we also live in the physical realm. But it is really quite simple if we realise that our lives do not belong to us but to God and that God gives it to us to use in a way that glorifies His name. God wants us to reflect His image. When other people look at us do they see the image of God? When you look at yourself, do you see the image of God? Is your life a holy and righteous one bringing glory and praise to God?
To “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s,” is to render to the state whatever material and personal services that are required for the good of society. The Christian, in imitating Christ, has a duty to rulers and presidents because it is God who has placed them where they are. Therefore to fail in being a good citizen is to also fail in our Christian duty. As believers we have a responsibility to God and to our Governments. As His faithful and obedient stewards our lives should glorify Him no matter what we do.
Jesus plainly told His critics and is telling us that we have a duty to fulfil towards our country by paying our taxes. If Jesus was telling the Herodians and Pharisees, who were under Roman occupation, treated like second class citizens and did not benefit much from the taxes they paid, to pay their taxes then what about us? We live in a democracy where we see how our tax money is spent. We live in a country where we have a say about who will rule the nation. Yet, no one likes paying taxes. Most of us complain about the taxes and find nothing wrong with cheating in this area. When we as believers do such a thing what are we saying about being God’s witnesses? Are we being a Light to a dying world? Are we setting a Godly example for the word to follow? Even when the government is corrupt and wastes tax money on ungodly programs Jesus says that we should pay our taxes. Rome was ungodly, corrupt and wasteful yet Jesus told the Jews to pay their taxes. We have a responsibility to God and our nation to pay our taxes. Just as God was concerned about all of His creation, so also we, created in His image, should have that same concern. We are to be concerned about our nation and help to meet the needs of the nation.
We bear the image of God even though that image became distorted when we were led into captivity to sin. Yet God is still concerned about us and wants to restore His image in us. He is well able to do so even using opposition to his advantage in order to achieve His purposes. Just as Israel in captivity could not fulfil God’s purposes we also in captivity to sin could not fulfil His purposes. Imprisoning God’s people is to defeat God’s purposes. But God can never be defeated. God moves forward no matter what the opposition does. God cuts through everything that stands in the way of His purposes, supplies the resources that are needed and restores our image and identity. God wants to bless His people. He wants His people to flourish and enjoy His presence. He wants His people to know that everything belongs to God to be used to fulfil His divine will. We have been created in the image of God. It cost Him His Son Jesus Christ to restore that image when it became distorted by sin. He was crucified for our sakes. The least we can do is to acknowledge Him for who He is and what He has done for us and believe in Him as our Saviour and Lord. Amen!
