What Belongs to God

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting
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Today’s Date: February 19, 2006

What Belongs to God?
by Dan Trygg

"Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle Him in His talk. 16 And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, ‘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. 17 Tell us, then, what You think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?’ 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ‘Why put Me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the coin for the tax.’ And they brought Him a denarius. 20 And Jesus said to them, ‘Whose likeness and inscription is this?’ 21 They said, ‘Caesar's.’ Then He said to them, ‘Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.’" Matt. 22:15-21

Having been soundly routed by Jesus when they had tried to challenge Him directly, the Pharisees regrouped and tried a different approach. The first time, the chief priests, elders and scribes had come to Him in the temple while He was teaching. They were the recognized, older leaders, well dressed in the stylish garb that was appropriate to their positions. Now, they send some of their best trained disciples, who would have been younger and less dignified looking, appearing more like an everyday person. Accompanying them were some Herodians, Jewish people who were supporters of King Herod and sympathizers with Rome. This was a very unlikely coalition, since normally there was no love lost between these two groups. Pharisees stood for Jewish purity, especially keeping the old customs and ritual cleanliness, while Herodians typically were compromisers of these values. They were more cosmopolitan in their tastes, and were willing to rub shoulders with gentiles. This day they join forces against Jesus, who they perceive to be a common enemy, since He exposed the inconsistencies of both groups, and was a possible threat to the Roman peace. Their purpose: to entrap Jesus in His own words. They were going to try to set up a scenario where they could manipulate Jesus into saying something they could use against Him. They "took counsel" or strategized how they might set up such a trap.

These spies infiltrated the crowd and prepared to set up their ambush. First, they tried to butter Jesus up by offering some compliments. This probably had two purposes. They may have wanted to put Him at ease, and make themselves appear as His friends. Secondly, they were attempting to secure a straight answer, especially in light of how the Lord had side-stepped the question of their masters. Putting the variant readings of the other gospels together, we find that they said, "Teacher, we know that You are true, that You speak straightly (i.e., not crookedly), and that it is not a care to You concerning anyone, for You do not look toward any person (i.e., to see what they may think about what You say), nor receive anyone with partiality, but You teach the way of God in truth."

Before moving on, let’s just consider what they said about Jesus. They said He was a man of integrity, a man who was not afraid of what others thought, but did and said what was true regardless of who was listening. They acknowledged that He unashamedly proclaimed the way of God accurately. He did not compromise what He believed and taught in order to impress or appease other people. This much of what they were saying appeals to what we all know is a valuable character quality. We all ought to strive to have this kind of integrity. It is easy to "look at" other people, and adjust what we say so as win their acceptance and approval. If we do that, we may compromise ourselves and our message. Fear of disapproval, or even the wrath of others, keeps many of us from being forthright and outspoken for what we believe. The spies also said that Jesus did not treat others with partiality. The Greek phrase is "You do not receive face" (Lk. 20:21), meaning "You do not accept people on the basis of outside appearance". Not only was Jesus unafraid of what people thought, He also did not adjust His remarks to curry special favor with people of wealth, influence or beauty. He was not a "brown-noser". His integrity worked both ways. He did not compromise out of fear, nor did He concede anything in order to win the approval of the rich or powerful. He treated everyone with value and respect, and let the truth itself sort those who would be drawn to Him or not. We ought also to be people of like integrity, not to fear what others think, but live and speak consistent with our faith, and allow the light of our lives to either attract or repel those around us (Matt. 5:14-16; Phil. 2:12-15; Jn. 3:19-21).

After this positive build-up, the spies drop their loaded question, "Tell us what You think. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Shall we give, or not give?" This was presented as a yes or no question, being designed to entrap Jesus with either answer He might give. Luke 20:20 tells us that their intent was to hand Jesus over to the rule and authority of the governor. They were hoping He would say that the Romans were not the rightful rulers of the Jewish people, and therefore did not have a right to tax the people. They were attempting to flush Jesus’ "hidden agenda" out into the open. They thought that He was preparing to declare Himself as King of the Jews. If He tried to declare Himself to be the Christ, a King, and interfered with the Romans, He would be arrested for sedition. The other horn of the dilemma would be for Him to affirm that they ought to pay taxes to Caesar. This would enrage patriotic Jews, who chafed under the Roman yoke, and resented their oppression and taxation of the Jewish people. They expected that Jesus’ popularity would markedly drop among the Jews, and He would no longer be a threat.

Jesus recognized their evil motives. The gospel accounts use different words to describe His experience. Matthew records that He was "discerning (experientially knowing) their evil intent"; Mark says He was "seeing their hypocrisy"; while Luke uses yet a different word, "noticing (or ‘considering’) their craftiness". It is valuable to note that He was made aware on several different levels. It was not omniscience that He exercised, but He was paying attention to clues and revelations in the situation. Remember, He was obligated to be like us in all respects, so that He could represent us (Heb. 2:17). Note that He did not just rely on a feeling, either, but confirmed it by looking more closely. We need to trust those "gut feelings" and the "checks in our spirit" that we sometimes get about people, at least enough to be more wary and ask God for clarity. Jesus could sense or feel their evil intent, and could observe their pretense, and considering their trickery, responded with an alternative they had not anticipated. He asked to see one of the coins used to pay the tax under discussion. When they produced one, He asked, "Whose likeness and inscription is on it?" They said, "Caesar’s." "Therefore," He said, "give the things of Caesar to Caesar, and the things of God to God." By saying this, He gave away nothing, avoided their trap, and made a strong statement about devotion to God. They were speechless, being amazed at His answer.

The NT makes clear in other places, as well, that we ought to pay our taxes. Paul tells us in Romans 13 that we are to be subject to governing authorities, for God has permitted them to come to power, and is able to use them to punish evildoers and reward the righteous. He specifically tells us that since the authorities are in effect servants to God’s overruling will, we ought to pay taxes and revenues. It does not matter if authorities are unjust or imperfect. They certainly were at the time Paul penned these words. What matters is that we live as good citizens, giving no ground for people to accuse us as evildoers. Those who would resist or oppose authorities will experience judgment. The apostle Peter wrote similarly in I Peter 2:11-17. Again, the same themes are revisited. We are to be certain to live honorably, being subject to the governing authorities. God has placed them to punish evildoers and reward those who do good. One of the additional thoughts which Peter mentions is that we are aliens and strangers here. This is not our true home. Nevertheless, our behavior ought to be for the Lord’s sake, not just our own convenience. We have a duty to not bring shame and dishonor to the Lord by living in ways that the world would see as evil. The ramifications of our choices go far beyond the immediate consequences we might face in our own lives. Especially in the early days of the church, the behavior of individual Christians could have widespread consequences on many others in the Christian movement. If Christians were perceived as bad citizens, then the government would oppose the spread of the gospel, and could even initiate a persecution where believers were hunted down and killed. Therefore, Christians were encouraged to be the best citizens they could be. As Peter said, "…by doing good, you put to silence the ignorance of foolish people."

Jesus’ answer remains timeless. There is nothing to say in response to it, except to agree. There can be no mistake that He was supporting paying the tax, but the higher question which takes precedence over that is "What is God’s?" From Jesus’ answer, it was clear that the money, inscribed with an inscription and picture of Caesar, was under the jurisdiction of the government. What is the rightful domain and jurisdiction of God? Everything about our lives belongs to Him. Often we do not want to face our obligation there. In I Cor. 6:20, Paul plainly writes, "You have been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body." Just a couple of chapters before, the apostle had written, "What do you have that you did not receive?" (I Cor. 4:7) So, then, all that we are and all that we have belong to Him. He has entrusted us with life and worldly resources so that we could accomplish His work in this world. Many Christians only give lip service to that. They end up living almost exactly like those around them who do not know God’s love. Let me challenge you today to consecrate yourself to God afresh. Dedicate all that you are, and all that He has given you, to Him, to serve His purposes. Then, commit yourself to getting to know Him and His ways, so that you might carry out His will in this world. He has work for you to do. "He died for all, that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf" (II Cor. 5:15)