Honoring Caesar Luke 20 Vs 20-26

We're glad to all see you here to fellowship with one another and praise God's name. The announcements for this week Prayer meeting tonight happening at 6 p .m. Feel free to join us there. We also have missionary of the month with Steve and Joyce Louie.

They have a ministry in or they're a part of the BMW ministry and they serve specifically in the Atlanta, Georgia area. But they're they actually serve within the staffing of BMW. So even though they're not on the front lines, they still hope and provide resources and support to those who are on the front lines so just pray that they're able to continue in their efforts to Help those who are on the front lines and assisting with the spreading of the gospel there.

And then we also have a There's like a new session With defending the faith against Catholicism that pastor Illigen is going to be starting during next Sunday's adult serve Sunday service. Starting at 930 so obviously everyone who joins at 930 feel free to join there.

It'll be a nice apologetics class for Catholicism, so and then we have the next week's summer Gathering at the Hoffman's so that'll be great to see everyone there. I'm supposed to be I think a hundred degrees but I Bring an umbrella.

But yeah, and then there finally there would be the next Bible study that is through the praying with Paul book would be Next Wednesday on the 7th at 530. So feel free to join us there. But that does it for announcements and will before we head into worship and sermon will open with the word of prayer Dear Lord, thank you for this day.

I've given us Thank you for all allowing us all to come here and fellowship and worship in your name Lord. And as we proceed with moving forward with that Prepare our hearts Lord so that we're here in the right state of mind to worship and to receive the word that is going to Be taught here today Lord.

So that we can better understand your character as it is written in Scripture in your name. We pray Jesus name. Amen.

True Worship and Whole-Hearted Praise

Well, good morning and Yes, there will be misters in the backyard and and the house will be open as well. So if it's too hot outside for some of you that are able to come inside this week I was I was there's reading through a book and it's called what is true worship and You know if we really got into it we could order out we could Pastor could put his sermon aside for a week and we just sit here for the rest of the afternoon talking about it and learning More about it, but I'm gonna condense it down into a couple sentences for you.

It's a worship is when we give our deepest affections and highest praise to something. True worship of God is when we love him with all our heart soul mind and strength. It's when we prize God above everything else and put him first in our hearts.

And that's what we do now. That's what we should do every moment of every day is giving God the preeminent position in Glory in our lives so that we can bring him glory. So it's about our heart and Worship before the Lord and that's what we do when we corporately gather together.

Why don't you stand together with us? And our first song is going to be behold our God Song is in reference to Revelation 19 12 where it says on his head are many crowns. Crown him with many crowns.

Submission to Governing Authorities

Scripture reading is gonna be on. Romans chapter 13 verses 1 through 7. Romans chapter 13 verses 1 through 7. Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. Where there is no authority except from God and those which exists are established by God.

Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the audience of God and they who have Opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior but for evil.

Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same for it is a minister of God to you forget. But if you do what is evil be afraid for it does not bear the sword for nothing.

For it is a minister of God an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore it is necessary to be in Subjection not only because of wrath but also for conscience sake. For because of this you also pay taxes.

For rulers are servants of God. Devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all that is due that. Tax. To whom tax is due. Custom. To whom custom. Fear. To whom fear. Honor to whom honor.

This is the word of the Lord. Our next song is I surrender all and it's Something for each one of us in our lives. Do we have half a heart for God or do we have a whole heart for God? Do we give him everything every emotion every thought every desire?

Is it his or? Is it my flesh and God would have it that it would be our whole heart and it would be Everything that we can give to him surrendering all. So let's stand together as we think about that with this song.

Honoring Caesar and Rendering to God

Turn with me to Luke chapter 20 verses 20 through 26. Luke chapter 20 verses 20 through 26 so they watched him and Sent spies who pretended to be righteous. That they might seize on his words in order to deliver him to the power and the authority of the governor.

Then they asked him saying teacher We know that you say and teach rightly and you do not show personal favoritism. But teach the way of God and truth. Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

But he perceived their craftiness and said to them why do you test me? Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have? They answered and said Caesars and he said to them Render therefore Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's.

But they could not catch him in his words in the presence of the people and They marveled at his answer and kept silent. This is the Word of the Lord. Let us pray Father we're grateful that you are in charge you are in charge over all the governing authorities and you rule righteously and When those governing authorities rebel you put them down.

Thank you that you are compassionate to us. We're blessed to have so many of the things that we have in this country. We're blessed to have the freedom of worship. We're blessed to hear the Word of God preached and taught every Sunday morning.

Thank you that you give us the protection and provision to do that. Help us to understand your word and help us to be transformed by your word by the work of your spirit in Jesus name this passage shows a new challenge against Jesus.

Unlike the previous challenges which were more public. This challenge is more subtle. The Jewish religious leaders are not in the picture here. Instead they have sent spies to trap Jesus to say the wrong thing at the wrong time in front of the audience so that He would be taken care of whether by the mob or By the Roman authorities.

Here the question is an either-or it calls for an either-or answer. Do you honor Caesar or God? That's basically it. Do you honor Caesar the Roman Emperor? Right or God. The religious establishment has learned from Jesus already.

But in the wrong way just as Jesus posed an either-or question. Regarding John the Baptist's baptism, which stumped them right? They didn't know how to answer whether they said Oh, yes, it is from heaven.

Then Jesus would have said why didn't you receive him or they would say? No, then the crowd would have stoned them in the similar sense. They learned we're gonna ask him a Either-or question and in this case Jesus could say yes or no and it would anger one party or another.

They hope to trap Jesus in saying something wrong about God or wrong about Caesar and Today's text will show that Jesus wisdom is beyond their imagination. This text often is used wrongly to talk about separation of church and state as if The church can't talk about anything that's political right.

But the point I think what's really important is when we read through the Bible Every governing authority is not a separate power on to itself. But every governing authority is under the authority of God.

They're not two Opposing forces or even two separate forces going against each other. Although it may seem that way ultimately every governing authority submits to the divine authority of God. And that's what Romans 13 which was read today by Hezekiah talked about the governing authorities are actually a force for good and To punish evil and as long as they are following that they are going they're submitting themselves under God's authority.

Right. That's something we need to remember. And this is important because the relationship between the church's obedience to the governing bodies and God Has been in tension for millennia that This text specifically will not go over the exception in terms of when you can Ethically and morally disobey the government in order to obey God.

Right, you can think of multiple Cases for example, even the first century second century third century Rome. They were pagan emperors and they said to worship Caesar. Right to burn incense for the Emperor and many Christians risked their lives and died Frankly by disobeying the Emperor in order to obey God right and many of our brothers and sisters and Mainly Muslim Filled communities.

They they do risk their lives to worship Jesus publicly, right? They are going against the governing authorities in various countries in order to worship Jesus. But this text doesn't tell us the exception.

That's not what the text is about. The text is generally about how? We Christians operate with two different authorities. What do we do? Now though by the exceptions if you do want to go over there because it is an important ethical question.

When can you disobey the government in order to obey God? You can find them in Daniel 3, right? Is it right to bow down to a pagan image when the Emperor demands it? Right the answers. No Daniel 6. Is it moral to stop praying because of a foolish decree?

No. And even acts 4 19 through 20 The early apostles were preaching the gospel and then the religious leaders told them you got to stop. And but Peter and John answered them. Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God you must judge.

For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard right. Do Christians stop preaching the gospel because the leaders forbid them because your Employers forbid you but because your institutions forbid you.

The answer is of course not. When there is a dichotomy between the two separate authorities the government government and God. It is the more it's the most honoring and loving thing to do to obey the supreme authority.

And again, this text is not about the exception but the norm. What do we normally do? Right, how do Christians honor the governing authority and God that's the question that we have today. And this is crucial for us because our government is becoming increasingly more hostile to Christianity and we have to walk a fine line and and and really.

Really be careful in Terms of are we just disobeying because it's inconvenient to us or are we disobeying in order to obey God? But generally even in this nation We do have to keep asking asking the question how do Christians honor the governing authority and God at the same time, right.

Not either or but how. Do Christians honor the governing authority and God at the same time first? The enemies of Christ set of false dichotomies to trap Christ. The enemies of Christ set of false dichotomies to trap Christ.

Dichotomies are all two things that are branching off, right. And it seems like you have to choose one or the other. So After the leaders lost in their public challenges, they change their method and topic.

So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be righteous that they might seize him on his words In order to deliver him to the power and the authority of the governor. Here are two major changes after the authorities lost to the religious leaders lost to Jesus.

First instead of directly challenging Jesus as they did in the past the religious leaders have chosen to secretly and sneakily Trap Jesus using spies. It's more indirect. It's more hidden. They're hired man to trap Jesus to ambush him.

Notice their method they pretended to be righteous or they pretended to be sincere. They pretended they're on Jesus side right. Although we do not know much about these spies. Who are they? What are their names?

We don't know we do know their motive to trap Jesus on his words let's catch him saying the wrong thing and. This leads to the second difference. They want to trap Jesus not in the religious arena. They've lost that.

But the political one. Their mission is get Jesus to anger the Roman Authority right. Mission let Rome take care of Jesus. Let's keep our hands clean. This is brilliant. The religious leaders found a way to kill two birds with one stone.

First if the spies succeed in getting Jesus to say something that angers Rome the Roman government will kill Jesus. Rome will do their dirty work for them. Ironically, that's what they will do when they Try to crucify Jesus.

Let's get pilot to do it the governor. Second this eliminates their main obstacle. Remember they have been prevented and killing Jesus because of the crowd the crowd loved Jesus. Well, if Jesus answers wrong right in this question The crowd Will leave him right and if Jesus answers even rightly in terms of not angering the crowd and Rome is angered and Rome kills Jesus.

What will the crowd do? The crowd will not blame the Jewish leaders. The Jewish leaders are clean. They're just spectators. Rather the crowd will just get angry at Rome, but that's not their problem anymore.

So they found a perfect scapegoat Rome. Right, and this is a big scapegoat. You can't really kill this girl. Remember the religious leaders were not idiots. They were not intellectually deficient, right?

They were morally deficient. The spy set up the trap in verses 21 through 22. Verse 21 starts with their flattery teacher. We know that you say and teach rightly and you do not show personal Favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth.

The flattery is what makes them hypocrites because while internally they have no regard for Jesus. They rather want Jesus dead. Externally they praise Jesus right teacher teacher. What a title, right?

Ironically, they have no desire to follow any of this teaching. First they praise Jesus for his correct teaching and speech this Word for you say and teach rightly is where we actually get the word orthodontist straight you teach and say Straightly, it's straight right like straight teeth.

Second Jesus does not show partiality. He is impartial a literal translation. Is that Jesus does not accept the person's face. Remember partiality remember favoritism. It's about showing favor Unfairly to someone because of how they look right.

Oh. They're more beautiful right or they look good they're externally Superb, let me just show them a little more. That's that's what it is. What this is saying is Jesus is not swayed by their outward appearance.

He does not play favorites and ironically their flattery will not work on Jesus, right? In that sense they got it, right. He does not play favorites just because you flatter him doesn't mean he will go along with you.

Third Jesus teaches God's way in truth, and he will teach God's way in truth to these Fake students who'd really don't desire to learn now after they flatter him. They set the trap behind the lure, this is the trap.

Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not? This question is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not is Well-crafted. In fact, it shows that the religious leaders learned a lesson or two from challenging Jesus.

Remember in chapter 20 verses 1 through 8 the religious leaders posed an open-ended question. Oh, where is your authority from and Jesus answered with an either-or question. John the Baptist baptism.

Where is that from heaven or earth? Heaven or man, and if they answered from heaven, he would have challenged their unfaithful response to really God and. Yet if they had answered from men the crowd would have killed them because they thought that John the Baptist was a prophet.

In a similar yet perverse way they posed Jesus an either-or question. While Jesus posed and posed the either-or question to bring the leaders to repentance earlier. The leaders posed their either-or questions to to eliminate Jesus their motive is completely different.

Here if Jesus answers, yes, is it lawful to pay tribute to Caesar then he will lose the popular support. The crowd will stop following him because they're the oppressed people right they've been under the Roman Authority and they are not a fan of Rome and the poll tax this Specific type of tax is actually paid directly to Rome.

It's not paid to a Jewish tax collector, but rather it goes directly to the Roman government. So this is a highly controversial tax to even bring up it acknowledged Caesar as their ruler and Israel did not like that kind of reminder of the Roman oppression and.

Without the popular support the leaders can easily eliminate Jesus after all the past few passages. The leaders were kept back from murdering Jesus the innocent man. Because of the crowd. Yet if Jesus had said no it is not lawful that you pay tribute to Rome.

Then Rome will consider that an insurrection and the Empire will take care of Jesus promptly. Right in in any nation you just don't mess with the taxes in one sense. This question pits loyalty to God against loyalty to Caesar.

Who will you honor God or Caesar? Now, how does Jesus respond? You cannot pit obedience to the government against obedience to God. You cannot pit obedience to the government against obedience to God.

We see Jesus response from verses 23 through 26. First we see that Jesus saw their true intention. But he perceived their craftiness and said to them. Why do you test me? The craftiness actually has a negative sense here.

It's not about wisdom but about trickery. In fact Paul uses this word craftiness in 2nd Corinthians 11 verse 3 to describe the serpent. Deceiving deceiving Eve right? That's craftiness of the serpent the devil.

Just as they ironically flattered Jesus that he only speaks what is true. Jesus flat-out says it. Why do you test me? He can see it he can Perceive it that it's a test and he will say it. He's not gonna beat around the bush.

Why do you test me? Jesus will not go along with their charades, right? He's not a pushover. Instead of a simple yes or no Jesus teaches them a lesson. Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have.

A denarius was a Roman coin and It was worth about. I mean, it's made out of silver. It was a day's wage for a common laborer, right? So they would receive a denarius for one day's work and It all enduring Jesus day right the early first century.

That coin would have Emperor Tiberius his face. Emperor Tiberius came right after Caesar Augustus. And before Caesar Augustus there was Julius Caesar the dictator. That was his real title dictator then Caesar Augustus and Caesar Augustus Died and then Emperor Tiberius became the Emperor.

On one side of the denarius would would be the picture of Emperor Tiberius and The inscription would be Tiberius Caesar Augustus son of divine Augustus. So they deified the previous Emperor and on the other side had the inscription Pontifex Maximus.

Maximus means high right highest highest right max. Pontifex means priest high priest needless to say. This would have been a repulsive item to a Jew. Not only is there a man's image with the deified man.

But on the other side, there's the high priest and the high priest, of course is not a Jewish high priest. It's the Roman high priest. First the coin deified the pagan King. Second it made an image of their deified King.

It was just a coin of idolatry. Ironically the spies have no problem showing this coin. They weren't repulsed by that coin, right? So they easily take it out and they answer Jesus question. They answer Caesars.

Yeah, they whose image and inscription Caesars. They have it. They have no problem carrying it around a. A couple of striking things to note here first. Either our Savior did not have a denarius to spare as in he was.

He was poor, right? He didn't just have a coin to just Look at or he did not want to have such a coin. He didn't want to carry around that coin. After all he could pay the tax in another currency, they actually use precious metals so silver is silver, right?

Second these spies who pretended to adore Jesus have no problem carrying around an idolatrous image. They have no problem using the coin to trade. They don't really care about the purity of worship or honoring God.

They only want to trap Jesus. They just want to look good in order to trap Jesus. Right, that's it. That's hypocrisy. Jesus then remarkably responds Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesars and to God the things that are gods.

The word here render it means give back. It often is used for the context of paying back debt. If you owe someone debt give it back, right that's the right thing to do. So give back to Caesar therefore the things that are Caesars notice Jesus did not say yes, it is lawful for you to pay taxes to a pagan regime and.

That they will probably use it for some grotesque perverse means right programs that they have rituals. Yet notice how Jesus also doesn't say no it is not lawful for you to pay because God will not be worshiped when you obey.

Rather Jesus does not play along with their game. He actually abandons their whole paradigm of yes or no. His argument is rather brilliant. While the spies want to trap Jesus in breaking the first table of the Ten Commandments as in honoring God.

Well if you if you honor Caesar, you're dishonoring God. You're an idolater, right? Jesus actually ties this paying tax to the eighth commandment. Which is do not steal or rather positively return anything that belongs to someone else.

Right. That's the positive form of do not steal return it. Don't keep it. Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesars in this case since the denarius has Caesar's face and name Printed on it and it is in fact printed by Caesar's Treasury, right?

Give it back to him. In this sense the answer to the question Do you honor Caesar or God is not it's not either or but both and You're actually loving your neighbor in this case would be Caesar which when you love your neighbor you love God.

You can't love your neighbor without loving God and Keeping back something that belongs to someone else is not loving your neighbor and it also doesn't love God. They try to falsely separate two options as if you had to choose one.

Jesus rather shows that when you do what is right in God's eyes by returning to Caesar what belongs to him. You're honoring God. When you honor the Emperor whom God has sovereignly established even the pagan Roman emperors were established by God Rome came to power not because of their Ingenuity or special genetics, but because God has sovereignly Declared that Rome will come to power around this time.

And when you honor the Emperor whom God has sovereignly chosen you in the end honor God. When you honor Caesar in doing what is right according to God you ultimately honor God. The key phrase here is doing right according to God this is not a rubber stamp to do everything that the Emperor asked you to do but Honoring the Emperor by doing right what according to God.

Ultimately when you honor the lesser authority you honor the highest authority Jesus. When you honor the Emperors that have been placed by God then you honor God. And what Jesus is saying is you cannot pit honoring the government against honoring God as long as the government stays.

It's in its own lane. Right as long as the government does not demand worship that is solely due to God. Christians honor God by honoring the government. When you pay your taxes or for us we paid our taxes hopefully You were honoring God ultimately.

You weren't hopefully you didn't do it so that the IRS doesn't send you a mail or an audit. But rather you did it because by doing this you honor God. That's that's that's what it is. Ultimately you worship God.

Even when you're obeying the government and you may not even like that. Because ultimately the IRS the Treasury Department the president the executive branch the whole thing that exists because God has placed them there not a second goes by in which they can exist without God's permission and When a regime becomes too wicked God will take care of that right, and that's been the case in history.

In the end we we honor God by honoring the rulers and that he set up and remember the first century situation the wicked chief priests governor pilot the Roman governor King Herod a Pathetamite they pursued their own self-interest to kill the innocent Jesus.

Yet God used them to bring about salvation for the world when Jesus bore our sin and died on the cross. Now this does not mean pilot the chief priests and Herod were all good people in the end. Not that's not at all.

They acted upon their own will their own wicked self-interested will selfish. Will to kill an innocent man, right for their own separate agenda. Yet it was God Who was still sovereign over them? Right.

They meant for evil, but God brought out good through even through their wickedness despite their wickedness. And of course, they will be judged for their evil act of putting God incarnate to death. Yet God's plan was not thwarted by their wicked plan.

God's plan of salvation was not prevented at all right. Ultimately when the rulers go against God's will. We have to faithfully trust in God and wait for him to deal with them. Insurrection is never an answer for Christians.

Remember God actually has a perfect track record of overthrowing prideful self-deifying rulers. It's never in the time that we we would like him to but It's a testament to see that. Stalin Hitler Roman Emperors Mao.

They're gone. Regimes don't last when they oppose God. Babylon Assyria Greece Syria Rome. They're gone. Their empires fell. Imperial Japan. They're gone. Why? Because regimes that have been placed by God that act wickedly against God's will will be put out and Christians we trust God.

Then Jesus ends with this render to God the things that are God's right. It doesn't just end with what you do with Caesar. But what do you do with God? How do you honor God? However, the spies do not answer this question, right?

But they could not catch him in his words in the presence of the people and They marveled at his answer and kept silent. Their purpose of asking the question is not to Honor God, but to trap Jesus and hence their purpose fail.

They're just silent there. They have no interest so they leave in silence. Yet the question still must be answered. What? What do we render to God that the things that are God's right. What. Render to God the things that are God's.

Then the question we have to do what we must answer we have to go backwards. Well, the things that were Caesars had Caesars likeness. Right, it looked it had Caesars image. The denarius had Caesars image and that belonged to Caesar.

The question is What has God's likeness? What has God's image. What bears God's image. And you don't really need to go too far in the Bible to find out. In fact for most of us, it's the first page is chapter 1 of Genesis.

In the Old Testament God makes humans. God makes man in his image. So God created men in his own image in the image of God. He created him male and female he created them both male and female are made in God's image.

This is important both male and female Have in inherent worth. Because they reflect God's image. You are all image bearers of God. Not the majestic lions. Not even the glorious angels. In fact, the angels don't really look like humans.

Unless they appear to look like humans. Right as messengers, but really cherubim and seraphim. They're. They're kind of stunning in a frightening way the only creatures that are made in God's image are humans.

Humankind is uniquely made in God's image and if these spies actually desire to learn from the teacher Jesus. They called him teacher. They were to leave with the lesson that they are to give themselves to God because we uniquely reflect his likeness.

In the end, we all need to submit to God because we are made in his image. We belong to God. I think it's ridiculous when people try to argue moral Moral issues. And they say why can't I do that? It doesn't hurt anyone.

But in their mind it never they never think about how it offends God or it doesn't physically hurt someone. It offends God. It's an affront to his holiness and in the end every single human being owes God.

They're all that's the lesson. And Some I don't know if I'm saying it right and some a medieval theologian Makes a great argument as to why God became man, you know, have you ever wondered that why did God become man?

Why did God become? Why did he why did Jesus come down? The the title of that book is core deus homo homo, man. Because God he answers because God has created us. We owe him complete loyalty and obedience.

This is his line of reasoning. I think it's very logical because God's the creator and we're the created we owe him full loyalty. Yet because we rebelled against God isn't remember Adam and Eve they rebelled against God and all of us we've sinned against God.

We not only need to pay hundred percent obedience, but we also have to pay a restitution for disobeying so we not only owe hundred percent of us, but we have to give him more than the hundred percent that we Inherently owed and this restitution is because we defiled his honor by going against the sovereign king.

Now because God's honor is infinite that restitution has to be infinite. It's more than just our hundred percent. When it when we sin we owe him way more infinitely more Than what we can give and when we consider this there's no way anyone can pay back what is due to God.

We are crushed by this burden of debt and it's more frightening than our national debt. And the question is how can anyone render to God what is due him. That would have been the next logical question for these spies.

Why do we give him? But how can we give it to him if if we're so much we owe him so much. It's physically impossible. The answer is found in the teacher. The teacher himself is the answer only in Jesus Christ Jesus the God Incarnate as in God made flesh.

He became flesh came down to earth. He alone lived the perfect life that no one else could live. Everyone failed to live and he died the death that we deserved. He suffered God's wrath on the cross to repay what we owe God.

He's the one who paid the restitution that we owe God. Then he rose from the dead and The good news is that when you believe in Jesus death and resurrection for your sin His righteousness is accredited to you.

I'm using a Trade language here, right? I'm using an economic language here. It's accredited. His righteousness is accredited. Accredited it means something that is not inherently yours to begin with is given to you you're given the credit and He knows you cannot possibly righteously completely give yourself to God.

Even trying to do so would in incriminate you further. Yet if you trust in Jesus Christ his perfect record is Accredited to you as your wicked record of debt against God Has been paid for on the cross.

That's the only way in which you render to God what belongs to God. In our own power, it is impossible to render to God what we owe God. We owe him way too much but when you believe in Jesus Christ He has paid your debt.

You bear it no longer and not only not only are you free of debt? But you're richly lavished in his perfect record of righteousness. That's what we call Imputed righteousness. When God looks at you, he doesn't look at your broken bank-account with all the negative numbers.

He looks at Jesus infinite honor. That he's earned on the cross. That's imputed righteousness. He puts it on you and that's how you render to God what belongs to God. Let us pray. Father we're grateful that Although our debt was great our Savior Was and is greater.

Thank you that not only our debt is all paid off but our bank account is infinitely positive because of Jesus Christ. Thank you that we can give to him only in Jesus Christ. Help us to faithfully Give all of ourselves to you through Jesus Christ in his name.

We pray man.

This this morning we're glad to have you with us. Pray that you have a good day today.

Remember next Sunday after church. We go directly to Harold and Debbie's for a picnic. We look forward to your fellowship. Then you are dismissed.