Chapter 91
THE QUESTION ABOUT TAXES
Part I – Render Unto Caesar, Caesar’s
Matthew 22:15-22
As it is our custom, before we begin this study let us pray.
Dear Heavenly Father, Almighty God
We come before You in the name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Almighty God, we come to ask You to please bless this study and move upon us to truly hear, see and understand what You are teaching us. In addition, please move upon us to heed Your instruction and go forth to do what You have taught us. In Jesus Christ’s Holy Name we pray.
Amen
PRELUDE
As a prelude to this study let us read the following confrontation Jesus encountered with the Pharisees and the Herodians. To do this we go to,
Matthew 22:15-17
[15] Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. [16] And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. [17] Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
Let us notice the following verses,
15 … The motive for the upcoming question of the Pharisees was to try and confuse or entrap Jesus in His teaching. In other words, they were not honestly asking Him a question of how they, the Israelites, were to allocate their loyalties between the Roman government and God’s Kingdom. No! Instead, they were going to try and entrap Jesus with His own teachings.
16 … According to “The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible”1, the Herodians were strong supporters of King Herod the Great and his secular dynasty over Israel.
17 … Even though this question was asked with the intent to discredit Jesus’ teachings; for the true born-again believers in Jesus Christ it is still a very important and significant question. One only need to consider how many times we, the born again Christian, has been confronted with the question of when we are to obey or when we are not to obey the commands of those who have secular authority over us.
Let us now read Jesus’ response to the Pharisees and Herodians as it is recorded in,
Matthew 22:18-22
[18] But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? [19] Show Me the tax money.” So they brought Him a denarius. [20] And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” [21] They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” [22] When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.
In reflecting upon Jesus’ response we come to the realization that Jesus had provided them and now us two major teachings. These teachings will be explored in the following two chapters.
Chapter 91 (this chapter) – In this chapter we will explore Jesus’ teaching that; “We are to give to Caesar that which belongs to Caesar.”
Chapter 92 – In this chapter we will examine Jesus’ teaching that; “We are to give to God that which belongs to God.”
With the above prelude in mind we now begin our study of Jesus’ teaching that; “We are to give to Caesar that which belongs to Caesar.”
INTRODUCTION
To help us more fully understand how Jesus’ teaching with respect to Caesar applies to today’s Christian, it is noted that the term Caesar encompasses all those who have governmental or secular authority over us. Thus, the title Caesar would also apply to kings, dictators, presidents, mayors, governors, etc.
As we explore the above teaching we will find that,
1. The Caesar’s of our life have been placed there by God.
2. We are to obey the Caesar’s of our life.
3. We are to pray for the cities we live in and for its leaders or Caesars.
Given this introduction we begin by exploring the fact that,
THE CAESAR’S OF THIS WORLD ARE OF GOD
To see this we will first review that,
GOD CHOSE THE RULERS/KINGS OVER ISRAEL
Our first example is that of,
King Saul
From the time of Abraham up until King Saul, God almighty was the only recognized King over Israel. However, the Israelites wanted to be like all the other nations and have a physical human being as their king. To read our Lord’s response to this request we go to,
1 Samuel 10:17-24
[17] Then Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah, [18] and said to the children of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all kingdoms and from those who oppressed you.’ [19] But you have today rejected your God, who Himself saved you from all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us!’ Now therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans.” [20] And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. [21] When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they sought him, he could not be found. [22] Therefore they inquired of the Lord further, “Has the man come here yet?”
And the Lord answered, “There he is, hidden among the equipment.” [23] So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. [24] And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?” So all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”
Let us noticed the following verses,
17-19 … In reading these verses one gets the impression that God was not happy and in fact quite disappointed with Israel’s request.
20-21 … Saul, the son of Kish, was chosen to be king.
24 … Again, we read that the Lord chose Saul to be the first human being to be king over Israel.
Our second example is,
King David
After King Saul’s continual disobedience to God’s commands, God was sorry that He anointed Saul and ultimately rejected Saul as king over Israel (see 1 Samuel 15:10-29). Consequently, God sent His prophet Samuel to anoint one of Jesse’s sons to supersede King Saul. This is recorded for us in,
1 Samuel 16:1
[1] Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.”
Let us now read the following excerpt of what happened during Samuel’s stay in the house of Jesse. To do this we go to,
1 Samuel 16:10-13
[10] Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” [11] And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.” [12] So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” [13] Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
Summary
As we read the Old Testament we discover that all the kings of Judah and Israel were selected or chosen by God. He did this through their lineage and at times He would circumvent their lineage with a specific choice such as it was with Jehu, see 2 Kings 9:1-13. Some of the kings were good and loyal to God; while others were not. However, each were chosen for God’s purposes.
Now that we have found it was God Almighty who chose and anointed the kings of Judah and Israel, the question arises as to: “How did the Caesars of the gentile or secular governments receive their power and authority?” In reading the Holy Bible we discover that, as it was with the Israelite kings,
GOD ALSO CHOSE THE CAESARS FOR THE GENTILE/SECULAR GOVERNMENTS
To verify the truth of this statement, we will review the following three examples; (1) the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, (2) Egypt’s Pharaoh and (3) the Roman governor Pontius Pilate.
Our first example is that of,
The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar
According to Volume 1 of the “Universal History of the World”2 in 612 BC the Babylonians, under the influence of the Chaldeans, captured and burnt the Assyrian capital Nineveh. At this time King Nebuchadnezzar came to the throne and made the Babylonian empire a power to be feared and respected. Under his reign Babylon became famous for its luxurious and sinful living. It was under King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign that the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and took the Israelites captive to Babylon.
The question for this study is; “How did Nebuchadnezzar come to power?” The answer to this question can be found in one of Jeremiah’s prophecies concerning the fall of Israel. The prophecy of interest is recorded in,
Jeremiah 25:8-9
[8] “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words, [9] behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ says the Lord, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations.
Let us notice the following verse,
8 … Because of the Israelites continual disobedience to God, judgment had come. As we will see in the next verse, God was going to use the gentile nations to carry out His wrath upon Jerusalem and its inhabitants.
9 … God identified King Nebuchadnezzar as His servant. In addition, God said He was going to bring Nebuchadnezzar and his army to destroy Israel and the nations around it.
Not only did God make it clear to the Israelites that King Nebuchadnezzar was His servant, He also made it clear to Nebuchadnezzar. This occurred when King Nebuchadnezzar became very prideful of all the accomplishments he experienced. His pride was so great that Nebuchadnezzar even erected a gold image of himself to be worshipped. To teach the king that he was not a god to be worshipped, God gave Nebuchadnezzar a dream. In this dream or vision God told Nebuchadnezzar that for a period of time He was not only going to remove him from the Babylonian throne but He was also going to place him in the wilderness.
Daniel 4:19-25
[19] Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for a time, and his thoughts troubled him. So the king spoke, and said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation trouble you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream concern those who hate you, and its interpretation concern your enemies! [20] “The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached to the heavens and which could be seen by all the earth, [21] whose leaves were lovely and its fruit abundant, in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and in whose branches the birds of the heaven had their home— [22] it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens, and your dominion to the end of the earth. [23] “And inasmuch as the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field; let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him graze with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him’; [24] this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: [25] They shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.
In fact, this is exactly what happened. To see this we go to,
Daniel 4:34-37
[34] And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to generation. [35] All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, “What have You done?” [36] At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me. [37] Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.
Let us notice the following verses,
34 … At the completion of Nebuchadnezzar’s banishment God restored Nebuchadnezzar’s understanding. He now knew God’s dominion was everlasting.
35-36 … Nebuchadnezzar recognized that it is God who performs His will over the inhabitants of Heaven and earth. Now that Nebuchadnezzar understood this truth, God restored him to the throne of Babylon.
37 … In addition, Nebuchadnezzar further understood that God is the King over Heaven and all of His works are truth and righteous. Nebuchadnezzar also realized God Almighty is quite capable to put down those who walk in pride and are righteous in their own eyes.
Our second example is that of,
Egypt’s Pharaoh
To read who placed Pharaoh into power, let us read from,
Romans 9:17
[17] For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”
The third and last example for this portion of our study is,
The Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate
To find out who gave Pilate the power he had, let us go to the time before Jesus was sentenced to death by crucifixion and read what He said to Pilate. To do this we go to,
John 19:7-11a
[7] The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.” [8] Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, [9] and went again into the Praetoriun, and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. [10] Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?” [11] Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above…”
SUMMARY
To summarize this portion of our study let us read the following prayer of Daniel. Daniel said this prayer after God revealed to him the meaning of Nebuchadnezzar’s visions. The portion of interest for this study is in,
Daniel 2:19-21
[19] Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. [20] Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. [21] And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.
Since all the Caesar’s of the world have been placed there by God,
WE ARE TO OBEY THEM
To see this let us read the following instruction from,
1 Peter 2:13-17
[13] Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, [14] or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. [15] For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—[16] as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. [17] Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
Let us notice the following verses,
13-14 … It is for the Lord’s sake we are to submit or obey the governments of man. The reason for this is because God put in place the governors or Caesars to maintain rule and order over their earthly domain.
17 … Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
In addition, to the authorities who govern us, we the born-again believers in Jesus Christ are also to submit to our masters or employers. This ordinance is recorded in,
Ephesians 6:5-8
[5] Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; [6] not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, [7] with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, [8] knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.
Before we leave this portion of our study with an erroneous understanding concerning our submission to the command and dictates of our Caesars, it must be pointed out that,
OUR SUBMISSION MUST NOT VIOLATE GOD’S COMMANDS OR DESIRES
To see this we will address the following two areas of our life on earth: (1) Matters of our Christian faith and (2) Matters of the state.
Let us begin by reviewing two examples of
Matters concerning our Christian faith
The first example, within this category, would be if the government or those in authority command us to deny the God of the Bible and worship a different god. To strengthen us to stand firm in our Biblical belief, let us never forget what God said through His prophet Isaiah. The Scripture of interest for this study is in,
Isaiah 45:18
[18] For thus says the Lord,
Who created the heavens,
Who is God,
Who formed the earth and made it,
Who has established it,
Who did not create it in vain,
Who formed it to be inhabited
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
Consequently, as we read the Scriptures we are constantly reminded to never to deny this truth.
Our second example of a time that God does not want us to obey a government or those in authority would be when they command us to acknowledge and/or accept there are many ways to be saved from the penalty of our sins. In other words, if the government or authorities want us to deny the truth that our salvation from the penalty of our sins can only be obtained through faith and belief in Jesus Christ; we are not to obey their command to deny this truth.
To see this, let us first consider the following excerpt from Peter’s sermon to the Jewish Sanhedrin. In this sermon Peter explains that it is only through faith in Jesus Christ we are saved from the penalty of our sins. The verse of interest is,
Acts 4:12
[12] Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
To expand upon this let us read what God the Holy Spirit wrote to those who were turning away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To do this we go to,
Galatians 1:6-12
[6] I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, [7] which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. [8] But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. [9] As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. [10] For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. [11] But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. [12] For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Thus, as we read earlier, if any government or authority wants us to deny or turn away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is our only hope of eternal life, we are not to do it.
Let us move on to two examples of when God does not want us to violate His commands even though they are,
Matters of the state or political correctness
The first example, within this category, could be when the government defines the early growth of a human being, within a woman’s womb, to not be viable; which means that it is not yet a human child or baby. Thus, in this case, the government or authorities claim it is legal or ok to terminate or abort the pregnancy.
To see why our Lord does not want us to accept or obey this type of thinking or command, let us first read that God views this type of thinking to be futile or worthless. To read what He said we go to,
Psalm 94:8-11
[8] Understand, you senseless among the people; And you fools, when will you be wise?
[9] He who planted the ear, shall He not hear?
He who formed the eye, shall He not see?
[10] He who instructs the nations, shall He not correct, He who teaches man knowledge?
[11] The Lord knows the thoughts of man,
That they are futile.
As indicated in verses 9 and 10, the government’s thinking on the issue of abortion is futile or worthless. The reason why this is the case is revealed in,
Psalm 139:13-14
[13] For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. [14] I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
Let us notice the following verse,
13 … In our mother’s womb our spirit and soul were covered with a physical body.
Thus, if we accepted and/or obeyed the government’s law of abortion we would be either consenting to or actually killing a child of God.
The second and our last example for the matters of state or political correctness would be to place our hand upon a Bible, which is God’s Words, to take an oath or to swear to speak the truth. To be sure that our Lord does not want a true Christian to do this, let us read what Jesus said about this topic as recorded in,
Matthew 5:33-37
[33] “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ [34] But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; [35] nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. [36] Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. [37] But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
SUMMARY
To summarize this portion of our study we go to the time when the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the Israelites, forbade Peter and John to preach or teach the people about Jesus Christ. To read the apostle’s response to the council’s ruling we go to,
Acts 4:18-19
[18] So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. [19] But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge.
We now come to the third and last section of this study which is that,
WE ARE TO PRAY FOR OUR CITIES AND ITS LEADERS
To see we are to pray for the cities we live in, we go to the time of,
ISRAEL’S CAPTIVITY IN BABYLON
During their captivity in Babylon God, through His prophet Jeremiah instructed the Israelites to carry on their lives as usual. In addition, God instructed them to pray to Him for the peace of the city. To read what God said let us go to,
Jeremiah 29:4-7
[4] Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: [5] Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. [6] Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. [7] And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace.
With the above in mind we come to God’s instruction that,
WE ARE TO PRAY FOR THE WORLD”S LEADERS/CAESARS
This command for the born-again Christian is recorded in,
1 Timothy 2:1-4
[1] Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, [2] for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. [3] For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, [4] who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
With all that we have covered in mind, we now come to,
THE POINT OR MESSAGE OF THIS STUDY
Perhaps the best way to crisply summarize all we have covered is by prayerfully reading from,
Romans 13:1-7
[1] Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. [2] Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. [3] For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. [4] For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. [5] Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. [6] For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. [7] Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
Blessed be the Lord forever,
Amen and Amen