Sermon Matthew 22:15-22 Paying Taxes

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Churches

Sermon Matthew 22:15-22 Paying Taxes

October 19, 2014

I am continuing today with a series of sermons drawn from conversations Jesus had with religious leaders on the day after he had overturned the tables of the money changers in the Jerusalem temple. Today Jesus is back at temple and the question he is asked is about paying taxes. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

Lord God, giver of light and darkness, from the rising of the sun to its setting you have called me by name; there is no God besides you. Go before me and guide me this day; bless and keep me forever. Amen”.¹

^{Matthew 22:15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. "Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"}

^{18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" 21 "Caesar's," they replied. Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." 22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.}

^{The Pharisees have developed an elaborate plot to trap Jesus. They have sent some of their own disciples who believe that people should focus on their own personal piety rather than what is going on politically. They have also sent some Herodians who believe that cooperation with the government is the key to their safety. They plan on asking Jesus about paying taxes to Caesar. If Jesus says yes the Pharisees will be upset because it indicates cooperation with the Romans. If he says no the Herodians will be upset because they fear Roman power. Let's see what Jesus does.}

^{Jesus knows that when the Kingdom of God is fully realized there will be no more taxes. Our resources will not be used to support a king and his army. Rather, our tithes and offerings will go to care for the poor and the needy, the widows, the orphans and the aliens in the land. So Jesus has to be careful how he replies. So he asks them if they have coins in their pockets, which they do. As soon as Jesus sees the coin he makes the following statement, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."}

^{To a gentile or a government official listening in Jesus seems to be saying, “Pay your taxes.” But to the religious leaders, Jesus is saying something completely different. Let me explain.}

^{There is a well known history book from the first century before Christ called First Maccabees. This book is not in our Bibles. It is not scripture. The Protestant reformers put it into a group of books called the Apocrypha and told us that these should be read by Christians. And as we will see First Maccabees helps us to understand the New Testament.}

^{The story in First Maccabees takes place about 150 years before Jesus. Alexander the Great had conquered the Persian Empire and controlled Judea. At Alexander's death his kingdom was divided among three generals. A descendant of one of these generals was a king in Syria named Antiochus. Antiochus was a violent king. He captured several fortified cities in Egypt and plundered them. Then he came to Jerusalem. He entered the Temple where no gentile was permitted to go. And he stole everything of value.}

^{Antiochus wanted to unify his kingdom. He decided that the best way to do this was to have everyone worship the same god. For most people in his kingdom this was not a problem. They worshiped many gods and adding one more was not a concern. But in Jerusalem the Jews worshiped only one God. There was no possibility of adding another. Antiochus believed that he was the manifestation of Zeus on earth. So he had images of himself made and distributed to temples throughout his kingdom. Everyone was ordered to worship Antiochus. When a government official arrived in Jerusalem he put one of idols of Antiochus in the Temple of God for worship.}

^{A priest named Matthias was outraged by this. When the government officials arrived at his town with image of Antiochus, Matthias murdered him. Matthias and his sons then fled to a mountain for safety. But first Matthias shouted,}

^{1 Maccabees 2:27 "Let every one who is zealous for the law and supports the covenant come out with me!"}

^{The faithful men of Judea followed Matthias and his sons. Matthias had his son, Judas, form an army. Judas was known as “the hammer”, which in their language was the word “Maccabeus”. Matthias commissioned Judas Maccabeus as leader of the army with these words,}

^{1 Maccabees 2:68 68 Pay back the Gentiles in full, and obey the commands of the law."}

^{Jesus saw the coin from the pocket of religious leaders as he stood in the Jerusalem temple. The coin had the image of Tiberius Caesar on one side and an inscription saying that he was god on the other. The religious leaders had brought an idolatrous image into the temple just as the government official did in Matthias' day, and so Jesus responded with a paraphrase of Matthias' own words. Jesus' saying, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's", means: give the Romans what they deserve, and obey the law of God.}

^{This is a revolutionary statement. It means that the Kingdom of God is coming and will replace the kingdoms of earth. The Book of Revelation put's it this way,}

^{Revelation 21:23-24 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.}

^{All the king on earth will bow down and worship Jesus when he returns. Those who refuse will be destroyed. Jesus will be king over the entire world. And the taxes we pay will be to support God's purposes to care for the vulnerable in our society.}

^{Finally, the Kingdom of God must print money so that taxes can be paid. What kind of currency we will be using under Jesus' reign? We know that in the first century people valued coins that bore the image of Caesar and used these as currency. Today we value green pieces of payer, called dollars, with portraits of presidents on them and use these to pay our taxes. What will be our valuable currency in the Kingdom of God? We know that whatever it is it must have God's image on it. Right? We read in the very first chapter of the Bible,}

^{Genesis 1:27 27 So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.}

^{So in the Kingdom of God, when Jesus returns, we will value currency stamped with the image of God. We will value humankind, male and female, created in the image of God. We will pay our taxes by caring for others. Let's pray.}

^{Lord Jesus we confess that we value money with portraits of presidents on them more than people created in God's image. As we come closer and closer to your kingdom help us to place higher value on people. Help us to seek out those who need our help and use our resources to satisfy their needs. Amen.}

1Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year A, Volume 2 © 2014 Westminster John Knox Press p214.