Our Loyalty to God and the state
I begin my sermon with a story: A man came to an Anglican Church and asked to see the Vicar. “Vicar,” he said, “My dog died and I would like a Christian burial for him.” The Vicar said, “I’m sorry to hear about your dog, but we Anglicans don’t do funerals for dogs. You might try the Baptist church down the street. Baptists will do most anything.” Or the Pentecostals. The man turned sadly and said, “I’m sorry you won’t do my dog’s funeral, but I understand. I’ll try the Baptist church. But would you tell me how much would it be appropriate give the Baptist Church as a memorial if they do the funeral? I was thinking of a gift of £10,000. Do you think that is enough? “Wait a minute,” the Vicar said. “You didn’t tell me that your dog was Anglican…” There was a complete change in attitude.
Now talking about money and in particular paying tax the Herodians were out to trick Jesus and so they came up to him and said: “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” (Mt 22;16-17)
On the face of it, it seems a simple story, but there is a lot of skulduggery in the background.
Firstly, look at the two parties who opposed Jesus on this occasion: the Pharisees and the Herodians. The subtlety of the situation has been lost to us over the centuries. In any other situation, these two groups wouldn’t have passed the time of day with each other. The Pharisees were “devout” Jews. They were sworn enemies of the Romans and vigorously opposed Roman rule. And they stood against paying taxes to Caesar.
The Herodians, on the other hand, were the party of that Roman stooge, Herod. They were the wealthy and privileged class who gladly collaborated with the enemy - helping them rule the Jews - in exchange for status and power in society. So they would have no problems in paying taxes to Caesar!! The adage: “My enemy’s enemy is my friend.” was certainly true that day.
The enemies of Rome and friends of Rome were united in their opposition to Jesus.
And so they put the “Catch 22” question to Jesus Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” (Mt 22:17) At first it looks quite an innocent question. If you asked me today if we should pay council taxes or not – I wouldn’t have any problems giving you an answer!!! as it is not a controversial issue. But if Jesus said “Yes” or “No” he was in trouble.
Let’s look at the background: The tax that they are referring was the “poll tax” – and we know how popular “poll taxes “ can be – even in recent history. You may recall that the introduction of the “poll tax” in the eighties was the downfall of Margaret Thatcher!! The first Century “poll tax” was payable directly to Caesar. It was one denarius - about one day’s wage. Of all the taxes of the day, this “poll tax” was most problematic for the Jews. The “poll tax” of all the taxes was uniquely required in Roman currency – with coins that bore the image of Caesar. As one commentator put it The coin was particularly objectionable to the pious Jews because it bore the “graven image” of Caesar, and an inscription describing him as “son of a god”. So in effect contravening the First of the Ten Commandments.
In contrast, for everyday commerce, special copper coins were used, without these features.
So the objectionable coinage was only used to pay the “poll tax”. So Jesus had a real dilemma.
If he said “yes” Jesus had a great following among pious Jews – Jews to whom the poll tax was particularly offensive. So if Jesus said: “Yes, it is fine to pay the tax to Caesar”, he risked losing his popular power base.
If he were to answer, “No, you should not pay Caesar anything”, the Herodians would have had him up on a charge of sedition. And they would have had little problem persuading the Romans to take Jesus out of circulation.
So what did Jesus do? I love Jesus answer – I love the sleight of hand. It is a tremendous answerJesus asked for a coin, but not just any old coin. He asked for the coin used to pay the tax. Immediately, someone reached into his pocket and pulls a denarius out. Jesus took it in his hand and looked at it – with the Roman emperor’s image on it and said: “Render unto Caesar’s the things that are Caesars and to God the things that are of God” (Mt. 22:21) The reply is awesome. It is brilliant – a stroke of genius. And his accusers were stunned. So much so that they didn’t try to coax more out of him than that.
What did Jesus mean. And over the centuries, theologians have argued about what Jesus meant. One interpretation has been that Jesus’ reply is saying, “Yes pay the Romans their taxes”. And others – in particular the liberation theologians of South America- have interpreted Jesus saying in a completely opposite sense. “As Caesar is an invader and dictator who has not right here, he is not due anything at all – except the boot to get him out." I don’t agree that is what Christ meant. He meant that everyone should pay their tax to Rome.
But whatever Jesus meant in the secular, let’s not forget that we are to pay God his due too if we are his disciples. So what can we draw from this today? The problem is not such a hot potato in our Western society as it was in Jesus day. In the first century AD, the state and religion were closely joined. As an old Bible teacher Michael Green wrote: "The cult of the gods and the power of the ruler" went hand in hand (Matthew - Michael Green p. 232-233) But it is a real dilemma in countries where the State (such as certain Islamic and Communist states) persecutes Christians and demands their religious allegiance away from Christ.
We all enjoy the benefits that the State brings. What would we do without electricity, roads, rail and running water? As Michael Green has so succinctly put it: In Jesus day, the Jews benefited from "imperial roads, education, justice and freedom from invasion.... Jesus was saying that those who enjoy Caesar's benefits should pay Caesar's taxes" We can, as Christians, be good citizens in a secular society provided what that society asks of us does not contravene our commitment to Christ. “Render unto Caesar’s the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are of God” (Mt. 22:21) cannot mean anything else. For our ultimate loyalty lies with Jesus and our heavenly Father. I was very taken by a remark Michael Green made in his commentary on Matthew. In Jesus' response to the Pharisee, he used the Greek word "apodote" which is translated render or give back.
"The coin bore Caesar's image: give it back to him. You bear God's image: so give yourself back to him." Perhaps that puts a fresh complexion on Jesus answer. Not only are we to be good citizens of where we live in so far as it does not require us to be in conflict with our duty to God. BUT also Jesus is challenging us to be his disciples yet again. Are we ready to give ourselves back to Christ IN HIS SERVICE. You might say: I am not a vicar or an evangelist – but I can tell you - you can still serve in a multitude of different ways in how we live our lives.