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Earlier this week, I was reading through some Luther, and I came across a quote that was written or put down in pen sometime in the 1400s before Luther was born. It was surprising how applicable it still is to today because man does not change. He is sinful from the time of his conception, and there is nothing new under the sun. The quote goes like this: little thieves are hung with chains of iron, while big thieves… It’s a Lutheran Christian sermon. They don’t deserve their salary. They’ve been the ones who are only CEOs, so they should not have this kind of money. These people are the ones that need to have the wealth distributed to them, and so on.
When the argument is, who’s the thief? Only the rich or also the poor? Only those who are CEOs or also the common laborer? Scripture says all are thieves. Granted, as the little quote from the 1400s said, we are incensed that there’s no justice for those who seem to have everything go for them, even though they were possibly great thieves. And the little man gets put to jail.
In our Wednesday night Bible class, we’ve been talking about David as of late. At the beginning of David’s life, remember, he was unjustly pursued by the king—King Saul. King Saul unjustly pursued David, wishing to destroy him because of David’s great conquests of the Philistines. David rightly could say, “Foul play, injustice! I’m being taken advantage of!” But David did not, and he entrusted himself into the hands of God. One of the Psalms that he wrote, Psalm 37, speaks about this injustice that was put upon him, that he’s waiting for God to bring about justice. Just like that quote, “little thieves are hung with chains of iron and big thieves walk about with chains of gold.” David wrote, “Do not fret because of evil men. Do not fret because or be envious of those who do wrong. For like grass, they will soon wither. And just like green plants, they will soon die away.”
Now the Pharisees and the Herodians are thinking they’re going to catch Jesus in a plot. They’re going to try to get him to say yes or no, but either way they’re going to trap him. Jesus gives a response that challenges us with a very difficult challenge. But on the same token, it’s a very easy challenge if we become like little children.
The question that they put forth, which is a great injustice to them, is couched with great manure. They say, “We know that you are a great teacher. You teach the truth. You don’t care about anyone’s opinions. You’re not swayed by anyone.” And so they ask this question: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
They are focusing on that term “lawful.” They want Jesus to say either yes or no; they don’t care. If Jesus says yes, it’s lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, they’re going to accuse him of being a friend of Caesar’s, one who allows and even says it’s okay for a pagan government, the Romans, to rule over the Jews and be oppressed by them. If he says no, then they’re going to label him as an insurrectionist and an anarchist, showing the world that, especially unto the Romans, he is a troublemaker and needs to be dealt with.
Now you’ve read enough newspapers and magazines and TV shows to know that there are both points of view within our own country when it comes to paying taxes to a government that does not promote the faith. Don’t be naive: our government is not a Christian government. It is a government, but it is not a Christian government. And we are very thankful it’s not, because then that would be mixing church and state together.
So Jesus puts the question back at them. He doesn’t really answer yes or no. He says, okay, what… He doesn’t really say this; he infers this: “The coin that you have in your pocket,” because they’re glad to use that coin, aren’t they? That coin is how they buy and purchase services. That coin is how they are paid for services. That coin is what they use to pay their taxes. So he asks them, “Whose inscription and likeness is on that coin?” They ignorantly and naively go, “Well, it’s Caesar’s.”
So Jesus then asks them the question, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” They marvel at this, not because they think it to be wise and godly; they marvel at it simply because he outsmarted them. He outfoxed them because their marvel is not belief in him as the one who is truly to be rendered unto the things of God.
The other thing that they do not believe is because Jesus preaches something just like David proclaimed in that psalm: we are called to endure unjust suffering. The church and all of her members are called to endure unfair accusations, unjust suffering. To think that we do not deserve that is to deny the very Lord who endured it himself for our sake. They don’t want that. They want justice. They want justice, sadly, in this little sphere of time known as their era in the world. And they do not see the eternality of God’s justice in the end—that vengeance is God’s, that he will bring about justice, but not always during our little moment in time.
David again in the 37th Psalm says, “Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked. For the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.”
Now all mankind have gotten themselves into trouble with this rendering thing. You see, all mankind is willing to render honor to those who deserve honor. All mankind is ready to pay taxes to those who deserve to have taxes paid to them. All mankind is ready to give revenue to those who deserve the revenue, but they are not all about doing it to those who don’t deserve it, and yet are still placed over them in authority.
Consider our own nation. We are a nation born out of insurrection and anarchy. Now that’s a whole other discussion with a political science major or a history major, but think about our beginning as a nation. We as Christians, especially in this nation, get ourselves into a pickle because we think the same way. If someone who has been placed over us in authority does not deserve something that we are to render to them, we choose not to render it to them and justify ourselves on the back because we are the ones who determine they’re not worthy of such honor.
The Lutheran Christian sermon is a Lutheran Christian sermon. See, God does not put in our hands the right to right the wrongs. God does not put into our hands always the right to right the wrongs. That is in His hands. And yet, what does Satan always tell you to do? You should rebel. You should stop that. You should talk bad about them. You should gossip. You should complain. You should grit.
You know what? Paul picks up this in his 13th chapter of Romans and says, “Everyone, 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.” Paul goes on in the same chapter: “Give to everyone what you owe him. If you owe taxes, pay taxes. If revenue, then revenue. If respect, then respect. If honor, then honor.”
And not just in government, in the church. Don’t fear this world and its cunning. It cannot nor will not win in the end. As David kept saying in the Psalms, don’t fear this world and its cunning. It cannot and will not win in the end. And don’t ruin your life or your family’s life with bitterness and complaining and a breaking of the Eighth Commandment. David says, who knows this very well—being unjustly accused by Saul—”Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Do not fret when they succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.”
Don’t fret. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently. That’s hard. But that’s rendering to God the things that are God’s. Remember Jesus’ conversation with Pilate? Pilate, with the utmost of being pompous, said, “Don’t you realize I have the power to either free you or crucify you?” And Jesus, who is submitting to the Father’s will, willingly obeying what is due Him, the injustice of mankind, says to Pilate, “You would have no power if it were not given to you from above.”
It does not answer the question why, because we have a lot of whys. We’ll never find out why was that person allowed to be in that position of authority? Why did that have to be done unto me or to my family? Why should that person be given such rule when they are incompetent? God does not answer that why, does he? Not that we can’t ask it, because we can, but David said it so well: be still and wait patiently for the Lord. That’s rendering unto God the things that are God’s.
So the question, should we, as Christ’s beloved bride, the church, submit ourselves to an oppressive or unjust government? The answer is yes. It is being done faithfully by Christians all around the world. Granted, they are bombed like those in Iraq or in Egypt, but they are not bombed. But they show forth their faith in their rendering unto God the things that are God’s. And they witness to you and to me about this text.
Granted, as long as the government does not ever call us to compromise our submission to God’s rule and authority in our life, yes, we should submit. All rules are changed when they ask us to do something outside of the Word of God. We know that.
Now, isn’t it interesting that Jesus says, “Whose likeness and inscription is on this coin?” Because he wants them to see that’s what’s been given in this world to use. In this world, not eternally.
So now I ask you, whose inscription and likeness do you bear upon your very soul? Redeemed, not with gold or silver, but with His holy precious blood. Whose likeness and inscription do you bear as God’s redeemed? Render to God the things that are God’s.
It’s interesting: the more the Christian church is oppressed, the more the Christian church grows. Not perceptibly always, but imperceptibly. In a nation as fat as you and I are living in, in America and in Europe, the Christian church, as you look around us, the vast majority of those who claim to label Christian have a very liberal and non-biblical point of view of their faith because they’re not oppressed.
In those areas of which I mentioned—like Iraq and Egypt and other places—liberal points of view on Scripture and liberal points of view of their faith are thrown out the window during oppression. It all gets narrowed down into God’s promises because there’s suffering involved. And suffering involves faith that looks to the one who allows it and looks to the one from whom we are delivered from such suffering: the same Lord Jesus Christ.
Sadly, we live in a world where, when we look at someone who’s very gifted, who’s very bright, who’s very strong, artistic even, learned and talented, they often spend much more time praising and worshiping their gift than they do the giver of that gift.
So we will always be found to be the less artistic, the less talented, the less bright, the less learned, the less talented, and all that goes along with it in this world. Because sadly, it is impossible for the wise in this world, the prudent in this world, the great and handsome in this world, the mighty and powerful in this world to agree with the Word of God. Because they see only this world and its era in which they live to be all that there is.
No matter what you thought of Steve Jobs—that’s an example—he was gifted in many ways, but he did not praise the giver of that gift. And there are many more in this world. The world lauds them, but it doesn’t laud you. The world praises them, but it burns Christians and destroys their places of worship and kills them.
Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, but render to God, whose likeness and inscription you bear upon your soul, render those things to God.
Remember this again: closing thought from David’s psalm. “Commit your way to the Lord. Trust in Him, and He will do this.” This is what He’s going to do. “He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn. He will make the justice of your cause shine like the noonday sun.”
You and I may never get to see that shining until we’re in glory, but that’s the promise. Christ died in that promise, and so will you and I, whose likeness we bear, whose inscription upon our soul has been sealed.
In the name of Jesus, amen. The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds on Christ Jesus to life everlasting. Amen.