First Parish Church

First Parish Church
180 York Street
York, Maine 03909
Telephone (207) 363-3758
email office@firstparishyork.org

“Rendering Unto Caesar” - October 19, 2008

Rev. Dr. Richard B. Knight

Luke 20:19-26 (p. 73 NT)

- a fairly well known text, one that’s important for us to reflect upon as the Fall elections approach.

When the scribes and chief priests realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people.

So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be honest, in order to trap him by what he said, so as to hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor. So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are right in what you say and teach, and you show deference to no one, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose head and whose title does it bear?” They said, “The emperor’s.” He said to them, “Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were not able in the presence of the people to trap him by what he said; and being amazed by his answer, they became silent.

If you’re like me, you’d like the election to be over.
Let’s vote today - because then they’ll be no more commercials, no more signs, no more attacks and no more debates. Life could return to normal all those elected could then try to fulfill the long list of promises they’ve made during the campaign.
One of the things we’ve all noticed a lot during presidential elections is how candidates can dodge a question with great skill and guile. It’s both annoying and entertaining.
"Senator, you’re numbers don’t seem to add up for your tax plan, can you explain that?"
"We’re facing a big problem in this country, and I have the plan that will fix it, get the economy rolling again for working families all across this nation."
Would the candidate please answer the question!
You can’t get away with that stuff in real life.
"Honey, would you take out the trash please?"
"You know waste management is a big problem facing this nation, and I have a 14 point plan to address it."
Some candidates are really skilled at it. And the trickier the question, the more skilled the candidate must be to redirect and dodge it.

Well, in our passage this morning, a very tricky question is thrown at Jesus, and he doesn’t dodge it. Luke tells us that at this point in Jesus’ ministry the religious officials have had enough of him.
Vs. 19 - the Scribes and chief priests wanted to remove him from his ministry, wanted to end his campaign to win peoples’ hearts to God. This somehow threatened them immensely. And so they sent out some spies - some people who would appear to be sincere followers of Jesus, but they’re really sent to trap him and get him in trouble.
And they’ve come up with a great question to trap him. But first they flatter him - "Teacher, we know that you are right in what you say and teach, and you show deference to no one - you tell it like it is.
"You teach the ways of God truthfully, accurately.
"Tell us, is it right to pay taxes to the Emperor or not?"
- is it right in the eyes of God to pay taxes to Rome, to Caesar, or is this being disloyal to God, the ultimate authority?"
It’s a great trap because if Jesus says "Pay your taxes, even if it is to Rome," he will anger and alienate many of his fellow Jews who resented what was called the "Poll Tax." It was a tax that annoyed most First Century Jews. - everyone from a teenager on up had to pay one denarius just for the privilege of being a part of the Roman Empire (which of course, most of them wanted no part of).
So if he endorses taxes, he might lose a lot of his followers. But if Jesus says, "No, don’t pay taxes to Rome. God is only Authority you need to recognize & pay tribute to," - - - then he gets into big trouble with the Roman authorities, which is the hope of the religious leaders who are trying to trap him." - let the Romans do the dirty work.
Vs. 23 is a telling reminder - "But Jesus perceived their craftiness." - the craftiness of those asking the question. Jesus saw inside their hearts. Love the Lord you God with all your heart. God sees our hearts. God knows our intentions, our sincerity or lack there of, and we should always remember that and ask God to cleanse our hearts and fill us with a genuine desire to do God’s will. "But Jesus perceived their craftiness."
So Jesus knows they’re out to trick him but he doesn’t dodge the question.
"Show me a coin, please. Whose face is this?"
"The emperor’s.
Then he speaks those famous words, "Then render unto Caesar what it Caesar’s and render unto God the things that belong to God."
Those who came to trick him were so amazed at his answer that the text simply says, "they became silent." There was nothing more to say.
Of course it does leave us with a few questions -

What are we to render unto Caesar?
What does Caesar deserve?" ("Caesar" of course representing the government and the nation that we’re a part of - "One nation under God.")
What responsibilities do we have as Christians to our nation?
What are we to render unto Caesar?

I. First of all, our nation deserves our Participation.

I saw a bumper sticker recently that said, "Vote or Keep Quiet." (It actually read, "Vote or Shut Up!") It’s surprising that our voting turn-outs aren’t higher than they are.
In the last presidential election in 2004, more people voted in the American Idol TV show’s final voting, than voted in the Presidential election. Caesar deserves our participation - our thoughtful, informed participation.

William Barclay commenting on this passage writes: "There should be no better and no more conscientious citizens of any state than its Christians."
Barclay also calls for people of faith to become involved in politics and running for office and working for our government.
There’s a great history in the Bible of people of faith working in government and being used by God through the position that they had.

- Joseph served Pharaoh in Egypt and could therefore save his family from starvation and in turn save what would become the entire Jewish nation.
- Nehemiah was a servant to the Persian King Artaxerxes and was able to convince the King to send him back to Jerusalem to begin to rebuild the Holy City.
- Mordicai was involved in King Xerxes government and along with Esther, one of the king’s wives, they were able to save the Israelites from a plot to destroy them.

In our history there’s a great tradition of people of faith serving our nation so well - whether it be George Washington calling for morning prayers at Valley Forge, or Abraham Lincoln drawing upon his faith in the darkest of times, or our service men & women going into harm’s way with the values of faith, service and sacrifice deep within them.
Christians should participate in government either directly through public service or by being informed citizens - because the government can do so much good.
Illustration. The Ecumenical CROP Walk is today. And we’ll probably raise several thousand dollars, half of which will go to the York Food Pantry.
But the government could pass a bill tomorrow to send millions of dollars to the food pantries across this country.

One other thing about our Participation in the realm of Caesar - I wish that Christians could lead the way toward a more civil discourse of the issues. Don’t you? I’ve been to church meetings on the denominational level, and when they discuss the issues of the day it often doesn’t sound any different than the discussions that occur in purely secular settings.
And it should sound different in at least two ways -

- we should be evaluating our political positions in light of scripture, particularly the teachings of Jesus.
- and secondly, Christian discourse on the issues should be civil and respectful.

I had high hopes this year for the presidential campaign, because John McCain has always seemed to me to work well with folks across the aisle. And Barack Obama has seemed to me to be a person who seeks to understand and respect both sides of an issue.
But politics doesn’t always bring out the best in people.
Jesus by the way had his hands full when it came to political differences among his disciples. You know that he called Matthew the Tax Collector to be one of his disciples. He also called Simon the Zealot to be one of his disciples.
Zealots, as their name suggests, were radicals who believed in a violent overthrow of the Romans, to get them out of the Holy Land. Zealots and Tax Collectors did not get along. In fact, Zealots sometimes killed tax collectors - because they were collecting taxes for Rome.
So Jesus says to Matthew the Tax Collector and to Simon the Zealot, "Come, follow me - be brothers in the family of God, be servants together of the Most High."
Surely there’s a lesson in there for us about respect and civility for those whose politics are different from our.
So, my first point this morning is simply, Caesar deserves our Participation.

II. Secondly, Caesar deserves our Prayers.

Whenever I attend more liturgical churches I’m always struck at how often they pray for all those serving in government, often mentioning them by name almost every week.
In Paul’s First Letter to Pastor Timothy he writes this:

"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those in high authority (I Tim. 2:1)

Wouldn’t it be good for us over these next 9 days to pray every day for those serving in government and for the upcoming elections?

III. Our Government deserves our Participation, our Prayers, and finally . . . . . our Prophetic Voice.

We must always keep in mind that no nation, no government, nor political party or movement will ever align itself perfectly with the Kingdom of God. And the church must therefore be a prophetic voice, a challenging voice, sometimes a correcting or reminding voice to those in authority and to all of us -

- like Martin Luther King reminding America of its founding principles that all people are created equal, and therefore calling us to live out that value.
- the movie "Amazing Grace" tells of the tremendous courage and faith of a man named William Wilburforce who fought for 20 years to eliminate slavery the British empire, something he accomplished in 1807, almost 60 years before it was abolished in America. What the movie shows so powerfully is that Wilburforce fought so hard because of his Christian beliefs.
- Charles Finney was a Congregational minister and Evangelist. He was the leading figure in the Second Great Awakening in America. (1790-1840) He also was a major force in the anit-slavery movement in America.

When people came down the aisles at the end of his revival meetings to give their lives to Christ, Finney asked them if they were willing to become abolitionists.
He felt that given the times they were living in, if people were going to take Christ seriously they had to fight to end slavery.
In 1821 he began to deny slave-owners communion, feeling that they were making a mockery of the sacrament.
Finney and his followers also provided leadership for the then emerging feminist movement in the country.
Finney often had women on the platform with him leading the tent meetings in prayer.
The leaders of the Second Great Awakening also addressed such issues as women’s suffrage, temperance and prison reform - they provided leadership on these issues at the earliest stages of these movements. Christians helped lead the way because they were willing to be prophets, challenging the nation to be better.

So, I hope this message inspires you to become even more informed citizens, more thoughtful voters, because it matters.

If we are to be the Salt of the Earth, Lights shining for God, then policies & politics and the character of the leaders we elect matter. And therefore being informed and participating is part of our Christian discipleship.

There’s only one more thing I need to say and it’s very important:
"My name is Rich Knight, and I approved this message."

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