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Matthew 22:15-22 July 4, 2010 – Bethel, BC Matthew 22:15-22 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. "Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" 18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, 20and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" 21"Caesar's," they replied. Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.” 22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away. Introduction: Like something straight out of the Cold War, this past Sunday it was announced that an alleged Russian spy ring had had been caught "red-handed" here in the United States. The alleged spies are charged with working for Russian military intelligence to establish ties with congressional aides and scientists who work on nuclear weapons development. An FBI counterespionage task force reportedly monitored the Russian spy cell for more than 10 years. 10 years! These alleged spies made serious efforts to build fake identities and fake lives. In reality they lived double lives, one as responsible citizens of the United States, and another as covert operatives for the Russian government. As Christians, we live double lives as well – not in the covert operative sense. But we do hold dual citizenship. By virtue of our faith in Jesus Christ we are members of the kingdom of God. At the same time, by virtue of living in this country, we are members of the United States of America. However, like the alleged Russian spies in question, that does not mean that we have divided loyalties. In the Word before us this morning, Jesus masterfully depicts the truth that… Theme: A Christian Holds Dual Citizenship When the Pharisees approached Jesus with this question of our text, it was the Tuesday of Holy Week. 2 days earlier they had witnessed Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem amid the praise of the Palm Sunday worshipers who acclaimed him as the conquering hero – the one who would save Israel from the pagan rule of the Romans. “Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" “Hosanna in the highest!" (Matt. 21:9). With the sound of those prophetic words of praise, the Pharisees recognized their demise. They knew that if they did not eliminate this “Son of David” their positions of authority and status would be overthrown. So, very soon after this entry into Jerusalem, the Pharisees began devising ways to discredit Jesus before the people. The people saw him as their conquering hero. The Pharisees desperately needed to change that reputation. You’ve heard the phrase, “Politics makes strange bedfellows.” That certainly was the case on this Tuesday of Holy Week. In their attempt to trap Jesus in his own words, the Pharisees teamed up with the Herodians – two groups that were fundamentally opposed to each other. The Pharisees were nationalists. They adored everything Jewish and hated everything Roman. They were the religious purists who held the nation of Israel as God’s nation, ruled by God and no mere man. Therefore, they viewed the Roman occupation of Israel as a travesty upon God’s chosen people. In addition they viewed the tax imposed on them by the Romans as unlawful. To them, the Romans were the enemy. In contrast to that, the Herodians were Roman sympathizers. They achieved their name by siding with the family of Herod who had become bedfellow with the Roman government. The Herodians made concessions in order to receive the benefit of the Roman rule. Today we might call them traitors. When these two political enemies joined forces, it was like Republicans and Democrats uniting forces. While it happens, it is always newsworthy when it does. What was it that united them on this particular Tuesday? Their hatred of Jesus. Like many ecumenical religions today, the Pharisees and Herodians set aside the fundamental issues that divided them to unite in the common goal of discrediting Jesus. It’s no wonder that Jesus responds to their entrapment, “You hypocrites,…” The question that they posed to Jesus showed their hypocrisy. After a few empty words of flattery, they asked, “Teacher…what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" And with that question the trap was laid. If Jesus answers “no”, the Herodians have what they need to charge him with treason, a crime punishable by death. If he answers “yes”, then the Pharisees would spread the word that Jesus is unpatriotic as best, at worst a false prophet who claimed to be the Messiah but was advocating supporting the pagan Roman government. The people would then retract their Palm Sunday praise and never again hail him as the conquering Messiah. This seemed, to both the Pharisees and the Herodians to be a foolproof plan. “Finally”, they thought. “Finally we have him!” "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me?” Without pulling any punches, Jesus pierces through their deception and identifies for everyone there that their Matthew 22:15-22 July 4, 2010 – Bethel, BC question was a trap. With their hypocrisy identified, there was no need for him to answer, for then and there the Pharisees and Herodians were both made out to be the fools, not Jesus. But, instead of avoiding the trap, Jesus steps right into it. For the benefit of all the people around, and for our benefit as the Holy Spirit recorded his words, Jesus masterfully answered their entrapping question. “Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, 20and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" 21"Caesar's," they replied. Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.” The coin that Jesus received was crucial to the question at hand. Jesus was presented a denarius, a small silver coin that was given for a day’s wage. On that coin was stamped the imprint and title of Caesar, the ruler of all of the Roman Empire. In presenting him the coin, they set their own trap. That coin was evidence that the Roman government was the ruling power. They may not have agreed with everything that the government stood for, they may not have even agreed that they should be subjected to the Roman government, but whether or not they agreed with it, they were under the God-given authority of that government, as our epistle lesson stated, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God” (Rom.13:1). Therefore, Jesus tells them that they are obligated to pay the tax. “Give to Caesar’s what is Caesar’s.” When it came to secular matters, Jesus teaches them that they are obligated to the authorities that God has established. But their obligation did not end there. Jesus also needed to mention that by paying taxes to Rome they were by no means excused from their obligation to the Lord, nor were the contradicting it. "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.” Much to their amazement, Jesus places “the obligations to a legal government and the obligations due to God side by side. In that way Jesus clearly declared that there is no clash between being a good citizen and being a faithful Christian” (Franzmann 656). A Christian holds dual citizenship. What is God’s that we ought to give back to him? The Psalm of King David answers that question, “The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;” (24:1). Not only does everything that I have really belong to the Lord, even my own personal being, my very life, belongs to him. How can I ever give to God what is God’s? It starts in our heart. As Moses said in our Old Testament lesson (Deut. 6:4) and Jesus himself would say in only a few verses after our text, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37). If God is the owner of everything and everyone, then I owe him everything that I have and am. I owe him myself, my very heart. I love his commands. I love those to whom God has also given authority. Friends, there is no room in a Christian’s life for the disrespect that we show toward our governmental leaders. Those leaders are “God’s servants to do you good”, as Paul wrote to the Romans. We may not always agree with them, and we are privileged to live in a country that does not force our agreement. But when we disrespect them we disrespect the God who gave them their authority. When we fail to honor them, we prove ourselves to be just as hypocritical as the Pharisees that approached Jesus with their entrapment scheme. The Pharisees considered it an injustice that they had to pay this tax to the Roman government, yet Scripture never once records their complaints about the flourishing economy and peace and stability that this Roman government afforded them! How hypocritical! We lift up God’s name in praise for providing us a country that, among other liberties, affords us the right of free speech, but then we abuse that free speech by dishonoring our leaders in government, the government that God has established. How hypocritical! Brothers and sisters in Christ, thank God that he does not remove the freedoms that we enjoy when we abuse those freedoms. Thank God that instead, he allowed the government that he himself established to punish an innocent man for the hypocrisy of all of mankind. Thank God that the life Jesus offered on the cross for us gives us the freedom that no patriot’s blood could ever win – freedom from the guilt of our own sin. For on the day that Christ died, that is our true Independence Day! Yes, on this 4th of July, we will don our red, white and blue. We will light fireworks, listen to the national anthem and watch the TV specials that highlight those that sacrificed their freedom for ours. As we do that, let’s not forget the true freedom that we have because of the original freedom fighter – our Savior Jesus. As we honor and thank him for the freedoms that we enjoy as Christians, let’s then pledge our honor and respect to those that he has placed in authority over us in this great land of ours. For we are Christians – citizens of an earthly kingdom and also citizens of God’s kingdom. Amen. Pastor Mark Luetzow Bethel, Bay City 7/4/2010