Is it Lawful? | Sunday, November 1, 2020

So they watched him and they sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on his words, in order to deliver him to the power and authority of the governor. 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: Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me? Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?" They answered and said, "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." But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent. (Luke 20:20-26)

Two days before an election, Jesus answers a trap question—and reminds us where our ultimate hope must rest.

His Ways Are Not My Ways

One of the most challenging things I've faced as a follower of Jesus is the realization that His ways are not my ways. I don't typically struggle to figure out what I want to do; the challenge comes when I get the sinking feeling that what I want to do is not in line with what God would have me do.

Nearly 3,000 years ago God spoke to the prophet Isaiah saying, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the LORD." This whole year has really been a long lesson in submitting my ways and will, my plans and desires, unto the Lord. Those are very challenging lessons, and I won't say I've fully learned them. I wish I could say I endure these lessons patiently and with obedience, but I can't, because I haven't—not always.

Under Construction

My great encouragement in all of this is what the apostle Paul shares as his confidence in Philippians 1:6: "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus."

We are all under construction. I remember a bright orange T-shirt from a junior high camp years ago, with a huge diamond-shaped construction sign in the middle that said, "Under construction—expect delays." I could wear that with a lot of pride. Routinely I have to remind myself that I, and all those people I so easily get impatient with, are under construction. God alone is actually perfect, and He is perfectly patient with our imperfections. That is something to aspire to—being patient with other people's imperfections.

A Critical Moment for Our Nation

As you well know, we are two days from local, state, and federal elections. At the beginning of 2020 I expected this would be a year of chaos because of the elections, and it has been chaotic—because of the elections and dozens of other circumstances as well. I hope and pray that the elections will begin to dispel some of the chaos, though they may introduce more. One can hope and pray for an easing of all of this.

At times like this, many Christians are reminded of 2 Chronicles 7:14: "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." I'll be the first to acknowledge this was spoken in context to God's people in Israel several thousand years ago, but I believe there is application for us today. The Proverbs of Solomon tell us, "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people," and that is generally true for all people and nations at all times.

It is important to recognize that whatever happens, God is still sovereign; He is still on the throne. Read through Isaiah 6. King Uzziah had become arrogant and proud, and the last 15 years of his long reign were spent in shame. Then he died, and the throne was vacant. But "in the year that King Uzziah died," Isaiah says, "I saw the Lord, high and lifted up," seated upon a throne. Whatever happens in our nation and world, God is enthroned in heaven and still working.

A Familiar Trap in Luke 20

We've been moving through Deuteronomy, and I have no immediate plans to change course, but today I'll speak topically from another text I believe is relevant to this cultural moment. Open to Luke 20, beginning at verse 20—fitting, don't you think?

The text says they watched Jesus and sent spies who pretended to be righteous. From Matthew's and Mark's accounts we know these spies were Pharisees and Herodians. Among the Jews at the time of Christ there were many religious and political factions—just as in our day we have Catholics, Baptists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, libertarians, Democrats, Republicans, and Greens. In Jerusalem there were Pharisees, scribes, Sadducees, Essenes, zealots, and Herodians. Each had their own beliefs, traditions, and commitments, and in most every way they were at odds with one another.

The Pharisees and Herodians could not have been further apart. The Herodians were sympathetic to Roman occupation and walked in lockstep with King Herod, a puppet vassal of Rome. The Pharisees were exceedingly Jewish, detested Rome's occupation of Judea, and did not like Herod. These were strange bedfellows—there was virtually nothing that brought them together except their mutual hatred for Jesus. Early in His ministry, after He healed a lame man on the Sabbath in Capernaum, we read in Mark 3:6, "Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him."

When the Religious Marry the Political

Here we find an important point, though one I'm a little afraid might irritate a few people: when the hyper-religious marry the hyper-political, the outcome is often very anti-Jesus.

Don't read into that some anti-voting, anti-political message—that's not the case at all. With an election less than 48 hours away, I am not saying we shouldn't be involved in politics. I've already voted; I've got my ballot and my sticker right here. If you haven't voted, you should. But when religious people put their hope in political leaders, the outcome is rarely godly. Jesus said to Pontius Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight... but My kingdom is not of this world." It is striking how quickly religious and moral convictions like "Thou shall not murder" can be thrown out the window in favor of political expediency.

Pretend Righteousness

They pretended to be righteous. These Pharisees were hyper-religious, but their religiosity was incredibly shallow—a mile wide and an inch deep, if it was even an inch. Their veneer of righteousness would take only a couple swipes of sandpaper to break through and expose the sham.

But let's recognize that any righteousness you and I could produce by our hyper-religiousness would be no different. Our own righteousness is always pretend before a holy God; it is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). This is why Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, "Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."

This is a vital point: there is no ultimate hope in religion, and there is no ultimate hope in politics. Ultimate hope is found only in the righteousness Jesus gives. For true and lasting hope we must be clothed in the garments of salvation, with the robe of Christ's righteousness. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Religious Flattery and the Catch-22

Those who feign righteousness are often adept at religious flattery. They said, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth." All of that was true—but they believed none of it. Every teacher has been buttered up with similar flattery, I can assure you. Beware when all people speak well of you.

Then came their prime question: "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" Two diametrically opposed groups thought they had Jesus in a Kafka trap, nearly 1,900 years before Kafka. For the Herodians, loyal to Herod and Rome, a "no" would mean an immediate charge of sedition, punishable by death. For the Pharisees, who detested Rome's occupation, a "yes" would put Jesus at odds with the common people and the religious establishment. In their minds, there was no way out. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Render to Caesar, Render to God

But "He perceived their craftiness." Never forget that Jesus sees right through our sham righteousness, knows our true motivations, and is wise enough to answer our seemingly unanswerable questions, because "the foolishness of God is wiser than men."

He said, "Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?" We know from archaeology that the denarius at this time bore the image of Tiberius Caesar and the inscription "Caesar, son of the divine Augustus." Caesar was worshiped, and for the most religious people in Israel, paying the Roman tax was akin to idolatry. Everyone leaned in. And Jesus said, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

Be honest—you kind of wish Jesus had a different answer. Several of His closest disciples were hyper-nationalistic, patriotic Jews who hated Rome's occupation and looked at Jesus with messianic expectation, anticipating He would cast off Roman rule. Given the chance to speak contemptuously of Rome and its taxation, He instead commanded that they pay their taxes.

What Bears God's Image

But Jesus went further. "Pay Caesar the money that bears his image and inscription, and give back to God the things that bear His image and inscription." Which begs the question: what do you and I have that bears God's image?

You don't have to get far into the Bible to find the answer. Genesis 1:26-27: "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness'... So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." The coin bears Caesar's image, so give it to Caesar. You bear God's image, so give yourself to God.

Paul reiterates this in Romans 13: "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... For he is God's minister to you for good... Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor."

I can feel it—I don't think I'm getting too many likes on this message. The rulers of this world expect to receive taxes, customs, fear, and honor, and God expects that we yield to Him all honor, glory, and praise forever. I want to suggest that had Israel been faithful to God in that way 2,000 years ago, they might not have experienced the oppression and occupation of Rome. Paul called this our "reasonable service," our proper worship, our right response.

Speechless Before Jesus

The Herodians and Pharisees heard Jesus's answer, but they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. They marveled and kept silent. They were certain that whether He said yes or no, they had Him. Instead He said, "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's," and they were completely speechless.

These are heavy things to think about a couple of days before an election. We cannot ultimately put our hope in politics. We cannot ultimately put our hope in our own religious efforts. Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ; it must be firmly fixed upon Him. Yes, we should be involved in the leadership of our nation; yes, we should vote; yes, we should use our freedom of speech, religion, and expression, and all the liberties protected in our Constitution. But ultimately, at the end of the day, my hope and your hope must be in Christ Jesus.

Closing Prayer

Father, I pray that You would drive these truths home to us, that we would be diligent to render unto You what is Yours—that we would offer our lives as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto You, which is our proper worship, our reasonable service, our only right response to what You have done. And God, we pray that You would transform us by the renewing of our minds, so that we would be able to display in this world what is Your good and perfect will. Do that work in us, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.