Vicar Christopher Gillespie
Immanuel Lutheran Church of Frankentrost
Saginaw, Michigan
Trinity 23 (November 11, 2007)
Text: Matthew 22:15-22

11-11-2007 audio

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Our meditation is taken from the Gospel text just read, especially the words of Jesus “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21)

Let Us Pray:

On my heart impress Your image, Blessed Jesus, King of grace,
That life’s riches, cares, and pleasures Never may Your work erase;
Let the clear inscription be: Jesus, crucified for me,
Is my life, my hope’s foundation, And my glory and salvation! (LSB 422)

Jesus is confronted with a mixed company. The Pharisees are the religious establishment and the Herodians are the political establishment. Both are Jews but have very different ideas about church and state. In our context, you might think of them as Conservative Republicans and social democrats.

It’s ironic that the two camps would come unified. Indeed, politics makes for strange bedfellows. Both seek to entangle him in their political battle. First they butter him up: “ Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.” Just like children who think they can massage their parents into submission with sweet talk, the Pharisees and Herodians try to soften Jesus.

Second, they ask “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” They seek only a yes or no answer in order to trap him. It is a clever scheme.

If he answers “no”, then the Pharisees are right, the church and the state should be unified, Caesar should be overthrown, and the Law of the church become the Law of the land. Undoubtedly this would rile the Herodians to seek Jesus’ arrest.

On the other hand, if Jesus answers “yes”, then he is supporting a heathen emperor. Caesar promotes idolatry including his own elevation to demi-God status. Today, this would be like Jesus casting his vote for a non-believer in the election of the people. This would certainly anger all the religious right to boycott his Messiah campaign.

Either way, it would seem Jesus is in a Catch-22. Heads they win, tails he loses. But Jesus calls their bluff. Jesus, the man touted as the Messiah, isn’t in league with either camp. Politically speaking, he is an independent. On this side of the cross, neither know His ultimate fate.

“Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Neither of you is right and both are confused. Let me show you what I mean.”

In a model object lesson suitable for a children’s sermon, Jesus asks to see the denarius, the coin used for the poll tax. Whose picture is this, he asks the children? Caesar’s! What does the coin say? “Tiberius Caesar Divi Augusti Filius Augustus, Pontifex Maximus.” (Tiberius Caesar, son of Augustus, Supreme Bishop) So whose coin is it, children? Caesar’s! Obviously then “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s…” says Jesus. Christ’s sound wisdom turns trap back on them and gives the counsel of the truth.

What is Christ’s simple lesson here? Earthly authority is not contrary to the will of God. From the beginning God has given men rule over the whole of creation.

“Let [man] have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”” (Genesis 1:26)

God gave man dominion over the earth for the good of all. Dominion was not mere power alone, but authority connected with the Word and will of God. God the Father chose to provide for all mankind through the hands of servants. these servants are all manners of authority and headship including presidents, husbands, and fathers. Our reading from Proverbs spoke of this ordination of authority by God:

“By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly.” (Proverbs 8:15-16)

Under the curse of sin man’s dominion has fallen from subjection to God’s will instead to our sinful impulses. We twist our authority in this kingdom of the earth to mean something other and more than the Father’s intent. For what the Father gave us was not mere power but was an authority given for the good of all.

Despite our corruption, God still works for the good of all believers in government. Regardless of style of rule, whether President, husband, or father, God provides for us. In this government He punishes the wicked and protects the weak.

Granted, this ideal case may not always exist. For authorities don’t always execute God’s will. Yet, we confess with Scripture that they remain here for our good and placed there by God himself. And so we give to our authorities as flawed as they may be the honor and respect they are owed.

Paul confesses this truth in detail in his letter to the Romans, chapter 13.

“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… For [the one in authority] is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer… For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 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)

How often do we resist the rule of the law because we think we know better? Where have you neglected to obey the authorities placed over you? Repent of your resistance to all earthly authorities. Repent of those times you see the traffic sign and yet you ignore its rule as applying to you . Repent of your avoidance of income tax through deceit. Repent of your mockery and defamation of those leaders in authority over you.

Wives, repent and submit to your husbands as the church submits to Christ. Husbands repent and love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Fathers, repent and do not provoke your children to anger. Workers, repent and obey your employers. Bosses, repent and treat your employees with respect, doing good them. Children, repent and obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

Regardless of whether the authority is government, husband, or father, it is God’s ordinance and servant. He has given it the sword of protection, the scales of justice, and the just authority’s laws are God’s laws.

The kicker is that Jesus doesn’t just command obedience to earthly authorities. Jesus also commands we render to God what is God’s. Like the coin, where is God’s image and inscription placed? Again from Genesis 1,

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26)

God has placed up you, his very image. Everything which we have and are belongs to God, our body and soul, food and drink, house and home, in short, everything. To claim that anything we have, indeed our very life comes from anyone apart from God is idolatry. If we claim wealth is our own, then we have made money our idol. If we claim healing is from doctors, we have made them an idol. If we claim success in business is our own, we have made our abilities idols. If we are unwilling to forsake parents for the sake of the truth, we have made family our idol. If we must lie against the Word of God in order to appease our children, we have made them idols. In short, if we claim our life is our own to do with what we choose, we have made ourselves idols.

God does not claim a tax upon a part of your life or a part of your wealth. Instead God’s tax is that all to be used for Him and His Kingdom. Recognize you are God’s coin to be used for the benefit our neighbor. Just as Caesar’s coin is used for justice and peace on this earth, God’s own are used to bring many into the kingdom to come. His kingdom is not of this earth but is the kingdom of heaven. God became our King when he won for us salvation on the cross.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

We are God’s workmanship, his creation. His restorative waters have built for him a holy nation of people. This nation is a Gospel kingdom, where bodies are raised from the dead and souls enter heaven. Our citizenship is in heaven, the city of God. This is why even a heathen government can be obeyed. For it can make demands over the body but has no authority over the soul. It cannot loose the soul from heaven. It cannot condemn the soul to hell.

The kingdom of this earth has no authority over the soul. This authority has been given to the church and her servants. Here salvation is proclaimed to the sinner. Here forgiveness is given even to those who transgress the world’s authority. Even the speeder, the tax evader, and the false witness who repent have absolution pronounced to them. The state cannot take this authority away from Christ and His church.

In the end on the day of visitation, those present will see our lawfulness, our subject to earthly authority as a testament to our faith in God. For we believe that God’s law is written on all our hearts. God’s law has informed the law of our government. So, to obey our government is to obey God himself. These good deeds will be a witness to our faith and the glorify God. Our subjection to Caesar demonstrates our subjection to God.

Contrary to popular belief, Christianity can thrive in hostile environments. Just look at the churches in Africa. Even under the oppressive thumb of an Islamic majority, the Lutheran Church of the Sudan has more members that our beloved Missouri Synod and. In India, Christians are harassed, beaten, and murdered even though the church there predates that of the nationalistic Hindus. In the Philippines, Christians are exiled to remote islands to avoid Muslim terror. Yet in the face of this opposition, the church is strengthened.

Christ’s kingdom, that is, the kingdom of heaven is not of this world. We do not need a Christianized nation for the church to flourish. While we are thankful for the luxuries that our nation affords us in matters of faith, the state does not build the church and the state is not the place of salvation. Christ can rule in the hearts and lives of believers both in a democratic republic and in an oppressive dictatorship.

It is far too easy for us to mistakenly place salvation into the hands of an earthly government. The message of Christ crucified and resurrected is not the message of the United States of America. Our government was given for the Law but not the Gospel. Rather, the proclamation of the salvation by grace through faith alone, is the message of the Christian church. Here we hear of life eternal. Here we hear of Christ’s work for our souls. Here we know that despite our suffering in the world, the mockery of those around us, and oppression of unfair governments, our souls are redeemed and our torment is only temporal. It only will last for a time and then will pass away. The good news is that life will continue at the resurrection of the dead. All believers will join with Christ as our King and ruler in the kingdom of heaven. His government is righteous, just, and perfect. By His Holy Spirit we will be made perfect to live as subjects to his good and gracious will.

Today we pray that Christ’s Spirit remind us always to be subject to our earthly authorities because in them, God the Father provides safety, protection, and justice upon the earth. By our obedience to them, rendering to them what is theirs, may our lives be a witness to the promise of a heavenly kingdom to come.

Prayer:
Dear heavenly Father, help us to be subject to all authorities with respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For Christ, your Son suffered injustice, bearing our sins on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. May we live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants to God. Lord grant this in the name of Jesus, Amen.

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