FIRST READING Isaiah 45:1-7
1Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: 2“I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, 3I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. 4For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. 5I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, 6that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. 7I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.”
PSALM Psalm 96:1-13
1Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the whole earth. 2Sing to the Lord and bless his Name; proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day. 3Declare his glory among the nations and his wonders among all peoples. 4For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; he is more to be feared than all gods. 5As for all the gods of the nations, they are but idols; but it is the Lord who made the heavens. 6Oh, the majesty and magnificence of his presence! Oh, the power and the splendor of his sanctuary! 7Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples; ascribe to the Lord honor and power. 8Ascribe to the Lord the honor due his name; bring offerings and come into his courts. 9Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; let the whole earth tremble before him. 10Tell it out among the nations: “The Lord is King! he has made the world so firm that it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.” 11Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea thunder and all that is in it; let the field be joyful and all that is therein. 12Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy before the Lord when he comes, when he comes to judge the earth. 13He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with his truth.
SECOND READING 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 2We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
GOSPEL Matthew 22:15-22
15The Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle {Jesus} in his words. 16And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
PAY TO ALL WHO DEBT IS OWED
Late one night in Washington, D.C. a mugger wearing a ski mask jumped into the path of a well dressed man and stuck a gun in his ribs. “Give me your money!” he demanded. Indignant, the affluent man replied, “You can’t do this to me . . . I’m a US Congressman!” “In that case,” replied the robber, “give me back my money!” The problem is that sometimes people think that their position makes them better than others, or worse yet, smarter than anyone else.
During one of her interviews, Martha Stout, the author of the book “The Sociopath Next Door,” told the reporter to; “suspect flattery. We all enjoy being complimented, especially when the accolade is sincere. But flattery is different. In contrast, flattery is extreme; it’s meant to appeal to our egos in an unrealistic way. Excessive adulation is the material of counterfeit charm, and nearly always involves an intent to manipulate. Now while manipulation through flattery can sometimes be innocuous, it can however, at times be sinister. Such was the case in our gospel reading for this morning when the disciples of the Pharisees and the Herodians come to Jesus. These so called, religious leaders, thought they were better than Jesus; they thought they were smarter than this influential teacher. And the flattery they showered on Jesus that day was nothing more than a ruse, a mask designed to disguise their evil intent.
Now while imitation is said to be the sincerest form of flattery, I’m certain the religious leaders in our Matthew reading had no intention of imitating or complementing Jesus in a good way. Their intent was to manipulate Him into entrapping Himself. However, as they quickly learned, manipulation only works, if the person being influenced is unaware of what’s going on, until it’s too late. What was it that Mark Twain was famous for saying? “You should never get into a battle of wits with a superior opponent when you’re unarmed.” This was the case with the religious leaders in our gospel lesson for this morning. They tried to match wits with a superior opponent. The sad part was, this wasn’t the first time. I guess it’s true, you can’t fix stupid.
The Pharisees have recently tried to challenge Jesus’ authority (Matt. 21:23-27.) In response, Jesus tells them three parables where in the third, they entrap themselves by pronouncing a death sentence on themselves (21:41.) Now the disciples of the Pharisees and the Herodians come to Jesus and try to deceive Him in much the same manner. This whole scene for me is rather humorous, not only because the religious leaders are trying match wits with God, which is hilarious in and of itself, but that the two groups of people who generally can’t stand each other, come to Jesus, to ask Him a question. Add to all of this, they try using flattery to catch Jesus off guard. The whole scene reeks of hypocrisy, and yet they try it anyway. It’s sad how some people just never seem to learn.
Their goal was to trick Jesus into saying something that would either get Him in trouble with the Roman government or would alienate Him from the masses. To the arrogant, self-entitled religious leaders, their plan, seemed fool proof. If Jesus were to say you must pay taxes, then He would lose favor with the crowd. The Jewish people viewed the Roman government, as an oppressive and ungodly regime. The Jews also believed that only a person of Jewish descent, ordained by God, could rule over them and to support anyone else was viewed as sacrilegious.
This view was backed by the Mosaic Law found in Deuteronomy 17:15 which says; “you are not permitted to put a foreigner over you, who is not of your own community”. In addition to the issue of a foreign ruler, the money needed to pay the poll tax, was also viewed as offensive. The only money the people could use to pay the Roman tax had the inscription, Caesar the divine. This of course was distasteful, since it violates the first Commandment forbidding engraved images. A devout Jew wouldn’t even carry or handle this money voluntarily. This is why Jesus had to ask for one of the coins to be brought to Him. On the other hand, if Jesus said no to taxes; He would remain popular with the people, but then could be charged with insurrection against the Roman government, a charge, punishable by death. Isn’t it interestingly that this was one of the charges Jesus was accused of during His trial before Pilate?
The gospel of Luke records that the chief priests and scribes accused Jesus of teaching that the Jews were forbidden to pay taxes to Caesar. Even after Jesus silenced the Pharisees’ disciples and Herodians by clearly stating, that we are to pay to the government what is due to the government, they still used this as an excuse to have Him crucified. Maybe this helps to explain why Pilot insisted that he could find no fault with Jesus that deserved death.
Of course, this is just one of the many reasons the religious leaders were upset with Jesus. Jesus had on a previous occasion, trapped them, into convicting themselves in the parable of the wicked tenants. Jesus simply told them a story from their own history. Yet in their own self-righteousness, they failed to see that they were the ones guilty of ignoring and killing many of God’s messengers. It was from their own desire for control that they wanted to supplant God’s commands with their own rules. Now they come to match wits with Jesus, which again demonstrates what Jesus was trying to teach; the problem was their desire to serve themselves rather than to honor and obey God. Jesus was simply trying to show them that their motivation was wrong.
Their motive was to eliminate anyone who they saw, as a threat to their position or their teachings. Earlier in chapter 15 Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah concerning their teachings; “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrine”. But Jesus knew their hearts and their motives, and once again sends them away, amazed at His wisdom.
What’s interesting in this story is that Jesus simply changed one word, and turned the whole thing around. They asked Him, is it lawful to “pay” the annual tax. Jesus’ answer was that we should “render” to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. This may seem like a subtle difference but it carries tremendous meaning. To pay tax money to Rome was to honor Caesar as a legitimate ruler and a divine being in the eyes of the Jewish people. However, Jesus turns this around and tells them to repay what is owed. It had nothing to do with the status of Caesar; it has everything to do with recognizing that God is the one who establishes earthly authority, and we’re commanded to respect, this authority (Rom. 13:1-2.) Later Paul instructs us in 1 Timothy to also pray for our leaders when he said. “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2:1-3.)
Additionally, Paul tells us in Romans; “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.” Then a little further in verse six Paul continues by saying; “This is also why you pay taxes. For the authorities are God’s servants, who devote themselves to their work. Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love, for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the Law.”
These are the passages that Luther used to argue that legitimate civil ordinances are good creations of God. In his treaties on the Two Kingdoms, Luther teaches that the right-hand kingdom deals with the spiritual realm and the left-hand, or temporal kingdom, is the civil realm which deals with the laws that govern proper behavior in this world. God, of course, established and is control of both and both are subject to Him. The gospel doesn’t introduce new laws into the civil realm; legitimate civil laws are based on Biblical principles. This is why we’re commanded to obey civil laws as long as those laws do not contradict what God commands.
Obedience to civil law is one of the ways we show love to our neighbors. The truth is, legitimate civil laws place no real restraint on a Christian. If we indeed follow the 10 Commandments and treated others with genuine love, then we will have fulfilled the requirements of civil law and for the Christian, the law then is unnecessary, because we would treat out neighbors with respect.
Out of love and respect for others, we’ll behave in a manner where there would be no need for lawsuits, litigation, courts, judges or penalties. Our actions would in no way harm others and from our resources we would reach out and help the needy. Unfortunately, not everyone fears nor honors God; therefore, God has instituted the left-hand kingdom which creates and enforces temporal laws. To live peacefully in this world, society needs laws that restrain the behavior of the ungodly. And because society needs laws, we also need enforcement. Therefore, taxes must be assessed.
But society has grown and changed. Not only do we need law enforcement, we also have come to rely on fire and rescue personnel as well as social services. The first two are needed for our protection and safety; social agencies are needed to care for those in society who are unable to care themselves. In Biblical times, the laws were written so that the needy had a way to take care of themselves. For example, Mosaic laws dictated that the fields would not be gleaned. Part of the crop was intentionally left unharvested so that the widows, orphans and the sojourners in the land could gather and sell it in order to support themselves. Additionally, it was understood that the land belonged to God and was cared for by the families so they could care of each other. Under the Mosaic laws, there was little need for a social welfare system. Today is different however, we view land ownership much differently.
Our attitude in this country is similar to that of the Roman government; we feel we own the land and the increase from the land. And with the invention of mechanized harvesting, mega farms and large cities, there’s no way we can support the needy in our society under these Mosaic laws. Therefore, we depend on the government to provide support for those who would otherwise have no means of supporting themselves. We accomplish this through charities as well as through the assessment and collection of taxes. When all things are considered, the need to “render” or support the government for the services it provides is obvious. We pay taxes for national and local protection and social programs that support the common good. While we might begrudge the taxes and fees we pay, they are necessary for us and for others, so we pay them anyway. Not only that, it’s the law, and we’re commanded to obey all legitimate laws. The difference of how we see this need to render unto Caesar is our attitude. Is it simply a bill, or is it a repayment for the services we need and depend upon every day?
I realize that in almost every case, the government dictates what taxes and fees are owed by each of us. I also recognize that the government’s attitude is that taxes are a bill or an obligation as a citizen. This attitude has nothing to do with whether or not we’re willing to pay; it has to do with something demanded. It has to do with obeying the law or suffering the consequences. If we want our purchases such as groceries or fuel or clothing we must pay the sales or fuel tax. Want that new car? Accept the fact that taxes are a part of taking it home. Want to take that vacation? Expect a hefty hotel tax to be part of that next get away. The local and federal governments demand what’s been levied and as an obedient member of both heaven and earth, we must render that which is due. But what about the second half of Jesus’ statement; give back to God the things that are God’s?
As children of God and joint heirs with Christ in His kingdom, we understand that everything belongs to God; we’re simply the good stewards of His blessings. This is something every Jewish child learned from their youth. Psalm 24:1 tells us “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world and those who live in it”. God, unlike the government, doesn’t demand a tax, He wants our obedience and worship. Obedience and worship are services that we render to God from a thankful heart. It’s out of thanksgiving, obedience and worship that our attitude of giving back to God the things that belong to Him comes from.
It isn’t some set amount that God demands; rather in our service to God, we joyfully worship and serve through our prayer, praise, time, talent and tithes. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (9:7.) Jesus also recognized the need to support the operation of the temple. In Matthew 17:27, even though the temple tribute was voluntary, Jesus sent Peter fishing in order to pay His and Peter’s share of the temple operating expenses.
Being obedient and giving our worship is something we do in joyful response to God’s goodness. And while we pay taxes because it’s the law, as Christians, it’s out of obedience, thanksgiving and the desire to serve, that we joyfully return to God a portion of the blessings He has entrusted to us.
Amen
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