Mark 12 13 thru 17

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1 “Christ and Caesar,” Mark 12:13-17 (March 30, 2014) 13

And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” 15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” 17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him. PRAY We are doing a series of studies on the person of Jesus Christ leading up to Easter. Each Sunday morning we will be in one of the four gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – and we will look at some of the events that took place during the days of the Passion Week, the week leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus. Today we are in Mark 12, and the events of Mark 12 took place on the Tuesday of the Passion Week. This is one of the more famous passages that we’ll look at this week, because of the very familiar phrase “Render unto Caesar,” and what I hope we’ll have a better understanding of is how Christians are to relate to the government. Three points to the sermon this morning: first, we’ll look at the question Jesus is asked. Second, we’ll look at the answer he gave. Third, how do we come up with our answers? First, the question Jesus is asked. Verses 13-14: 13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” The Pharisees and the Herodians – these were the two groups of people in ancient Israel who had the most power – wanted to trap Jesus. They wanted to get rid of Jesus. And to do so they asked him this question about paying taxes to Caesar. Now, it may not be clear to you, like it was not clear to me for a long time, why that question was so likely to cause Jesus problems. There were two reasons. First, the nature of the tax. When the Pharisees used the word “taxes” in verse 14, they weren’t just talking about taxes in general. A Latin word is used there: census. Rather, they referred to a specific tax that everyone in Jerusalem was aware of – it was the poll tax, or head tax, and it was a direct tax owed by every Jewish adult – whether male, female, or slave – in Israel. And you owed the tax simply by virtue of being alive.

© 2014 J.D. Shaw

2 Now, direct taxes have always been controversial. In fact, did you know that in our country it is unconstitutional for Congress to levy a direct tax on Americans? Congress cannot pass a law that says, “You owe this tax just for being alive.” It’s prohibited by Article I, section 9, clause 4 of the United States Constitution. Congress can tax imports, they can tax your income, can tax gifts, can tax your estate – can tax just about anything but they can’t make you pay a tax just for being alive. It’s always been controversial. And this tax was particularly galling to the Jews not because it was onerous – you paid it with a denarius, which is roughly what a laborer would get for one day’s work. It was galling because they had to pay it to the Romans, their conquerors. It was used to fund the Roman occupation. So every time a Jewish man had to pay this tax it reminded him that he was in an occupied country, and that this foreign government had come in with their army and subjugated them. It was for that reason a hateful tax. It’s hard for us to conceive of how hateful this tax was, because we’re Americans – we’re accustomed to being the ones who come out on top of conflicts. But think back – if you’re my age or older – roughly, 40 years old or older – think back to when you were a kid. Who were the bad guys back then? The Soviets, right? The Communists. The Russians. They’re starting to make a comeback as the badguys, too. But there was a real fear that one day there might be an invasion – we might wake up to a Red Dawn. Remember that? Now, say that had happened, and for years after that Red Dawn you were required to pay a tax to support the occupation of your country by the Russians. How would that make you feel? You’d hate it. But this wasn’t a dangerous question simply because of the nature of the tax. Second, the nature of government. We believe as modern Americans that governments get their power from the people, and the people have a right, even the duty, to question the authority their government exercises over them. But that was not the case two thousand years ago. Two thousand years ago everyone understood that the authority of the government not derived from the people but derived from the gods. They believed that the gods choose the governments that ruled and that no one had any right to question the authority of government. The government was the fullest expression of the will of the gods on earth. Kings had a divine right to rule; “lex rex;” the king is not just above the law, he doesn’t just make the laws, the king is the law. Even the Jews had this view, because in Israel in the Old Testament the church and the state completely overlapped – Moses and Aaron not only led the spiritual worship of God and went before the ark of the covenant and told the people the will of God, but Moses was also the chief executive of Israel – the spiritual and the political power in Israel were held by the same person.

© 2014 J.D. Shaw

3 And the Romans, of course, had this view as well, and we see this reflected in the coin that is central to our text for this morning. In verse 16, Jesus asks for the Pharisees to bring him a denarius. We know what was on the denarius, because they’re in museums, archaeologists have discovered them. And on the actual coin it had an image of Caesar Tiberius on it, and the inscription read (on the front): “Tiberius Caesar, Son of the God Augustus,” then, on the back, “Pontifus Maximus (High Priest).” Tiberius Caesar, they said, was king (that’s what the word “Caesar” meant), son of God, high priest. So for Jesus to say, “Don’t pay the tax,” would not have been viewed as just political disagreement, the way our government argues over taxes now. Instead, it would have been viewed by the Romans as rebellion, as Jesus attempting to launch a revolution, as Jesus trying to overthrow the government and even the gods. And in fact, when the tax was first instituted in the year 6 A.D., or 25 years prior to this interchange we’re looking at today, a man named Judas the Galilean urged the Jews not to pay the tax, and he led a revolt against the Romans, he cleansed the temple and procand the Roman legions were called in and they destroyed him. So, do you see how clever the question was: if Jesus answered, “Yes, pay the tax,” his following in Israel would have evaporated overnight. The Jews who hated the tax would have abandoned him. But, if he had answered, “No, don’t pay the tax,” the Romans would have thought he was leading a revolution against the power of Caesar, they would have rightly understood it as opposition to their rule, and they would have killed him. It’s a perfect trap – or, at least, it would have been for anyone other than Jesus. Second, the answer Jesus gave. Now, for a long time I thought all Jesus was doing here in verse 17 was artfully dodging the question – I thought all he was doing was giving a non-answer to the Pharisees and the Herodians to get out of their trap. But read verse 17: “Jesus said to them, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ And they marveled at him.” Now, think about this: when you’re watching one of the political talkshows – say on Fox or MSNBC and you’ve got a conservative host interviewing a liberal politician, or a liberal host interviewing a conservative politician, and the host gives the politician a tough question, but the politician won’t answer it – she just sticks to her talking points. Is the host amazed when that happens? Do you think if Rush Limbaugh were able to interview Hillary Clinton, and got a non-answer from her, would he look in the camera and say, “Hillary Clinton is the most able politician who has ever lived”? No. But Jesus’ enemies marveled at his answer. This is not a non-answer that Jesus gives – rather, he gives a revolutionary answer that radically alters forever how human beings conceive of governmental authority. And what does Jesus say? Verse 17: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s…” What does that mean? All the coins in the Roman Empire were considered Caesar’s © 2014 J.D. Shaw

4 money – they were literally minted out of his wealth. By the way, this is still true today. I’ve got this dollar bill in my hand, but even though I received this dollar bill for some work I did, I don’t really own this dollar bill. Who does? The United States Treasury – they own it, and that’s why it’s illegal to deface a dollar bill or destroy it, because they don’t want to pay to replace what they own. What I own is what this piece of paper represents – a dollar’s worth of purchasing power backed by the full faith and credit of the United States of America. So he says, “This denarius is Caesar’s, it has his portrait on it – so give it to him. It’s his money, give it to him. If he says you owe him taxes, then you owe him taxes. But is Caesar owed only money?” You may think, “What do you mean?” Caesar was a bloodthirsty tyrant – trampling on the poor, oppressing minority groups in the empire, trying to get people to worship him. What is a tyrant like that owed? Not just his taxes – isn’t he owed some resistance? Isn’t he owed some opposition? But how can we do that if the government is the fullest expression of the will of God on earth, if the government cannot be questioned by anyone? How can you resist government if the government is really a reflection of God’s will? That gets us to the second part of Jesus’ answer: “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, but unto God the things that are God’s.” Now, these coins have Caesar’s portrait on them – but the Greek word translated as “likeness” here is the word “icon” [I-cone], and that word in other parts of the Bible is translated as “image.” This coin, Jesus says, has Caesar’s image on it, so give it to him. But whose icon, whose image, do you have on you? Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.” You have God’s image on you, so you must render yourself unto God. You cannot give yourself over to the state – not completely. Give to your country whatever it is owed, pay its taxes, because its image is on the coin, but you owe God your ultimate allegiance, your bear his image on you. All the commentaries point out that this is the first theory of limited government ever articulated in human history. The idea of certain unalienable rights – sound familiar? It’s from the Declaration of Independence – our modern notion that each individual is endowed with certain unalienable rights, individual rights and liberties that cannot be taken away from you no matter who is in charge of the government, and you have these rights just because they are alive and human – this all begins with Jesus’ answer. This notion of limited government was literally inconceivable before Jesus spoke. Before Jesus’ answer, the state owned you. In the centuries after his answer, all people, but certainly Christians, began to believe that there were certain things the state could

© 2014 J.D. Shaw

5 never legitimately ask of you, you are distinct from Caesar, from the king, from the government. And that’s why the Herodians and Pharisees and everyone else marveled. It’s an amazing answer, but then the tough part: third, how do we come up with our answers? In other words, how can we practically apply Jesus’ teaching today to our relationship as Americans or Mississippians or Oxonians to the government? Five ways: First, all Christians everywhere are to be good citizens. Probably the most comprehensive teaching on this subject anywhere in the Bible comes from Romans 13, so I’ll just read it to you in toto: 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. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Romans 13:1-7. Christians are to be good citizens, so that means we are to obey the laws of our country. I was convicted of this this morning because according to the laws of the state of Mississippi it’s illegal for a child under the age of seven to not be in a booster seat. And just maybe in Shaw household we haven’t been, or I haven’t been, all that diligent in that area. I call it the “third child syndrome.” It means we obey those kinds of laws, we obey speed limits, we obey the law. It means we are to pay taxes, we are as Christians to pay every dime of all the taxes we owe. It means that Christians can serve in juries and they can serve in the military – there’s no reason from Scripture that prohibits Christians from doing that. It means we can run for office and support those who run for office, and it means we are to be respectful of our elected officials – we as Christians should be very careful in how we speak of our elected officials. Not because we are afraid something bad might happen to us, but simply because it does not commend the gospel for Christians to go around personally attacking the mayor, or the governor, or the President. I’ve seen around town on someone’s car this bumper sticker: “Respect our military and our commander-inchief.” Now, I have no doubt that person was politically motivated when he or she put that on their car, but there’s no reason why a Christian would have a problem with that sentence in principle. We are to pray for our leaders. “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in © 2014 J.D. Shaw

6 high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” 1 Timothy 2:1-2. When I first became a pastor, George W. Bush was president, and I prayed for him. Now Barack Obama is president, and we pray for him on Sunday mornings. And if the Lord wills, and I’m still a pastor when the next president takes office, I’ll pray for him or her as well. And someone may object: but what if I really disagree with the policies of this president? Am I still to do all this? Yes – yes you are, yes we are. Paul doesn’t condition it by saying, “Be subject to the governing authorities if you like them, if you voted for them.” Who was the governing authority when Paul wrote? Caesar! Caesar, who claimed to be god. Caesar, whose legions brutally occupied Israel. Caesar, under whose authority most of the apostles and our Lord himself were killed! Yet, Paul says, “Be subject to, and pray for, these people.” I was in a meeting once just after President Obama was elected – it was an associational meeting of representatives from several local churches, and I remember walking into the meeting and seeing and hearing one of the men who was very agitated about our new president. And I hadn’t been in the room more than a minute or so, and hadn’t said a word, but he looked at me and said something like, “I just can’t believe all this stuff your president is doing.” I think he picked on me because I was the youngest guy in the room by about thirty years. But I couldn’t let that comment slide, so I said to him, “Friend, he’s your president, too.” He didn’t like that too much. But I wanted him to know, I want you all to know, that Christians are to be good citizens, and respect those in authority, even if we disagree with their policies, even if we didn’t vote for them. Second, Christians are to not to confuse the church and the state. We are citizens of this country, the United States of America, and I for one am very thankful to be an American, I love this country, I love this state – I am so thankful I am a Mississippian. I probably have an unhealthy love for this state. But sometimes Christians get confused and think that the church and our country, the United States, are the same thing. One of the most abused passages in the Bible is 2 Chronicles 7:13-14: “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14 if my people who are called by my name 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’ve heard so many Christians over the years use these verses as if they apply to our country. But there are a couple of problems with that interpretation: first, who are God’s people in 2 Chronicles 7? The people of the Old Covenant, ethic Jews who were a part of the covenant community, who were marked by circumcision and their worship at the temple of God in Jerusalem. And their land was the promised land – the nation of Israel.

© 2014 J.D. Shaw

7 Now, who are the people of God now? Christians - marked with circumcision not of the flesh, but of the heart – renewed by the power of the Holy Spirit and justified by the blood of Jesus Christ. Friends, are all Americans Christians? No, they are not. Is the United States of America the new promised land? No, it is not. Second, what was the greatest fear the Old Covenant people in 2 Chronicles 7 had? It was exile – it was having some foreign power come in and physically remove them from the Promised Land, the land of milk and honey. Is that a fear New Covenant American Christians have? And the answer should be: no. We are not afraid that the Canadian Mounties are going to ride down to Mississippi and carry us off into exile in Nova Scotia. Why are we today not afraid of exile? Because we are already in exile. 1 Peter 2:11: 11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Paul in Philippians says that our citizenship now, our true, final citizenship, is in heaven, not in any country on earth. Don’t confuse, Paul says, Peter says, Jesus says, don’t confuse your earthly citizenship with your heavenly citizenship – render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, but unto God the things that are God’s. By the way, do you know who historically it’s been in our country who’s suffered the most when Christians confused the church and the state? Christians! In the eighteenth century, in the commonwealth of Virginia, the state and the church were, basically, one. The state had an established church, the Anglican church, and every citizen had to pay taxes to support that church and any minister who wanted to preach in Virginia had to get a license from the state to do so. But there were these trouble-making preachers back then in Virginia who did not believe in all the doctrine of the Anglican church and did not want to get permission from the state to preach. Do you know who they were? They were Baptists. And the commonwealth of Virginia persecuted them – they were beaten, they were jailed, some had their tongues cut out, because they did not toe the line of official religion of the state. When Jefferson penned his famous “wall of separation between church and state,” he did it in a letter. Do you know whom was writing to? Baptists in Connecticut who wanted to make sure their freedom to practice their faith without interference from the established church of Connecticut, which was then the Congregational Church. Christians love our country, we serve our country, we pray for our country, but we do not confuse the church with our country. Our primary concern is the purity and the holiness of America, but of the church. And we believe that Mexican Christians and Romanian Christians and Chinese Christians are just as Christian as American Christians are - we don’t confuse the church and the state. © 2014 J.D. Shaw

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Third, Christians speak truth to power. We are as Christians to respect Caesar, to respect and honor government, but it does not follow that I do whatever the government says. Yes, I obey the laws of the state of Mississippi regarding booster seats for my children, but ultimately do you know why? Because there’s nothing in the Bible that says I shouldn’t. But if the government ever tells me to do something that is contrary to Word of God, or if the government ever tells me I can’t do something that I am commanded to do in the Word of God, then I must disobey. When Nebuchadnezzar came to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and says, “Bow down,” they don’t obey. Instead, they say, “O king, do whatever you must, but we won’t bow down and worship your image.” In the book of Acts we read that the Sanhedrin, the governing authority of the Jewish people, called the apostles before them to command them to stop preaching in the name of Jesus. And what did they say? “Yessir”? No. “But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.” Acts 5:29. Christians will from time to time in this world find that they are in conflict with the state, that the state says one thing but the Word of God says another. And in those times, it is our duty as Christians to disobey the law of the land. And likewise, just because we respect our leaders and governing authorities does not mean we don’t tell them when we disagree with them. We must tell them, we have a duty to speak out, we owe it to them to say that abortion is immoral, that whatever else you call it, a state-recognized relationship between two women or two men is not a marriage. We must tell them that – we must speak truth to power. But, that leads me to a fourth application: Christians of good will can disagree on politics. Look back at verse 13: who are Jesus’ opponents? The Pharisees and the Herodians. Do you know who they were? The Pharisees were the conservatives of the day. They believed in God and country and traditional values; they looked down at the liberals for whom anything goes. They were intensely patriotic – they loved Israel. If they were alive today they’d believe in short haircuts and law and order have rallies around the American flag at barbeques and play Lee Greenwood songs. Now, the Herodians were just the opposite – they were the liberals of the day – they were irreligious and cosmopolitan and they believed in individual fulfillment; they looked down on the conservatives as being ignorant. They weren’t very patriotic – if they were alive today, they would be the ones at wine and cheese parties who listen to classical music or indy rock and hang out at Square Books. And guess what? Even though the people in these two groups hated each other, when they met Jesus, they said: we could agree on one thing – we need to destroy this guy. He’s a threat to us both.

© 2014 J.D. Shaw

9 What does that mean for us? If you’re a Christian, then your conservative and liberal friends really ought not to be able to know what to do with you. Your conservative friends think you’re great on some issues but just wacko on other ones, while your liberal friends think you’re wacko on some issues but solid on other ones. In other words, a Christian is almost certainly not going to feel completely comfortable in any political party – no political party was ever comfortable with Jesus, and if we are his followers, how could any political party be completely comfortable with us? Why is that? Why can’t we be completely comfortable with any political party? Because in a fallen world these things are a matter of wisdom. We’ll never know these things perfectly, so we can never be certain that any one party is the “Christian” party. Example: as a Bible teacher, I can tell you what in principle God’s Word says about many political issues: for example, economic issues. The Bible speaks of these ethical issues more than all other issues in the Bible combined. God loves the poor, loves the widow, loves the orphan, and wants no one to go without basic necessities of life. I can tell you all that easily… BUT! When you go into a voting booth to vote you don’t find yourself facing a ballot that looks like this: poverty: “good” or “bad.” And so you think, and then you pull the lever – “Poverty... bad!” And then you get the results of the election, 99% of the people said that poverty is bad – you know, Ebenezer Scrooge votes for poverty, but everyone else voted against it – and so the next day, poverty is over. That’s not how it works. Poverty – everyone’s against it, but how do we eliminate it? Through government programs or private economic growth? If the former, through direct payments to the poor or through job creation and training. If the latter, what kind of stimulus package should we support to get the economy going, so that people can get jobs and get out of poverty? Should we support a minimum wage and, if so, how much? Should we support trade deals with other countries, or not? We could go on and on. What about abortion – it’s immoral. But even if all Christians could agree on which abortions to make illegal, do you think we could all agree on how to punish the lawbreakers? Should we threaten the doctors who perform them with fines, jail time, or death? Should we threaten mothers with fines, jail time, or death? How would we punish it? That’s a political question. When we go to the polls to vote, we aren’t even voting on these issues – we are voting for certain men and women to represent us on these issues. But even then, it’s not a matter of simply finding the candidate who lines up perfectly with your views on the issues and your solutions (it would be just about impossible to find that in the first place). But assume you could find the “perfect fit,” there’s still one more consideration: the person must be of at least average intelligence, and must have above average people skills, or your issues will not be advanced through that person. If the candidate is a moron or a complete jerk, it doesn’t matter how overwhelming they are elected, they won’t get anything done. Once they get to office, these candidates must work with other candidates © 2014 J.D. Shaw

10 from across the state or they nation in the legislative process – and someone who simply doesn’t have the skills to do that will not be effective, no matter how perfectly you may agree with him or her on the issues. So, how do we decide which things to render unto Caesar? And the answer is: these considerations are matters of wisdom, and pastors can’t tell you how to vote any more than they can tell you who to marry. If one of you young ladies came into my office tomorrow, and placed three, five by seven glossy pictures on my desk, each of a different young man, and you asked me: “J.D., I’ve got three men who have proposed marriage to me – which one should I marry?” I couldn’t tell you – I could give you some principles (be a Christian, be able to support you, he should love you, he should shower before your dates, he shouldn’t bring another girl along with you on your dates) but I couldn’t tell you who to marry. I don’t know his heart, I don’t know your heart – you must prayerfully decide. It’s a matter of individual conscience and judgment, and so is voting. So, friends, whether you are a Republican, Democrat, Tea Partier, Green Partier, whatever – so long as you confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior then you are welcome at Grace Bible Church. Fifthly, remember, no matter what happens with Caesar, you belong to Christ. Christian friends, by all means, vote to decide what to render unto Caesar. Give money, volunteer in campaigns, run for office yourself if you feel so led – but whatever else you do, don’t worry about what happens with Caesar – be informed, vote, make the best decision you can about politics, but don’t worry about politics because even though we are called to render unto Caesar his due now, we won’t forever. I hope you know – I hope you know that our Lord and Savior, even though he died on Caesar’s cross, is sovereign over Caesar. One day every knee will bow, even Caesar’s, and every tongue confess, that Christ, not Caesar, is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. And if we have trusted Christ on that cross to die for our sins, in our place, and if we believe that Christ is our righteousness, and not our politics, not our good deeds, not anything else – we will be fine. Vote and decide what to render unto Caesar, but my goodness don’t worry about the outcome of the elections. Not once, not once anywhere in the New Testament, do I read Paul, or Peter, or John write something like this: “I am so scared about who the next emperor of Rome will be. So, friends, in Corinth, in Ephesus, in Philippi, write to your centurion, and tell them to support Flavius Maximus, the next emperor of Rome!” The very thought of it is ridiculous. Paul knew that whoever was on the throne in Rome, Jesus Christ was on the throne of God in heaven. And I tell you that no matter who is on the seat of power in Washington, D.C, Jesus Christ will still be on his throne, and he will return one day to judge the quick and the dead. So, in confidence, go and decide how you will render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, all the while reserving your full and final allegiance unto God. PRAY

© 2014 J.D. Shaw