Download Matthew 22:15-22 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to

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