Two Kingdoms

01 July 2018 Michael Cloete Malelane Baptist Church Two Kingdoms Reading: Mark 12:13-17 (NIV) “Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him.” (Mark 12:13–17, NIV84) Introduction If you are interacting with social media on a fairly regular basis, you may recall seeing various articles or postings calling on South Africans to engage in a tax boycott. Stop paying your taxes, say the postings, and in this way you will help in forcing the government to do certain things. The reasons that different people will give for their call to tax evasion will vary extensively, but in every case, those who make the call are convinced that it is not only right and fitting to stop paying your taxes to the government, but some would go so far as to say that it is a moral obligation! They would argue that you should not be paying taxes to a corrupt government. Or perhaps, you should not be paying taxes to a government that supports this position on a touchy subject. The struggle on whether or not to pay taxes is not a new one however. Back in the 1st century, around the time that Christ lived, this was a very sensitive topic indeed. It was a particularly sensitive subject for the Jews. They were under the Roman rule, and there was a procurator assigned for the collection of taxes. Particularly, in AD6, there has been a census done in the land, and every male of the Jews had to pay what was known as a poll tax to Caesar. Those Jewish people who were very zealous for God, the nation Israel, the promised land etc. were exceedingly perturbed at having to pay money to Caesar. One man in particular, a man by the name of Judas of Galilee, led a revolt against this tax when it was instituted. He said that if they were going to pay this tax to the Roman officials, then they were as good as slaves to Rome. His words were: “Taxation is no better than downright slavery!” Judas of Galilee met the fate that was typical of those who opposed the Roman rule. We read in Acts 5:37… ““…Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census and drew away some people after him; he too perished, and all those who followed him were scattered.” (Acts 5:37, NASB95) The Roman rulers dealt with him swiftly. But all this just to set the picture and the tone for the next question that is going to be levelled at Jesus. You will recall that we considered the question from the Sanhedrin about Christ’s authority. Then we had Christ telling a prophetic parable against the Sanhedrin. They’re fed-up with him, and are trying to get Jesus killed by trapping him with his words in such a way that he will be seen to be worthy of death. The Sanhedrin failed to trap him with their question. Instead, they were shown to be how inferior they were, and just how authorititative Christ was! But that doesn’t stop them. We find in this next portion of Mark’s Gospel 3 further attempts at trapping Jesus: 1 challenge against Christ (which we consider today) will come from the Pharisees and Herodians. The next one will come from the Sadducees, and the final one will be again from a Scribe. 1. The Plot (vv.12-14a) Mark 12:13–17 (NASB95) 13Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians… The “they” in this context is the Sanhedrin, who were unable to trick Christ in their own questions and tests. They’ve been outdone by Christ through his own questions. Furthermore, they’ve been directly challenged as Christ told them the parable of the vine growers. In that parable, not only were they told that they were under the judgment of God, but it became clear that Christ was very well aware of their plots to have him killed. That’s why He referred in his parable to the vine growers putting the Son to death. Now, instead of confronting Him themselves, they send others in order to hide their own guilt. The Pharisees themselves were very much against Jesus. They had challenged Him on numerous occasions. He went against their strict (man-made) rules and regulations in terms of Sabbath observance and other areas. They had already been involved in various encounters with Jesus and confrontations with Jesus, to the point that they had gone out with a view to having Him be put to death. Pharisees / Herodians - Mark 3:6… We need to recognize the strangeness of this teaming up here with the Herodians – those who followed Herod. Herod was the client-king, put in place by the Roman authorities. The Herodians were not a religious people, but rather those who followed this king Herod, who was merely tolerant of the religious views of the Jews (but intolerant of John the Baptist and his gospel of repentance). The only reason that these two groups team up again is because this is suited to trapping Jesus, and having witnesses, when Jesus gives the wrong answer to the question that they seek to pose to him. … to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. The purpose of them teaming up is in order to trap Jesus in a statement. What will follow in the subsequent verses are attempts by various parties to trap Jesus. Everyone was out to get him. Their tolerance for Jesus was at an end long ago already, and the discontentment for Christ was growing. They were intent on putting an end to Him by whatever means they could. 14They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that… You are truthful As these two groups of people approach Jesus, they are going to begin their attempts at deceiving and trapping by trying to mask their actions with words of praise and adulation. They think that they can impress Jesus by their words describing His accuracy of truth, his greatness, and his superiority over others. If your child / teenager had to approach you, and say the words: “Dad / Mom, you’re just the best father that has ever existed on the face of the earth; you make such sound, wise decisions and judgments, and I really just admire your brilliance.” Your answer to that is most likely going to be “what do you want?!” Or perhaps you’ll be just a little more abrupt, and say “The answer is no!” But these Pharisees and Herodians come to Jesus with their flattery in order to win Him over, and perhaps make him let down his guard!! And for the most part, they actually speak some pretty accurate words about Jesus… You are truthful… Those were entirely accurate words concerning Christ. He himself said “I am the way, the truth and the life…” Jesus was truthful! He was the very revelation of God who Himself is the truth. So the Pharisees and Herodians were quite correct in their assertion that Jesus was truthful. In fact, they hardly had basis on which to accuse Him of falsehood, otherwise they would most certainly have done so by this time. …and defer to no one for You are not partial to any… They also recognize that Christ deferred to no one, and that he wasn’t partial to any. Any other words, they were saying something to the effect of: You’re not like those crowd from the Sanhedrin, who couldn’t answer your question to them about John the Baptist because they were afraid of the crowd. Do you see the absurdity of the entire exercise here by these people? They at least recognized (although not very sincerely or cheerfully) that Jesus didn’t show partiality. …but teach the way of God in truth… Instead, they state to Jesus that He teaches the way of God in truth. Again, this is a very true statement. Nothing untrue whatsoever about it. Over and over again in His words, Jesus said “I tell you the truth” (Truly, truly I say to you…). He preaching the sermon on the mount, Jesus used this phrase no less than 5 times. If you carry on through the Gospel of Matthew, you find time and again, those words are used by Jesus. Indeed, he truly did come to teach the way of God in truth! But how astounding for this to come from the Pharisees. They were the ones who refused to listen to his very words which stated that He was Lord of the Sabbath – and they wanted to rather plot to put Him to death. They had no interest in listening to this so-called “truth” of Jesus, even though they were here correctly asserting that He spoke truth. 2. The Question (vv.14b-15a) With the plot now formulated, and in play, with their flattering words having hopefully prepared Jesus, they go on to present their question to Jesus. Vv.14b-15a… …Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? 15“Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” Depending on which Bible version you’re reading, it may simply read “is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar.” But the specific tax that they had in mind as they brought this question to Jesus was what was known as the “poll tax”. As mentioned earlier, we need to keep in mind that all Roman taxes (customs, tolls, etc.) were unpopular for the Jews, but the poll tax was a particularly offensive demand for Jewish patriots. This was the tax against which Judas of Galilee led that revolt. He was not going to have them paying this tax to Rome. So, this was a really sticky, ugly, touchy subject for the Jews. They didn’t want to be involved in paying this tax at all. But what made the question so precarious for Jesus to answer was the team of people that had come to confront him. On the one hand, there were the Pharisees – devout Jews, those who had no desire to pay the tax. If Jesus answered that they should pay the tax, he would face the revolt from the Pharisees, but further than that, he would have the ordinary Jewish man turning against Him, because they hated the idea of paying the tax. On the other hand, the Herodians were also there. They were the ones who supported Herod, and thus were in support of the tax being collected. If Jesus said that they shouldn’t pay the tax, then the Herodians would here this and they would most certainly report him to the Roman officials, and He would have been handed over to be condemned because He was going against the rulers of the day – the Romans! So again, a trap designed just for Jesus – to try and trick Him into a difficult position so that he is unable to answer, or would perhaps answer incorrectly, and then they would have grounds to put him to death. 3. The Response (vv.15b-17) We then see the wise response from Jesus in verses 15b-17. But He, knowing their hypocrisy said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.” Jesus was not fooled by their flattery and attempts at false humility. He knew their hearts perfectly well. He knew their hypocrisy. They were presenting themselves as one thing on the outside – play acting! – but on the inside they were full of deceit. And so, Jesus tell them that they should bring him a Denarius. The head tax was paid by a silver denarius, which was a Roman coin, and on it was the inscription / picture of Caesar. We need to realise that Coins in the ancient world were used for propaganda effect, and this coin bore an image of the emperor and proclaimed Roman ideology. The coin itself had a picture of the emperor on it. Above the picture of the emperor the superscription read (translated): “Tiberius Caesar, August Son of the Divine Augustus”. It was ironic that Jesus, the true son of God, was receiving a coin with the assertion that Tiberius Caesar was the son of the divine. On this point alone, we may have expected Jesus to become angry – how could this Caesar dare claim to be linked in any way to divinity. This was part of what made the Israelites to despise this Roman rule. They were angered by it – it was a sore point for them! If that wasn’t bad enough, the reverse side of the coin had a female figure seated on a throne, wearing a crown and holding an inverted spear in her right hand and a palm or olive branch in her left. The superscription read: “Pontif[ex] Maxim[us]” (“High Priest”). The woman was either a priestess or Livia, the wife of Augustus and mother of Tiberias, and the coin proclaimed the peace which existed between the different nationalities within the Roman Empire, which empire was said to have all the world in subjection under it. Imagine as a Jew, having a coin which called Caesar the son of god, and on the back of that coin, a picture of a woman who is called a “high priest.” It would have been utterly, utterly offensive to the Jews! This coin was, in effect, a portable idol, promulgating pagan ideology. We then read in verse 16… 16They brought one. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” There is some irony in the fact that those asking Jesus the question possess the Roman coin for the tax, whereas Jesus does not. It very possibly spoke to something of Jesus’ poverty or lack of material possessions, that he didn’t have such a coin on him. But these Pharisees who were asking the question apparently share more complicity in the tax system than their question suggests. The fact that they possessed the coin demonstrated that they implicitly recognized the authority of the emperor and therefore were hypocrites in asking the question. This was not the case for the Herodians – they were more than happy to pay the tax, because they supported Herod. But what they have to acknowledge, as Jesus asks them whose inscription it is on the coin, is that the inscription is that of Caesar himself. Perhaps they did not desire to be under Caesars rule. Perhaps they didn’t desire to have to pay this tax that was implemented against them. But they at the very least needed to recognize that the coin was a Roman coin with Caesars inscription. 17And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” What is important to recognize here in this response is the word that is used as this instruction is given. In Greek, the word comes from ἀποδίδωμι (apodidomi) which means literally to “pay back” or to “return” to. What Jesus then is saying simply is that they must pay back to Caesar what already belongs to him. The coin that was minted by the emperor and had his image stamped on it was considered to be his personal property even while it was in circulation. Therefore it was proper for Jews and (later) Christians to return it to him. In saying this, Jesus was acknowledging and teaching the fact that God’s people have an obligation to the state. He didn’t precisely define that obligation as this stage. But He very clearly told them that they were to pay back what was owed to the state. This would have been significant to the audience to whom Mark was writing his Gospel (Roman readers). They would have then recognized that they too had an obligation to the Roman government. Jesus was not one who identified himself with the revolutionaries (such as Judas of Galilee, mentioned earlier). We need to also understand very clearly that the Jewish people received a benefit from the Roman government. Certainly they didn’t have the freedoms that they may have wanted, but they received the benefit of a relatively peaceful and stable society. They received the benefit of a road network that was well developed. They had great infrastructure developed. There was protection from enemies by the Roman army. There was a court system to which the people could appeal in the event that there was injustice. None of these were insignificant – Rome was powerful; wealthy; advanced. And so, in many ways they were benefitting from their lives under the Roman government. Having dealt with the aspect of giving to Caesar the things that are Caesars, we now consider the next words that Christ said: “…and to God the things that are God’s.” But Jesus didn’t stop at saying to these Pharisees and Herodians that they should render to Caesar that which is Caesar’s. He went on to say that they should render to God the things that are God’s. Consider for a moment what has just unfolded in terms of the coin being shown to Jesus, the coin bearing the image of that man Caesar. That coin, bearing as it did the image of Caesar, in reality belonged to Caesar, and was due back to him. But if the coin, bearing the image of Caesar should rightly have been given back to Caesar, how much more should the lives of those standing before Jesus have been given fully to God, since they themselves were image-bearers of God! In fact, the word that Jesus used back in verse 16, when asked the Pharisees and Herodians whose “likeness” it was on the coin, was using the same word used in the Septuagint (Greek version of the Old Testament) in Genesis 1:26-27… In Genesis 1:26-27, we read: “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:26–27, NASB95) The fact that these men were themselves image bearers of God, meant that they belonged to God Himself! And so, although there was an important aspect of there being a due to Caesar for that which belonged to him, how much greater was the due to God of these Pharisees and Herodians, who were His image bearers? And precisely the same point applies to each one of us today. The fact that we bear the image of the creator God, that we were created by Him and for Him, for His glory alone, means that we have a responsibility to live our lives in such a way that they bring glory and honour to God. Romans 11:33-36 “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:33–36, NASB95) In 1 Corinthians 6:20, Paul makes the argument: “For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:20, NASB95) And later on, in 10:31… “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31, NASB95) Many of the Psalms speak of glory and praise being given up to God (and rightly so), calling men to give all of themselves for the glory of the living God. And that is indeed what is due to our God. In Isaiah 43:6-7, God said through the prophet Isaiah… ““I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth, Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”” (Isaiah 43:6–7, NASB95) When Christ responded to these Pharisees and Herodians, he made it very clear to them that they had a responsibility to the earthly governing authorities. But He also made it clear to them that their greater responsibility was to God Himself. In fact, any obedience to the earthly authorities is really only an outworking and demonstration of faith in the greater authority, which is God. With Christ’s exhortation to these men to render their due in the appropriate place, we find the response of those who were testing Him: And they were amazed at Him. There is no response. They are utterly amazed at the wisdom with which Christ answers. Not only have the failed in their efforts to trap him and catch him out with their question, but they have been left entirely speechless. Applications Having considered the encounter itself, let us give some consideration to the importance of what it is that Christ says here, and then also some words of practical application. 1. The extent of God’s requirements The first important aspect that we can learn from Christ’s response here is the extent of God’s requirements, and that should be under stood in two ways. 1.1. Obligation towards Earthly Governors In the first place, we have an obligation towards our earthly governors, and the obligation is not insignificant! Those who are in authority over a nation are God’s representatives upon earth. The authority which they sustain, is no other than God’s own authority delegated to them. As Christians, we need to be exemplary examples of obedience to those authorities, because they are established by God. The most clear example of this in the Scriptures is found in Romans 13:1-2… “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.” (Romans 13:1–2, NASB95) There is a very clear scriptural injunction to be in subjection to those authorities. Now when Paul wrote to the Romans, he was writing to a people who were under Roman rule, which wasn’t favoring them, and which didn’t in fact care much at all about the God and Father of Jesus Christ, although it allowed worship of various gods. And so, when Paul wrote those words, we need to realise that he didn’t say what he said because the earthly rulers honoured God in their laws, but simply because they were in a position of authority. Furthermore, the command to be subject to earthly authorities is not given only to be obeyed when those earthly authorities treat you well or kindly. In fact, Scripture never basis obedience to its commands on whether or not others are obeying its commands! What we do find in Scripture is that each and every one of us has the obligation to obey God’s commands irrespective of others obedience to God’s commands. So if you find in life that the ruling authorities are treating you unfairly, or are dealing with you harshly, or doing things which you believe are contrary to God’s will, is that a reason to now dishonor them, and go against them? Certainly NOT! At least not insofar as they do not require you to go against God’s word. God’s word says that we should not repay evil with evil, but rather should repay evil with good…! Getting back to what Paul was saying to the Romans in Romans 13, we find these words later on in the same chapter… “Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:5–8, NASB95) And so friends, there is a very clear injunction here from Scripture that people are to live in subjection to ruling authorities. Now let’s bring that a little closer to home. We live in a country that has ruling authorities (don’t worry, I’m not going to get all political, and start taking political sides. I’m also not going to call up my favourite politician and get them to come and preach a sermon here, as is so common in our country – one must marvel that each of these politicians is seemingly praying to the same “God”, although they all do it to their own personal gain, against the other politicians going to other churches to get those churches to pray to the same God, thinking that god is on the side of their politician, rather than the other politician… I digress – what a mess!) But the fact is, we are to honour those who are in those positions of authority, because they have been placed there by God. And as defunct and dysfunctional as the any government may be, at the very least, there is some measure – thank the Lord for this – some measure of law and order. There is not anarchy. AS those who are to bear a Christian witness and testimony for the glory of God, it is essential that we honour those in authority and show them respect. In Proverbs, there are various passages which speak about the wrath of a king in the case of man disobeying…. Proverbs 19:12 “The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion, But his favor is like dew on the grass.” (Proverbs 19:12, NASB95) Proverbs 20:2 “The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion; He who provokes him to anger forfeits his own life.” (Proverbs 20:2, NASB95) Proverbs 25:15 “By forbearance a ruler may be persuaded, And a soft tongue breaks the bone.” (Proverbs 25:15, NASB95) I should add at this point, that we need to keep reminding ourselves as Christians that our duty is not only to submit to the authority of the rulers of the nation, but we have an obligation to pray for them. 1 Timothy 2:1-4… “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” (1 Timothy 2:1–2, NASB95) There are many times when the prevailing thought and temptation is to speak evil of rulers and authorities. And as much as I recognize where that comes from, we really need to be careful of how we speak as Christians, and the things that we are saying about our leaders. Loyalty, even towards a Nero or a Saul, ought to be a very prominent feature in the Christian character. Recall the instance of David, as he hid with his men in a cave as Saul was pursuing him. He wouldn’t lift a finger against Saul. To defraud the government through the withholding of taxes, this again would be to dishonor those in authority over us, and would be of which every Christian should be ashamed. 1.2. Obligation to God But not only do we have an obligation towards our earthly governors, but we have an obligation towards God Himself. Towards God himself we are bound to render all possible obedience. All that we are, and all that we have, is his. We are his by creation. And as those in Christ, we are his in a more especial manner by redemption. “We are bought with a price, even the precious blood of his only dear Son; and we are, therefore, bound to glorify him with our body and our spirit, which are his”. I would urge you dear friend, to assess yourself this morning, and ask if you have given yourself over to God entirely. Earlier we sang that song “All to Jesus, I surrender.” Did you mean those words when you sang them? All to Jesus I surrender All to Him I freely give I will ever love and trust Him In His presence daily live Do those words ring true in your life? We need to be cautious of singing words without meaning them, or of saying things without truly meaning what we say. We are called to no less than a complete surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord, even if that means giving up all that we have; all our ambitions, hopes and plans. I ask again, have you given yourself completely to God, and to service and worship of Him in all that you do? 2. The harmony of them We’ve considered “The extent of God’s requirements” on us, and we now finally consider “The Harmony of God’s Requirements.” These duties that we have to governing authorities and to God are by no means opposed the one to the other. If one were to consider the 10 commandments that were written on stone tablets by Moses, you would find that the two tables of the law are in perfect harmony with each other. The first table gives laws concerning our duty to God, the second table gives laws concerning our duty to our fellow man. In the New Testament, we find that expressed when Jesus confirms that the greatest command is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and the second is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commands depend the whole Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:40). Most certainly, God is to be obeyed in the first place. If any man (including governing officials) places a duty or requirement on us that is contrary to God’s requirements, then we will have to say as Peter and the apostles did when they were on trial: “We must obey God rather than man.” But we should not by default place them in opposition to each other. We should rather place our duty to man in subordination to our duty to God. In fact, we should make it our endeavor to honour the ruling authorities (and every earthly human authority as a demonstration of our worship to God, and our honour of Him. In closing, we need to recognize that it is not a mere formal service or outward display that God requires, but rather He requires the service of the heart. It ought never to be under compulsion that we submit to governing authorities; it ought never to be under compulsion that we pay taxes. Rather we should do these things from a heart overflowing with joy towards God, and recognizing God’s sovereign hand over all things in this world, even over those who are in authority! May it be in our own lives, that the words of the Lord’s prayer would ring true in our hearts: “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” That will of God being done begins within the hearts and lives of His people, as they submit themselves to Him and obey Him in all things! I ask again, is your heart surrendered to the living God? Is your every step and move in life being motivated and prompted by obedience to Him?