23rd Sunday after Pentecost (October 19, 2008)
Rev. Steven D. Spencer – Pastor Messiah Lutheran Church – Salem, OR
15 Then the Pharisees went and counseled together how they might trap Him in what He said. 16 And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. 17 "Tell us therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?" 18 But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, "Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? 19 "Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax." And they brought Him a denarius. 20 And He said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" 21 They said to Him, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's." 22 And hearing this, they marveled, and leaving Him, they went away
Of course you can do all of the above; in fact, you can be an American Lutheran who wears shoes and eats cereal while enjoying football after you've traveled to and from church in a car. None of these things are mutually exclusive. Beware of the one who asks such questions, because they may well have a hidden agenda. At the same time, rejoice because such scheming is no match for our crucified and risen Lord!
In our Gospel lesson, the Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus in what He has said. They didn’t want to hear the truth. They wanted things just the same way they had always been. So they poured over the Scriptures, poured over Jesus words, dissecting every phrase, dissecting every word hoping to find someway to trap our Lord. They wanted to snare Him with His own words. This is a favorite strategy of political debaters, even in our times. I assure these men had the tools; they had the knowledge and skills to tear the Scriptures apart in search of wrongdoing. But what did they find? Nothing! So after some serious scheming, they send their disciples along with some Herodians, to ask Jesus a question.
By the way, the Herodians were experts at Roman law but considered unclean by the Jewish people. But side-by-side they stood with the disciples of the Pharisees making up a debate team of both civil and spiritual law. The Herodians open the debate with a compliment –a common tactic used in debate. "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men." Personally, they don't believe any of this, but that’s part of the strategy: Put someone up on a pedestal so you can knock them off it.
Then comes the question: "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
That’s really a clever question. They really don't care anything about the answer: In fact, the Pharisees and the Herodians would probably disagree on what the answer should be; but they do agree on the idea of getting Jesus out of the way. In their view, Jesus is a political problem requiring a political solution; and their solution is to destroy His public support. Few in Judea are real pleased about being in the Roman Empire, and nobody likes to pay taxes. Many even regarded it as sinful. If Jesus says that they are to pay taxes, He'll turn the nation against Him. On the other hand, if He says it's wrong to pay taxes, He'll be arrested for treason. “So, tell us,” they ask Him, “Will you obey God, or will you obey Caesar?”
Ah, the Pharisees thought, they had Him; they had Jesus in a political trap. However, they've made a terrible mistake: Jesus isn't a political figure but in fact, the Son of God and Savior of the world. He’s no respecter of persons, but a preacher of the truth. Let the chips fall where they will, because He isn't looking for votes.
Woe to those who mistake doctrinal controversy for political differences!
But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money." So they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They said to Him, "Caesar's." And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
Will you obey God or will you obey Caesar? The answer is yes, because the question puts forth a false dichotomy. In other words, it's wrong to say that this is an "either/or" because it's a "both/and." One can follow God and pay taxes to Caesar, namely because it’s God who puts rulers on thrones and commands them to be obeyed. In God's plan, He and Caesar aren't competing of the same spot: Caesar is there as God's instrument to keep order in the world. Of course, if Caesar commands you to do something sinful, then you must obey God rather than Caesar; but if that's not the case, serve both.
To their amazement, their clever question falls flat. They have completely failed to entrap the Son of God. So they leave, and Jesus continues on His way to the cross – only three days away.
· Foolish questions and false dichotomies will not prevail against Him. (T)
· Neither will sin, death or the devil.
Like it or not, the Savior speaks the truth concerning both God and Caesar: namely, that you live in two different kingdoms under two different rulers. As a Christian, you are a citizen of heaven and Jesus is your King. But until you are delivered, you also live in this world, are part of humanity, and live under a government. You interact both in church and in society as a citizen of two very separate, distinct kingdoms. This is most certainly true, and this is most certainly okay: This is how God has ordered things until Christ returns in glory. This Gospel lesson gives us opportunity to examine how the Kingdom of Heaven and Kingdom of the World are separated – to see how many will try to twist these two kingdoms, and what a danger such twisting is to your faith.
Again, Scripture makes a clear distinction: God has placed you to live in two very distinct kingdoms. However, some approach it this way, thinking: "Since I live in two kingdoms – the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world – – therefore, as a Christian, it’s up to me to avoid the kingdom of the world as much as possible in favor of the kingdom of God.” And they think this because they falsely believe their faith will be measured by how much they stay out of the one and keep to the other."
Sometimes such thinking is obvious – as among those who teach that a person who truly follows after God should not vote, should not pay taxes, should not serve in the armed forces, should not drive cars or even use electricity. Such teachings are easy to find, but they are not found in the Scriptures. Neither are the more subtle forms that can put your faith in danger. Consider the following questions, and look for the false dichotomies, “the false either/or’s”.
· "Are you a born-again Christian, or do you dance?"
· "Do you dress differently than the world, or don't you believe in Jesus?"
· "Are you committed to the Lord, or do you listen to secular music?"
We might dismiss these as questions from someone who’s overly "strict," but there’s more to it than that. There’s a doctrinal problem here and woe to those who mistake a doctrinal problem for a political disagreement. Such statements imply that, to be a Christian, you must not dance; you must wear certain clothes, and avoid all secular music. In other words, you are in the Kingdom of God because of how much you manage to stay out of the kingdom of man. Therefore, you are a Christian because of your clothes, your music and the fact that you don’t dance. And if you are a Christian because of these things, then your salvation is dependent upon your clothes, your music and your lack of dancing. Your salvation is dependent upon your work and the decisions you make, and not solely dependent upon the merit and worth of our Savior’s suffering, dying and rising from the dead.
Do you really want your salvation to depend on you, upon your good works or upon your daily decisions? Absolutely not! Don’t base your salvation on what is unclear and uncertain, but rather on what’s clear and true: The things of God, the death of His Son on the cross for your sins. God wants you to be certain that He has indeed redeemed you and that all your sins have already been forgiven – yes, even the sins you're not sure are sins as you struggle to live here in the kingdom of this world. But enough of this Roman teaching, which segregates the two kingdoms and teaches that being a Christian, is about keeping yourself out of the kingdom of the world as much as possible.
There is yet another dangerous error that could destroy your faith. It is that we ought to blend the kingdom of God with the kingdom of the world in order to make disciples. That we ought make the kingdom of God more worldly, less holy, and more people friendly. Once again, be on the lookout for false dichotomies, the – false "either/ors. Consider the following statements:
· "Are you concerned with the purity of doctrine, or are you concerned with evangelism?"
· "Do you support interfaith services, or don't you believe it's okay to pray?"
· "Do you value people or do you value doctrine?"
All these questions have been voiced recently, even in our own Missouri Synod. We will examine each one briefly.
1. It is asked: "Are you more concerned with purity of doctrine, or evangelism?" Perhaps we should respond with, "Which impure doctrines do you think can be used to share the faith with others?" It’s a bad question from the start. Pure doctrine and evangelism aren't enemies – they’re bound together. You can only evangelize properly if you have a pure Gospel, for nothing else forgives sins. To the question, "Are you more concerned with purity of doctrine, or evangelism?" the answer must be "Yes" – for to be careless about either is sinful.
2. It is asked: "Do you support interfaith services, or don't you believe it's okay to pray?" The question may strike you as ludicrous, yet it is being asked. Of course it okay to pray: But according to Scripture, prayer is to be directed alone to the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He will not share His glory with another, and prayers are not to be directed to anyone other than Him. Is it okay to pray and to oppose interfaith worship services? Absolutely. It's not just okay; it's commanded.
3. One more: "Which do you value more, people or doctrine?" Once again, this is absurd – how could the two be opposed? If we value people highly, could we ever feed them false, damning doctrine? Of course not. The Lord values people so highly that He gave His Son to die for them; and He has given us His Word – His doctrine – so that all might hear it and believe. Do we value people or doctrine? The truth is we value them both. A Christian can do nothing less.
The kingdom of God is Holy: woe to those who seeks to make it worldly instead. Such teachings might attract the admiration of the world, but it will fall to pieces before the Lord of heaven and earth. And, to be sure, such teachings will always trouble the Church: The devil never rests. But the devil never rests because the Word of the Lord remains and always prevails against him.
When our Lord commands us to "Render to God the things that are God's," there is great cause for joy: The Lord never requires things that He hasn’t first given. The Lord requires obedience, though you can never perfectly obey Him as long as you live in this sinful world. Therefore, He has sent His Son who lived a perfectly obedient life, to credit you with His obedience; because you are forgiven, God sees you as His obedient child – and has given you the freedom to obey His Word. He requires holiness, something you cannot attain for yourself; so He sent His Son as the Sacrifice to atone for your sins. Because your sins have been removed by the death of Christ, you are already holy before God. And because He requires repentance – that is, a penitent heart that confesses sin and trusts in Jesus – therefore, He sends His Holy Spirit to bring you to faith so that you might freely receive all that our Savior had died on the cross to earn for you.
So when we render the things of God to God – like obedience, holiness, penitence, and faith we do so because He’s already given us all these things first. They come to us in His Word and through the Holy Sacraments. About this, there can be no doubt, but rather great joy.
This is your two-kingdom life for now, dear Christians, because that’s where God has placed you. In the kingdom of this world, you live and work because that’s why placed you. Everything you do here you to do according to the Lord's Word, and following His command. Where you sin, you confess it. Where things are muddy, you muddle along, confess your sins and trust in the Lord's salvation. And His salvation for you is certain, because He’s also brought you into another kingdom – the kingdom of His Son – earned for you by His death on the cross – and with such a price paid, God will not forsake you. Therefore, in His kingdom, there can be no doubt: You are forgiven for all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. For you are His child purchased by Jesus precious blood. In Jesus name and for Jesus sake, amen and amen!