"Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said. 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. Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?" But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. And He *said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" 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." And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away."
In the 1996 movie, "Jerry McGuire," starring Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding, Jr., Cruise played a sports agent with only one client, Cuba Gooding, Jr. who played an NFL receiver that uttered the famous line, "Show me the money!" We’re now in a section of Matthew chapter 22, where the religious leaders begin to try to trap Jesus with a question of which they're sure He will have no escape, after buttering Him up with a few flattering statements. Flattery is patting someone on the back in order to find the soft spot to insert the knife. This time the Pharisees were joining forces with the Herodians against Jesus. Though they were on the opposite extremes of Jewish culture, they had one thing in common, they both wanted rid of Jesus. It reminds me of the old adage, "My enemy’s enemy is my friend."
In this familiar confrontation, you can almost hear the Jewish leaders giggling amongst themselves as they asked their question which they were certain would trap Jesus. They perceived it to be a "yes or no" question only. But Jesus astonishes them once again, leaving them speechless. This comes after He publicly humiliated them, verbally attacking their rejection of Him and calling down the judgment of God with the three parables. They are irate, incensed beyond anger.
Studying this portion of Matthew has been a very exhilarating for me, as we walk with our Lord in the final week of His life, while He is barraged with one confrontation after another, in which He gave wise answers to foolish their questions, handling Himself with such majesty and integrity. They hated Him, yet were intrigued, because He is everything they are not.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
We ask and pray these things in Jesus' name, for His sake and Your glory
Amen
Today's Message: For God And Country
Many Christians today have confused Christian faith with Christian nationalism, patriotism with loyalty to God, the distinction between social justice and a Just and Righteous God. Compromising with the world has put the church in a very dangerous position. Taking on the social issues of the day, the church is becoming increasingly more divided. Unity can only occur when it flows from a shared identity in Christ. If ever there were a time for the church to become the embodiment of Christ and walk worthy of the One Who calls you into His kingdom, and return to the mission of Christ, I believe it is now.
Open
your Bibles to the twenty-second chapter of the gospel of Matthew,
verses fifteen through twenty-two. I would like to encourage you to follow
along with me, as I read them to you. Let us be faithful to open our
hearts and minds, and listen to what the Spirit of God has to say to
each of us today. Matthew 22:15-22.
"Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said. 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. Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?" But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. And He *said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" 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." And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away."
Let's look at verse 15, "Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said."
As we've noted before, the Pharisees are the self-righteous, religious legalists, who have been putting their heads together to figure out a way to finally trap Jesus. This time, they think they've come up with a different sneakier approach, instead of going themselves they sent their disciples. The truth is, they knew they couldn't pull off, pretending to believe in Him, and ask Him an honest question, as if they were genuinely seeking answers. Jesus has already publicly identified them as hypocrites.They’re going to try and bait Him by using some people that He doesn't know.
It’s so unbelievably sad, that rather than hearing the truth, His message of coming judgment, and crying out for mercy and begging for forgiveness, completely consumed with their sin, they're plotting and planning, scheming to silence the one who is trying to warn them.
Verse 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."
This is really sickening, they called Him "didáskalos," highest honor you could pay a man. Not only are You a truthful person, but You live the truth, and teach the way of God in truth. You’re truthful, not swayed by other opinions. Man, they're really laying it on thick. There isn't a Pharisee in the land who wouldn't love to hear that.
And yet, at the same time, it's fascinating. Not only did the Pharisees send their disciples, but they sent them along with the Herodians. This would be like President Trump joining forces with Nancy Pelosi on the January 6th committee. We really don’t know very much about the Herodians, except they were a sect of Hellenistic Jews, not affiliated with religious group, but a political group, almost a terroristic pro-Roman nationalist group who supported the political power of the Herods. Many of them belonged to a group which later become known as the Zealots. The Herods were the Roman rulers of the land. It was Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, who had John the Baptist beheaded. The Herodians were a secular group who supported the Romans, and the Pharisees were a spiritual group who hated the Romans. I imagine the plan was to trap Jesus into saying something anti-Roman, they had to have the Herodians there, so they could run to the governor and claim that Jesus was heading up an anti-Roman rebellion. So now we move from the motive to their well thought out question.
Verse 17, "Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?"
A simple yes or no question, a real no brainer right? They must have thought about this one for a long time. Surely, they had this in the bag, He's right where they want Him. If Jesus says yes, all the people who expected the Messiah to liberate them from Romans oppression would have deserted Him. On the other hand, if He says, no, the Romans would have had Him arrested on the spot for treason. In Mark's parallel account, he adds "Shall we pay it or shall we not?" The poll-tax, or census tax refers to a specific type of tax. It was a personal tax on every individual. There were certain Jewish taxes, like the temple tax, and there were Romans imposed taxes, like the poll-tax. The Romans provided services, like streets and roads, they offered protection, they built the aqueduct which brought water to the people in that area. They also imposed an income tax on all identified wage earners. Not unlike what Matthew had previously been doing. Even still, this didn’t sit well with the Jewish people. They felt that they’re giving what belongs to God to Rome.
Verse 18, "But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, "Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites?"
He was not intimidated, He’s always truthful, and calls them exactly what they are. Even though He’s never seen these people before, but, being the omniscient God, He sees right through their false flattery, and is able to discern their intentions, although every word of it was true.
Instead of Jesus answering yes or no, He out smarts them, and turns the tables on them again. You would think by now they'd realize they always fail, every time. Verse 19, "Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax." And they brought Him a denarius." There were various kinds of Roman coins, there were copper coins, silver coins, gold coins, the Roman Senate could mint copper, and only the emperor could mint silver and gold. A denarius was a silver coin, which would reflect the image of Tiberius Caesar. Many Jewish people believed that it was a sin for a coin to bear an image, a violation of the second commandment which say to not worship any images. A denarius was one day’s wage for a Roman soldier. Which read, "Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus" and "High Priest." The emperors not only believed they were high priests, they actually believed they were gods. Only God is Divine.
However, Jesus had no intention of overthrowing the government, we know that isn't why He came. Nor even possess a coin, so He says "Show Me the money!"
Verse 20, "And He *said to them, 'Whose likeness and inscription is this?"
Of course, they knew it was Caesar, you know, I can almost hear them answering in unison, unable to contain their enthusiasm because they’re so eager to trap Him.
Verse 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."
You've got to love Jesus' wisdom, He satisfies the governmental obligation without compromising the devotion that is due to God. We can conclude from Jesus' teaching here, it is God's will and design that we should submit to our governmental authorities, that it does not violate our loyalty to Him. When the government oversteps their bounds, then as Peter said in Acts 5, "We must obey God rather than men." They were arrested and beaten but when they walked away, they continued to preach Christ, "rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name."
The problem with this passage of scripture is people tend to focus on rendering to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, missing the point that Jesus was teaching, our responsibility toward God. "And to God the things that are God’s." Psalm 50 says "For every beast of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. "I know every bird of the mountains, and everything that moves in the field is Mine. "If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains."
I am well aware that some of you will not agree, I haven't met anyone who enjoyed paying taxes, but it is biblically unarguable that we have responsibilities to both God and country. Man's image may be on our money, but mankind bears the image of God. Everything belongs to God. You may not like our government, but all government is ordained by God for the protection of the good, the punishment of the evil. Even poor government is better than none. To resist obeying the government is a sin, because you’re resisting God who ordained the government. We are commanded to pray our President, members of Congress, state, and local leaders., that they would lead with all godliness and honesty. Fervent prayer will accomplish far more than all the petitions we can write, the raging protests or demonstrations we can organize.
Do you remember when Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate on the day He was crucified? Pilate asked Jesus several questions and Jesus just sat there quietly without giving any answers. As the scripture prophesied, He was like a lamb silent before its shearers. Finally in exasperation Pilate says, "Do you not know that I have the power to kill you or save you?" Jesus looked Pilate right in the eyes, with like a blazing fire and said in a voice cool enough to freeze hell, "You don’t have any power except the power that is given to you from above." That’s where government gets its power.
I believe the church has it's priorities mixed up, focusing on social issues, political figures, and at best, divided over the clearly-defined separation of Church and State. First and foremost, our greatest loyalty is to our Lord, Jesus Christ! If you claim to be a Christian, this is not something you have a choice about. You and everything that you own, belongs to God, He only allows you to manage it. Our giving unto to God is an outward sign of our inward condition.You can't claim to give God your adoration and praise, without giving Him your obedience, even if we lose our lives.
In Matthew 25:26-29, in the parable of The Talents, Jesus said "But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’
"For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away."
That brings us to verse 22, "And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away."
That’s absolutely astonishing, they just left. I’m literally in awe of the profound wisdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is so much dissatisfaction in our culture today. People have bought into the idea that wealth brings happiness. I have spoken to many people who were nearing their death, and I've never heard a single one say to me, "I wish I had more money." But I have heard many of them say, "If I had known that giving my life to Christ would have brought me so much joy and contentment, I would have given Him my life sooner!"
Ecclesiastes 5:10 says "He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity." Many seek happiness and contentment, but few will find it. One can only find true joy and contentment in a life to be given back to God.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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