What Do We Owe God?
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Taxes is not an exciting topic.
In fact, it is something that many of us dread.
Every year, as April 15th approaches, we go through this civic ritual of finding our W-2 forms, 1040s, 1099-INT, 1098 (mortgage interest and taxes), and if you are a student you find your 1098.
There is nothing fun about doing your taxes, there is nothing exciting, nothing to look forward to.
However, on this Thanksgiving service we will look to the Bible and see how Jesus turned the subject of taxes as the basis for us to worship and glorify God with all our mind, soul, and hearts…with all that we are.
Today we will consider:
Jesus’ enemies continue to attack him
His enemies ask a question: Should we pay taxes to Cesar?
Jesus answers: Give to Cesar what is Cesar’s, give to God what is God’s
Jesus’ enemies continue to attack him
Jesus’ enemies continue to attack him
This is the last week of Jesus’ life before his crucifixion. It is Tuesday.
Since his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, on Sunday, the jewish religious authorities have been working hard to somehow discredit Jesus.
They have confronted Jesus on several occasions with the goal of destroying his reputation and if possible to be rid of him permanently.
On this occasion see see two groups approaching Jesus:
13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words.
13 Pero enviaron* algunos de los Fariseos y de los Herodianos para sorprender a Jesús en alguna palabra.
These two groups have likely been sent my the religious council called the Sanhedrin.
However, they’ve sent two groups that you would never mention in the same sentence - the Pharisees and the Herodians.
These two groups hate each other.
Their worldviews are complete opposites of each other.
The Pharisees are the religious conservatives of the first century.
They are law abiding Jews.
The observe the 613 commandments found in the Torah.
They keep kosher, they pray three times a day, they perform all the ritual washings and other religious ceremonies.
They consider themselves to be the pure ones, the separated ones that seek to live holy lives.
The Herodians are the liberal progressives of the first century.
Notice how their name has the word “Herod”.
Herod was the king that the Roman occupation had put in place to exercise roman authority over the jews.
They were not interested in religious matters, rather they were interested in maintaining political power, showing loyalty to Rome, and ensuring that their king (Herod) remained in power.
They were very worldly as they enjoyed the fruits of a corrupt roman government and would regularly engage in excess whether it was drinking, eating, dressing lavishly, etc.
So…here we have two groups that would never collaborate with each other.
The Pharisees resent and feel hatred against the Roman occupation, particularly against Herod the illegitimate king.
…and the Herodians see the Pharisees as backwards religious zealots.
However, there is a well known saying that finds its fulfillment in this unusual grouping - the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
What has brought them together - a common hatred for Jesus of Nazareth.
The Pharisees hate Jesus because he has called even these religious zealots to faith and repentance. He has confronted them with their religious hypocrisy and called them to repent and to seek God with sincerity.
The Herodians hate Jesus because he speaks of a kingdom that is not of this world. Also, people have recognized Jesus as the Messiah, God’s chosen one, God’s anointed king - and they see him as threat to king Herod.
So what are these two groups of people planning?
Mark tells us - they are here catch Jesus in something he says.
The original language has the idea of trapping an animal or catching a fish.
They are seeking to trap Jesus as if he were some sort of prey and they are the ravenous animals out to get him.
His enemies ask a question: Should we pay taxes to Cesar?
His enemies ask a question: Should we pay taxes to Cesar?
Notice how they come to Jesus:
14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?
14 Cuando ellos llegaron*, le dijeron*: «Maestro, sabemos que eres veraz y que no buscas el favor de nadie, porque eres imparcial, y enseñas el camino de Dios con verdad. ¿Es lícito pagar impuesto a César, o no?
They call him teacher and pretend that they are sincere.
They talk about his integrity.
They talk about his transparency - Jesus speaks without fear of how people will react.
Jesus does not hide the truth from people.
They also go on to say that Jesus teaches the truth.
This is all false flattery.
They are not sincere.
They show their hypocrisy through their words - if in fact they believed Jesus had integrity and that he taught the truth they would believe and fall down and worship Jesus.
We know they are full of hypocrisy because instead of believing in Jesus they are seeking to trap him.
They are seeking to destroy him.
How will they destroy Jesus?
Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?
¿Es lícito pagar impuesto a César, o no?
Their question is very straightforward - but remember it is a question meant to trap and destroy Jesus.
If Jesus answers “yes” - you should pay your taxes to Caesar…then...
Many who resent Rome…many who have been unable to pay their taxes as they live in extreme poverty.
Many have had their lives destroyed by the Roman occupiers.
The Jewish people are being ruled not by a king descendent of David, they are being ruled by a king that the Romans had put in power.
This represented the majority of the poorer classes in Israel.
If Jesus said yes…then this would serve as a stumbling block for them and they would turn away from Jesus.
If Jesus answers “no” - you should not pay your taxes to Caesar…then...
Many of the wealthy people, the landowners, the political class, would be offended.
In fact, if Jesus answered this way in such a public setting then he could be accused of being a rebel against the roman occupation.
Jesus would risk being arrested and possibly executed for rejecting Rome’s authority to tax the jewish people.
However, Jesus knows this is a trap!
15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”
15 »¿Pagaremos o no pagaremos?». Pero Él, dándose cuenta de su hipocresía, les preguntó: «¿Por qué me están poniendo a prueba? Traigan un denario para verlo».
Jesus knows that the ones asking this question - the Pharisees and the Herodians - do not even agree amongst themselves.
The Pharisees will surely say it is not right to pay taxes to the romans.
On the other hand, the Herodians were in favor of the romans and were committed to supporting the illegitimate King Herod.
So Jesus simply asks for someone to bring him a denarius.
This was a roman coin.
A denarius was the typical compensation for working an entire day.
Jesus answers: Give to Cesar what is Cesar’s, give to God what is God’s
Jesus answers: Give to Cesar what is Cesar’s, give to God what is God’s
Through this action, Jesus takes control of the situation and masterfully answers those who seek to entrap him.
16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied.
16 Se lo trajeron, y Él les dijo*: «¿De quién es esta imagen y la inscripción?». «Del César», le contestaron.
We are familiar with coins.
It’s probably been a while for some of us since we’ve last held a coin in our hand.
However, all coins have two sides.
For example, a quarter has:
George Washington on one side with the inscription: Liberty and In God We Trust.
An eagle on the other side. More modern quarters have different designs.
So when Jesus is given the denarius he simply asks:
Whose image is on this coin…and
What does it say?
Everyone in Israel knew the answer:
A denarius had an engraved image - it was their supreme ruler “Cesar”.
The inscription said: Tiberius Cesar, the son of the Divine Augustus.
Notice how the people answer quickly - we know whose image is on the denarius - it is Cesar.
…this takes us to the climax of this story.
How is Jesus going to answer the question whether it’s right to pay your taxes to Rome?
Jesus answers:
17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him.
17 Entonces Jesús les dijo: «Den a César lo que es de César, y a Dios lo que es de Dios». Y se maravillaban de Él.
Jesus simply says - give back to Caesar what belongs to him.
For this reason, Jesus asked - whose image is on the coin?
Caesar’s image is on the coin.
It is his currency, you live under his government, you live under his authority, you enjoy Caesar’s roads, you enjoy the ability to sell and trade your goods...
Therefore give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s.
But notice how all this hinged on the fact that the coin had Caesar’s image on it.
You should give back to Caesar that which has his image.
But Jesus also said - give back to God what belongs to God.
Then we are told that people were amazed at Jesus.
This is the most important part of this story because this caused the people to be amazed at his answer.
If someone came to me and said: Pastor, is it right for me to pay my taxes.
…if I answered, Yes…give back to Uncle Sam what belongs to Uncle Sam and give to God what belongs to God.
Surely whoever asks this question is not going to be amazed by my answer.
So, today we need to understand, why were these people so amazed at how Jesus answered them?
The reason why it is difficult for us to see is although we know about the internet, we carry a super computer in our pockets, we know about Bitcoin and the stock market, we have access to higher education - the reality is don’t know our Bibles like those in the first century.
They could quickly identify references to the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) because they had memorized the word of God, they would meditate upon God’s word day and night.
…and in this passage we have a marvelous reference to the first book of the Old Testament.
Jesus asks - whose image is on the coin? Caesar’s.
Ok then…give to Caesar that which has its image engraved upon it.
The people knew what Jesus was getting at...
There is a wonderful Old Testament concept related to “image”…we call this the image of God.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
26 Y dijo Dios: «Hagamos al hombre a Nuestra imagen, conforme a Nuestra semejanza; y ejerza dominio sobre los peces del mar, sobre las aves del cielo, sobre los ganados, sobre toda la tierra, y sobre todo reptil que se arrastra sobre la tierra».
God created men and woman in his image.
This does not mean we are divine.
Also, this does not mean we can become God.
In fact, this is a heretical false teaching that some people are taught - they are made to believe that one day they will become a god - this can never be because there is only one god.
God can never become…because in order for God to be God he must always have been God.
So in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…and everything that dwells upon it.
We marvel at creation.
We marvel at everything that God has created.
We are constantly amazed at what we observe in the plant and animal kingdom.
But…none of this has been created in God’s image.
…but we have been created in the image of God.
This means…that every human being is engraved with God’s image.
But what does this mean? What does it mean to be created in God’s image?
It means that we resemble God in certain aspects, we possess certain characteristics that God also possesses...
Theologians call these attributes - the communicable attributes of God. These are attributes that God shares with humanity. Some of these attributes are:
Ability to love
Intelligence
Creativity
The ability to express emotion
Showing compassion
Therefore, Jesus says - if that coin has Caesar’s image then you should be willing to give it back to him in the form of tax.
…but since you, men, women, and children, possess God’s image (you’ve been created in God’s image)…you are called to worship him, to praise him, to devote your life to him, to recognize God in your life, to acknowledge his goodness, …and on this week of thanksgiving to truly thank him for all he has done on your behalf.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Just imagine the wonderful privilege that we have as humans - created in God’s image, to acknowledge his love, his goodness, his care for us, his mercy, his loving compassion, for those that he created in his image.
It is a privilege to worship God, but based on this scripture it is our duty as human beings to bow down before God our maker and acknowledge him for who he is and what he has done.