Giving To God and Caesar Luke 20:19-26 Introduction

Transcription

1 Introduction We have been studying the 20 th chapter of Luke in the last week of Jesus life. The religious leaders want to arrest and condemn Jesus. The population of Jerusalem effectively triples during the feast of the Passover. In this chapter Jesus has defended his authority (vv.1-18); destroys their strategy (vv.19-26) and demolishes their theology (vv.27-38) and declares His Deity (vv.39-44). The enemies of Jesus have been watching and waiting, patiently looking for any excuse to arrest him. Now the religious leaders decide to bait Jesus with a loaded question. Mothers, politicians, police officers, pastors and radio talk show hosts are often asked questions designed to anger, humiliate or alienate. In High School Mr. Bender my English teacher asked the whole class, if you knew Gino Geraci was going to be hung at dawn in back of Lotta Burger, how many of you would come to the hanging? Everyone raised their hand. Mr. Bender laughed and said, They don t hate you Geraci. They just have never seen a hanging. The Motive For The Question (vv.19-21) Luke 20:19 (NKJV); And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people for they knew He had spoken this parable against them. The chief priests were descendants of Aaron, the brother of Moses. It was there job to represent God to the people and the people to God. The scribes were the legal scholars, experts in the law of Moses. Matthew s gospel (Matt.22:16) gives us this additional insight; And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians who were not so much a religious sect but rather a political party that supported the family of Herod and worked closely with the Roman government. Clearly Jesus accused them of being the wicked vinedressers in the parable in verses In order to protect their power and authority they must discredit the power and authority of Jesus. What evidence is there for godliness in their lives? They are priests? They offer sacrifices. They pray and read their Bible. Yet their lives are consumed by selfish ambition and political intrigue. The religious leaders believed they were losing control, losing the ability to lead and influence the people. The people were thronging to Jesus, hanging on His every word. Luke 20:20 (NKJV); So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor. What was the motive of the question? The religious leaders were committed to destroying Jesus. So they watched Him, and send spies. The word spies is the adjective engkathetos; meaning hired to lie in wait. The word is only used here in the New Testament. They pretended to be righteous the verb hypocrinomai again used only here in the New Testament it means to pretend, to make believe it is the same root word from which we derive the word hypocrite. 1

2 If the people acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah, the religious leaders feared a massive revolt. Both the people and the religious leaders suspected that when Messiah comes, He would overthrow the oppressive Roman government and give sovereignty back to Messiah. The religious leaders would lose their authority, lose their position lose their power. The people would forsake them. The religious leaders became consumed with the thought; Jesus must be stopped! If Jesus could be arrested and killed by the Roman authorities then they the feelings of anger and hatred would be directed against the Roman occupiers. If they could get Jesus to take some position against Rome, get him arrested for treason, then their problems would be solved. The religious leaders sent spies, drooling and dripping with flattery. Their wicked motives masked by self-serving deceit. John 5:44 (NKJV); How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? Luke 20:21 (NKJV); Then they asked Him, saying, Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth: The spies begin by flattering Jesus by praising him for his accuracy and orthodoxy and impartiality (C. Marvin Pate; Moody Gospel; Luke; p.381). R. Kent Hughes writes; Their strategy was perfumed with flattery. Flattery is the reverse mirror-image of gossip. Gossip involves saying behind a person s back what you would never say to his face. Flattery is saying to a person s face what you would never say behind his back. How ingratiating their language was like puffs from a perfume bottle: (squeeze) Teacher, you re always right. (squeeze) Preacher, you don t play favorites. You show us the true way (Vol.2 Luke; p.264). Preachers and politicians have at least one thing in common, they are targets of flattery. Jesus knows the stench of flattery. Proverbs 26:28 (NKJV); A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it, And a flattering mouth works ruin. The Malevolence Of The Question (vv.22-23) Luke 20:22 (NKJV); Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not? The question was meant to put Jesus in an impossible position. The tax issue was certainly explosive. 2

3 It still is. How much tribute should a government expect? Silence would be disasterous, evasion would be criminal. Colaberation would incite a riot. Rome tolerated religious diversity but tax evasion was met with military intervention. When Jesus was a little boy, Roman taxation had caused one of the most brutal revolts during the Roman occupation. The Zealot movement emerged in part because of this revolt and would continue until the whole-sale slaughter of the Jewish people in 66 AD. Failure to pay taxes in those days was well like today. They could seize your property, freeze your assets, squeeze your intestines. If Jesus said, no do not pay taxes to Caesar he could be arrested for tax evasion, anarchy and political rebellion. If Jesus said, yes pay taxes it would certainly generate a great deal of resentment among the people. In other words yes means arrest, no means alienation from the people. Either way, the religious leaders win and Jesus loses. Earlier Jesus had embarrassed the religious leaders with the question, Was John sent by God, or was he merely acting under his own authority (v.4). One embarrassing question deserves another. The spies thought; we have him, weasel your way out of this one Jesus. The Pharisees were hoping he would say yes and impale himself on the hatred and wrath of the people; the Herodians were hoping he would say no and impale himself on the wrath of Rome. The sweet taste of revenge mixed with hatred they could see no way out for Jesus. The Magnificence Of The Answer (vv.24-26) Luke 20:24 (NKJV); Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have? They answered and said, Caesar s. I think it is interesting that Jesus says, Show Me a denarius. He does not have one. Jesus is going to answer them by something as small as a dime it weighs about 3.49 grams. I have a denarius from that period. A denarius was a day s wage for a Roman soldier or a vineyard laborer. With a denarius you could buy a place to stay, two glasses of wine and a loaf of bread. A rabbi made one-half denarius per day. A scribe made two denarii. Bread was 1/12 of a denarius, an average size amphora of olive oil cost one denarius. A cucumber cost one denarius.. An ox cost 100 denarii. A calf cost 20 denarii. A lamb cost 4 denarii. Two sparrows cost 1/16 of a denarius. House rent was four denarii per month. Two pigeons cost one denarius. The image is of Tiberius who ruled Rome from 14 A.D. to 37 A.D. He was the son of Livia who seen seated on the reverse of the coin. He was the step-son and son-in-law and 3

4 heir of Augustus. There were several inscriptions, on my coin is a series of letters; TI CAESAR DIVI AVGVSTVS The inscription means; Tiberius Caesar; son of the divine Augustus, Augustus. On the reverse of the coin it reads; Pontif Maxim to the Romans that meant High Priest but the Latin literally means Big Bridge the idea the bridge between heaven and earth. The inscription carries with it the weight of a royal seal, a property seal. The coins belong to Caesar. To say the name Caesar must have caught in their throat. They hated the name. For the observant or righteous Jew the coin was an abomination. It contained what the Law prohibited; Exodus 20:4 (NKJV);4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; The coin was used to pay the tribute tax, into the fiscus the Roman treasury it was the price demanded by Rome to live in Rome s world, it was what we might call existence tax. It was paid by every adult male and female. It could only be paid with that coin. I am reasonably certain when Jesus touched the coin a hush fell over the crowd. Simply touching the coin was disgusting. Everytime a Jew paid the tax, he acknowledged subservience to Rome. Each denarius was a reminder they were an occupied territory, a defeated foe. Every time they paid the tax it was a reminder, we are not free. Luke 20:25 (NKJV); And He said to them, Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar s, and to God the things that are God s. In the original language there is a powerful but almost untranslatable expression; Jesus begins the sentence with toinyn; which means Well then it conveys a sense of authority or finality it might be translated There you have it! (see C. Marvin Pate; p.382). Who made the money? Caesar. Who made Caesar? God. Genesis 1:27; So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Who could object giving to the rightful owner the thing that belonged to the owner? This simple answer is perhaps the most important political statement ever made in the history of human civilization. The statement of Jesus reeks with simplicity but has drawn at least three different interpretations. The first view has been called the two kingdoms view. According to this view Jesus is not only recommending the payment of imperial tribute, but he is suggesting a proper attitude toward political authority. The kingdom of God is present, but it does not supplant or suppress the political kingdoms of this world. We must not rebel against legitimate claims of the state. The second view has been called the ironic view. To avoid the stress of the first view some Bible teachers have viewed the words of Jesus as 4

5 irony. Jesus is not really interested in the issue of tribute to Caesar, give to Caesar what is Caesar is just a flash of wit, giving to Caesar is irrelevant in light of the kingdom of God. The third view is the anti-zealot view, which seems to suggest that the people were missing the point, the coin which bears the image of Caesar belongs to Caesar but human beings who bear the image of God belong to God. We can and should glean at least a couple of principles from Jesus statement. (1) Christians have a responsibility to honor and obey the ruling authority or government. Paul expounds on this subject in Romans 13:1-7. Romans 13:1-2 (NKJV); 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. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. Nero was Emperor when Paul penned these words. Nero had his own mother killed. He was a lying sexual pervert. He had Christians dipped in tar and crucified. Before Nero was Claudius and before Claudius was Caligula. He was openly bi-sexual, openly lived in a same sex marriage, and had his horse named a Roman Senator. There is no record of the early church freaking out over political leadership of the Empire. They had no petition drives, they formed no focus groups. Roman citizens had certain rights, but by no stretch of the imagination did they have the same rights that we experience in the United States of America. The people of Christ preached Christ. Paul no where questions the validity or the authority of the government even when it is ruled by a sexually diseased mad-man who thinks he is a god! The Bible is clear, bad government is preferable to no government. The former Chaplain of the United States Senate Richard Halverson writes; To be sure, men will abuse and misuse the institution of the State just as men because of sin have abused and misused every other institution in history including the Church of Jesus Christ; but this does not mean that the institution is bad or that it should be forsaken. It simply means that men are sinners and rebels in God s world, and this is the way they behave with good institutions. As a matter of fact, it is because of this very sin that there must be human government to maintain order in history until the final and ultimate rule of Jesus Christ is established. Human government is better than anarchy, and the Christian must recognize the divine right of the State (quoted from Hughes Commentary in Matthew p.104). (2) Christians have a responsibility to honor and obey God. Is it possible that in order to honor God on occasions we must disobey government? Remember the authorities that exist have been established by God! God s authority is unlimited. Man s authority is limited. There are at least three areas in which Christians have a God given right and a moral responsibility to resist the authority of the state or other authorities. The first is when we as men or women of God are asked to violate the clear command of God. An example of this is found in 5

6 Acts 4 and 5. Do you recall when the disciples were called before the Sanhedrin and commanded, ordered not to teach in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:17-20). The disciples went right back and preached Jesus! They were arrested again. Acts 5:28-29 (NKJV); saying, Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man s blood on us! 29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: We ought to obey God rather than men. Does this mean if the United States government asks us to violate the law of God, we have the right to disobey? The answer is yes. We must never break God s commands to accomadate man s wishes. Christians must also refuse to commit immoral acts. A Christian must resist the government when the government asks the Christian to violate his or her conscience. This could include anything from participation of illegal, immoral, or unethical acts, to working in institutions which perform wholesale abortions, to participating or not participating in war, as one s conscience dictates. In order to clearly be able to discern what is right or wrong, the Christian must immerse themselves in the Word of God to develop an ethic that is radically Biblical. When should you disobey the government? When obeying the government means disobeying the Lord. Other wise Christians are called to a radical obedience of the law. We are to be law abiding citizens this means obeying traffic laws, the insurance laws, the tax laws. Christians should not disobey the tax laws (whatever they are!). Once conscience stricken taxpayer wrote the IRS this letter; Dear Sir, My conscience bothered me. Here is the $ which I owe in back taxes. Then came the P.S. If my conscience still bothers me I ll send the rest. We must conduct ourselves with respect toward our public officials. Their conduct may seem to disqualify respect but we must still respect the office. We must participate in the process. We live in a representative government. We as Christians have a duty to vote. It should not be an option it is an obligation. You should vote according to your beliefs. The relationship between religion and government is personal and individual. It is right for the people of God to serve in government (remember Daniel and Joseph). But it is wrong for government to control the church, or for the church to control the government (Warren Wiersbe p.80). We give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, but more importantly we give to God what belongs to God. All human beings bear God s image. When Jesus said and to God the things that are God s the religious leaders must have been astonished. Caesar believed he was a son of the gods but Jesus makes it clear there is only one God. Everyone is subject to the Lord of heaven. God has total ownership over his property. The coin was Caesar s because it bore Caesar s image we are God s possession because we bear his image. I have coins from around the world, minted in Russia, China, South America, Canada, literally dozens and dozens of countries and civilizations that have come and 6

7 gone. Coins tell us about art, culture and values of the native country. Jesus is reminding his listeners there is a mint mark stamped on each and every one of his creatures. We are stamped with a heavenly H made in Heaven by God. We have the capacity for love, for fellowship, for moral content. We were created to know right from wrong. We are moral because God made us moral creatures. No matter how much we try to wear down the moral content, it continues to circulate. We are God s coins. We are heaven s currency. Luke 20:26 (NKJV); But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent. In the end, the critics are silenced. They were unable to discredit Jesus and they were struck with amazement. There were no grounds for a political insurrection. In order to accuse Jesus of treason they will have to fabricate charges. Jesus understood the concept of dual citizenship. We live in two worlds in heaven and on earth. We are to give to Caesar what due Caesar and we are to give to God what is due God. The Bible commands every Christian to render honor to whom honor is due. 1 Peter 2:17 (NKJV); Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. Conclusion You are God s coin. You bear His workmanship. He designed you. He mined the material that make up you. You are precious and valuable. He placed you in circulation. All of this should give you a sense of optimism. Because you are made in His image you are capable of knowing and loving God. He designed you that way. God s grace can stamp you with His sense of goodness and love. It is God who placed eternity in your heart. Part of the work of the Holy Spirit was to seal you with the mark of redemption. Ephesians 1:13 (NKJV); In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, Do you understand what Jesus is saying? Give to God what belongs to God. You belong to God. Your mind your heart your soul. If you have not received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you owe it to him. 7