HG133-134 Matthew 22:15-33, Mark 12:13-27, Luke 20:20-40 Theology of Government

Harmony of the Gospels  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  21:16
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Luke 20:20–40 NKJV
20 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. 21 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: 22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 23 But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Why do you test Me? 24 Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” They answered and said, “Caesar’s.” 25 And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26 But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent. 27 Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 28 saying: “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second took her as wife, and he died childless. 31 Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died. 32 Last of all the woman died also. 33 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife.” 34 Jesus answered and said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; 36 nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.” 39 Then some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” 40 But after that they dared not question Him anymore.
So, some guys are sent to Jesus to pretend that they were righteous asking righteous questions. This is the craftiness of the devil. He tries to blindside us because he is our enemy. But for the fact that Jesus is who He is I wonder how we would have answered this question. There was more at stake for Jesus than just a political statement or giving credence to the Emperor and therefore getting the crowd against you. And the trap was in the sense that whatever you chose it was not going to turn out good for you. Today’s politicians I’m sure could get away with it by simply not answering the question or giving an answer to a different question. But back then you would not get away with it.
I, personally, am also wary of political questions and whilst I have some strong views about certain things or the way I think things should be done I do not endorse a political party in public and I don’t believe I have done so. The issue is that if I was a Pastor in London or in Chichester or in Glasgow or in Norfolk or here in Swansea the congregation would, on the whole, favour a particular party which are in opposition to all the other places I have mentioned. In this congregation there will be a wide range of views which have been moulded throughout our lives and we would have been influenced by family and friends as well as our faith. Of course, I may have something to say about certain political personalities should the need arise for we certainly would not want to support the kind that certain churches were supporting up to the second world war such as the Lutheran and Catholic Churches that supported Hitler. I think that there are dangerous individuals in politics today and we have to all make our judgement for those we will vote on when there are elections. But the day that Jesus lived there was no such thing as an election in the Roman Empire. At least we are given a say and so we should all live up to our rights as citizens.
However, Jesus did not come to talk politics but, of course, it is impossible to avoid for it affects every part of our lives. The politics that Jesus was more concerned with was with the Kingdom that He had come to establish which we read about two weeks’ ago in our 3 yr readings in:
Daniel 2:40–45 NKJV
40 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. 41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”
The fourth kingdom was the kingdom of Jesus’ day - the Roman Empire - and as we find out - it will be destroyed and in the fullness of time another kingdom will take its place and the place of all kingdoms - that is, the kingdom of God when all that went before shall seem like a shadow, a dream.
In Mark’s gospel we are told that the Herodians and Pharisees plot together to come up with their scheme. What is interesting about this is that they are enemies of each other. They were the extreme right and left wing as it were of politics. Herodians had thrown in their lot hook line and sinker with the Roman Empire and were completely in league with them. The Pharisees on the other hand wanted the Roman Empire out and wanted nothing to do with them. And that is how they came up with the dilemma that they did today.
But let us see their approach, first. These righteous pretenders reveal who they are immediately by their flattery. They want to bolster your pride. I don’t know about you but I find those who do this in an underhanded way seem really creepy to me. To be honest I find it difficult to receive compliments at the best of times but they had it down to an art form trying to catch you unawares to their plan. Gossip is the opposite of flattery. Gossip is saying behind their back what you would not say to their face. Instead, flattery is saying to their face what you would never say behind their back.
We are warned of such people in Scripture
Proverbs 29:5 NKJV
5 A man who flatters his neighbor Spreads a net for his feet.
Psalm 12:3 NKJV
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, And the tongue that speaks proud things,
Romans 16:18 NKJV
18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.
And so the question was posed. Tax was a very sensitive issue for their had already been revolts and indeed it will be this issue that will eventually lead to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70. So, why was this tax question in particular, so problematic. Because on the face of it there was no right answer. If Jesus had say ‘no’ you do need to pay taxes the Herodian part of this conspiracy against Jesus would run to the authorities and have him arrested as an insurrectionist. But if Jesus said ‘yes’ you do need to pay taxes then the people would simply reject Him as one who is collaborating with the oppressors.
They had been so crafty and thought they had got Him - these two opposing groups had come together in their joint hate of Jesus.
Jesus was not fooled by their flattery or their question. Show me a denarius, He said. Well someone there had one. On one side it had the head of Caesar and the inscription ‘Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus, Augustus’. The coin was an abomination to the Jews for it gave credence to the Emperor of being god which broke the command and was blasphemous.
And like the championship point of a tennis match about to be served at a Wimbledon final a hush was upon the crowd as they waited with bated breathe. How will He answer?
Whose portrait and inscription is on the coin? Caesars. And here came the answer that has gone down as one of the greatest soundbites of history long before Alexander Campbell and other communication directors. Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. Astounded by His answer there was nowhere for them to go for He had completely confounded them into silence. Their trap had unwound and sprung empty.
The coin was thought to be the property of the person whose picture and inscription was on them and so no one could object to giving Caesar what was already his own.
What an answer Jesus gave - we also need to be full of this kind of wisdom not just spouting our view on something - render to Caesar what is his and to God what is His.
Out of this saying has come our theology about the purpose of government and our relation to it. Today historians universally say that Jesus’ words have been the single most influential political statement ever made. It has been decisive and determinant in shaping western civilisation. And here is the theology set out by Paul and Peter that we need to give close scrutiny to. Let us hear closely what is going to be said for, as Christians, we need to get God’s perspective on politics:
Romans 13:1–7 NKJV
1 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. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. 7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
1 Peter 2:13–17 NKJV
13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, 14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
Governments are necessary for civilisation along with the rule of law. They exist to prevent evil getting out of hand. As Christians and as citizens we are to submit to authorities for it is God who has established them - whether like we in a democracy or a despot. And we have to remember that both Peter and Paul wrote what they wrote when Emperor Nero was on the throne, far worse than any other ruler with some notable exceptions.
Today there is a push against authority of all kinds whether our government, the police or God and His law. Our day is marked out by its lawlessness. This can be seen the increase in violence - at least 34 people have been stabbed to death in London this year alone. God has seen it fit not close the door as yet on this generation but the patience of God is not forever. When God removes His Church then lawlessness will get completely out of control and then the judgement of God will be poured out upon the inhabitants of the earth. For those who repent they shall be saved - it is the last-chance saloon for this time will be the last opportunity - God in His grace will leave the door open just a while longer even giving the schedule in Scripture. However, like today, Scripture is avoided, unread and ridiculed but it is there for them to discover and for us to warn that such a time is coming. This means that we also need to make sure we are not neglecting Scripture and not allowing our bibles to collect dust.
Having a government is better than being out of control for God has put it there for a reason. We are told to obey including all the laws, even traffic ones and paying our tax. But God expects the government to uphold the law and punish those who do wrong and reward those who do right and not allow corruption where those who do wrong are freed and those who do right suffer. This obviously applies to sexual morality and so we see that governments, including ours, are colluding what is wrong and even forcing parts of our nation to allow abortion and homosexual marriage. They can’t get proper business done at the moment in parliament but they have time to pass godless and lawless laws.
What this reveals is that Governments are not perfect and that means that there are times when a Christian can refuse to obey and submit. These, though, are few and far between. Like in Daniel when he was told to pray to King Darius for 30 days in Daniel 6 that you will read this week, he did not and instead prayed to God three times a day as was his usual practice. He ended up in the Lion’s den as a result and we know that God saved him though, under conscience, God may not always save us from persecution for righteousness’ sake.
So, when are we allowed to resist authority?
When we are asked to voilate God’s command
When we are asked to do an immoral act
When we are asked to violate our Christian conscience
And we know that in our United Kingdom there are magistrates and registrars and others who have lost their jobs in recent times for conscience’ sake.

Conclusion

Well, just as the coin belonged to Caesar because it had his image printed on it, we also belong to God for we bear His image. This is something that we were trying to grasp and understand at a recent Wednesday meeting. We bear His image especially in our sense of what is right and wrong. And we know that right is right. And that is true even though we are not perfect in our senses. We are also those who have a sense that this life is not all for we have in us something that animals do not and that is the eternal. We know that our existence is not finite even though we are going to die.
We bear the image of God and if that is truly so then we need to give to God what is God’s. Have we?
This Jesus who answered in such a remarkable way to silence the questioners wants us. We must give God what is His which is our very lives. He wants us! Now, that is even more remarkable!

Benediction

Revelation 1:5–6 NKJV
5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Bibliography

Hughes, R. K. (1998). Luke: that you may know the truth. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
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