God and Caesar

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Fall Retreat

Spookfest

Introduction:

Gospel of Mark

Jesus has arrived in Jerusalem

The religious leaders are interrogating him

They are putting pressure on him, waiting for him to slip up and say something to catch him

So today we look at another encounter:

Scripture Reading:

(SLIDE)

Mark 12:13–17 CSB

13 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Jesus to trap him in his words. 14 When they came, they said to him, “Teacher, we know you are truthful and don’t care what anyone thinks, nor do you show partiality but teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” 15 But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.” 16 They brought a coin. “Whose image and inscription is this?” he asked them. “Caesar’s,” they replied. 17 Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.

(SLIDES)

Outline

The Dilemma

The Two Sides

The Third Way

The Dilemma

(SLIDES)

Mark 12:13–14 CSB

13 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Jesus to trap him in his words. 14 When they came, they said to him, “Teacher, we know you are truthful and don’t care what anyone thinks, nor do you show partiality but teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

Last week, we saw that they tried to catch Jesus up by asking him where he received his authority for causing such a scene

But this week we see that they are trying to trap him

They are putting him between a rock and a hard place

But before they get to the question: they try to butter Jesus up with some flattery

We know you tell the truth

We know you aren’t swayed by the crowds

We know you teach the way of God truthfully

Then they go in for the kill:

“Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?”

And at first it might seem like such a random question: should we pay taxes?

How is this a death trap?

They pose Jesus a yes or no question—and either answer would get Jesus in trouble

Some of us might not be aware of the history and time period that Jesus lived in

But in the years Jesus walked this earth were the glory days of the Roman Empire

Days of Pax Romana — or Roman Peace

Rome ruled over the entire Mediterraean world and was unquestioned in its power

And while it seemed like the Roman Emperor was the main character of history

Jesus enters the scene on the fringes of the Roman Empire

The Bible follows the story of Israel

Out of Egypt — To the Promised Land

Taking the Promised Land — Time of Kings

Taken into Exile (Babylon) — Exiles at Home (Persia)

Exiles at Home (Rome)

So here the Jewish people were back at their home

Back at their own temple and place of worship

But they were being ruled by Rome from afar (over 1,000 miles away)

Where Roman soldiers patroled the streets

Roman governement made policies that affected their lives

And where they were required to pay taxes to Rome

And this was infuriating to the Jewish people

I don’t think we can really understand how touchy of a subject this was

It’s not just about paying our taxes (like we do today)

It was about paying taxes to a foreign government who occupied your land

Imagine if Russia or China invaded us, conquered our country

Their soldiers patrolling our land

Their lawmakers making decisions for us

And having to pay taxes to them

The hard earned money you make — gets sent off to fund the machine that keeps you oppressed

So this is the context Jesus finds himself in:

Should we pay taxes to Rome?

If he says yes:

He would place himself on the side of the Romans

He would be accused of not being loyal to God’s people and siding with their opressor

If he says no:

He would be marked as a revolutionary that is telling others to disobey Rome

He would be marked as a criminal and put to death

This was the dilemma that Jesus was put in

But before we get to his response, there is another detail that I want to focus on:

The Two Sides

(SLIDES)

Mark 12:13 CSB

13 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Jesus to trap him in his words.

We can gloss over these words, but if we pay attention to what Mark is saying, this means a lot more than we might see at first glance

Here we see two groups of people teaming up to trap Jesus

The Pharisees

The Herodians

These two groups deeply distrusted and hated each other… yet they teamed up to put a stop to Jesus

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend”

The Pharisees

Many of us might already be familiar with them

They were the religious leaders in Jesus’s time

They were for the people of Israel and against Rome and their taxations

The Herodians

These were the Jews that sided with Rome

They were the ones with political power and wealth appointed by Rome—Traitors to the Israelites

They were generally for Rome and for the paying of taxes

So these two groups that are naturally enemies… team up to trap Jesus

In a sense, they are saying—are you with us or them?

They were trying to use Jesus for their own platform

This was the question being asked thousands of years ago… and it is still the question being asked today

Are you with us, or with them?

And I don’t know were everyone stands on the political spectrum… but this is the question that has fueled such division in our country

Us vs Them

And people use the name of Jesus to bring further division

We stand for these things and Jesus is on our side

But Jesus isn’t a political tool

It reminds me of a story early in the book of Joshua:

(SLIDES)

Joshua 5:13–15 CSB

13 When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua approached him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” 14 “Neither,” he replied. “I have now come as commander of the Lord’s army.” Then Joshua bowed with his face to the ground in homage and asked him, “What does my lord want to say to his servant?” 15 The commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did that.

As Christians, it’s not that Jesus is on our side

We are on the side of Jesus

So when Jesus is pressed between making a stance we see he presents: a third option

The Third Way

(SLIDES)

Mark 12:15–17 CSB

15 But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.” 16 They brought a coin. “Whose image and inscription is this?” he asked them. “Caesar’s,” they replied. 17 Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.

Jesus knows their hypocrisy

Mask/Acting

To catch him

Hypocrisy in holding Roman coins

Ceasars image and inscription

Kaser Kurios (Ceasar is Lord)

Mark 12:15–17 CSB

“Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

That coin has Ceasar’s likeness, image, inscription—

Actual Coins - Caesar Divi filius Augustus

That object that has Caesars image and inscription on it—give it back to Caesar if he is asking for it

But give to God the things that are Gods’

Which begs the question…

Where do we see the likeness of God? or the image of God?

Gen 1 - Each and every one of us

Jesus is saying… Taxes? You’re missing the point

Sure give Caesar your taxes… they are his coins

But don’t neglect to give what is due to God

You are made in the image and likeness of God

Give yourself entirely to God

You see the third way of Jesus isn’t picking a side

Like Joshua it’s being on God’s team—living a life for him, not a political agenda

Jesus isn’t a republican

Jesus isn’t a democrat

Jesus is the way the truth and the life

River/Streams/Tributaries

I know faithful Christians that vote democrat

I know faithful Christians that vote republican

But we cant let this polarization keep us from unity

The enemy wants us to keep fighting one another and remain torn apart

We (you all as the next generation) have to learn to disagree with people and maintain unity for the sake of Jesus

We live in a world that writes people off that disagree with us (cancel culture)

But that is not the way of Jesus

Look here are 3 people from vastly different backgrounds that started to follow Jesus in the Gospels:

Matthew - Jewish Tax Collector

Simon the Zealot

Nicodemus the Pharisee

And don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying politics don’t matter—but they can’t be the main thing

They can’t be the cause you devote your everything to

Jesus has to be center

When we follow Jesus that is our primary identity

More important than our opinions more important than how we vote

No political party or cause can be your savior—only Jesus can

Which brings me back to what Jesus said

Mark 12:15–17 CSB

“Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

We have the privledge of not being occupied by a foreign country and being forced to pay taxes

We have rights and we can vote, we have power to change our political landscape

And we should steward those things well

We should give to Caesar what is due

We should pay our taxes, we should participate in government—voting, advocacy

We aren’t to just sit on the sidelines

(SLIDES)

Jeremiah 29:7 CSB

7 Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.”

But our hope can’t be to bring salvation to the world through the ways of the world

Jesus lived in a messed up world of Roman Injustice

Oppression of the poor, slavery, brutal conquest and subjgation, political corruption

Not once does Jesus call out the injustice of Rome and call for reform

He points to following Him — and the only think he calls out is religious hypocrisy in those who say they follow God

And the think is—Rome eventually becomes Christian—not through conquest or political reform

But through faithful witness and suffering

And you know what happened after?

Eventually Rome fell

But the Kingdom of God has not and will never fall

Are we Kingdom minded?

Or are we obbessed and occupied trying to perfect a broken system?

Are we focused on establishing the Kingdom of Heaven?

Nations rise and nations fall—but the Kingdom of God remains forever

God doesn’t want to change the world

He wants to change people

He wants to change you

Conclusion

So as we wrap up I want us to sit with these words of Jesus:

(SLIDES)

“Give to God the things that are God’s”

Are we doing this?

What things are God’s? — Everything

Ourselves

Our bodies

Our talents

Our time

Our possessions

And I know this seems like a steep ask—a very steep ask

But we can give ourselves completely to God, because He has given himself completely to us

And this is the gospel—

God has given everything for you

His own life for you

Your life isn’t meaningless or pointless

It has immeasurable worth

And on the cross Jesus gave himself to save us

Will we give back to God—the new life that he has given us?

Kitchen Nightmares

our response is to give him everything back in return

We belong to God

He knows best

Discussion Questions

Icebreaker:

What period in history do you find the most interesting?

Questions:

Where do you see people muddle Jesus with their own causes today?

Where do you face temptation to compromise to fit into a group?

What are things that keep you from giving everything to Jesus?