Today I’m going to preach one of those sermons that I hope you will talk about on the drive home or at dinner afterwards with your family. Today I’m preaching on politics. I didn’t choose this topic because I thought, “You know what would go well with my son’s baby dedication? Politics!” No, I chose this text a while ago. Now this isn’t the first time I’ve preached on politics, but I think it’s good to have a refresher before we head into the midterm elections. But since politics can be a touchy subject, let’s stop and pray.
I want you to stop for a moment and think of the political positions you associate with Jesus, the Bible, and Christians. Some of the political issues that pop into your mind are probably pretty controversial, like abortion or gay marriage or the death penalty. Maybe you also think of immigration and refugees or feeding the poor. As you think of these political issues you associate with Jesus you also may assume Jesus lands on a certain side of the issue, maybe the side you’re on. But some of you may never have associated Jesus with politics, so this is a completely new idea.
If you could ask Jesus one political question what would it be? Jesus, should we build a wall? Jesus, what do we need to do to get out of the deficit? Jesus, what should we do with our military? Should we have a military? Jesus, what should we do about pollution and global warming? What should we do about Israel and Palestine? Jesus, who should I vote for during the next presidential election?
What would your motive for your question be? Is it a competition? Ha! Jesus really is for green energy! Told you so! Or? Jesus, I want to know how to follow you better in all aspects of my life, even my politics? In our passage today some people ask Jesus a political question.
Luke 20:20-22 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21 So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” (NIV®)
What are their motives for asking Jesus this question? Are they good? No. They’re bad. They’re trying to catch Jesus in a trap! You can almost hear Admiral Ackbar yelling, “It’s a trap!” Star Wars. But because of this trap we actually learn something about what Jesus thinks of politics. Some of us might think we know where Jesus stands politically. He’s standing firmly in my camp! Right?
But what if we’re wrong? What if when we try to trap Jesus in our politics he’s really standing somewhere entirely different? Jesus calls us to examine ourselves when we think he is on our side.
When you think you know where Jesus stands politically…
The spies want to entrap Jesus with a politically charged issue—paying taxes to Rome. Now I know we don’t argue about taxes today… but what made this issue especially charged back then is:
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- Rome was an enemy state that was occupying Israel by force, not by the will of the people.
- A few years earlier in A.D. 6-10 a rebel named Judas (different Judas) lead a revolt against Rome and called anyone who paid taxes to Rome a “coward” since they must not trust God.
As Jesus responds to this question he reveals that he doesn’t stand where they think he stands. From this story we can draw out three things we can do to examine if we are actually standing with Christ in our own politics or if we’re we’re trying to get Jesus to agree with our own political opinions. First…
1. Test your motives. (v20-22)
Verse 21 says they, the Pharisees, teachers of the law, and chief priest, sent spies to Jesus who “pretended to be sincere.” This word for “pretend” is the Greek word hypokrinomai, which means to “be a hypocrite.” It means to act a certain part. To be something you’re not. Don’t come to Jesus, pretending to be sincere, but really trying to get Jesus to say what they want him to say. I’ll come to you with my questions Jesus, but only if you give me the answer I want. Be the Jesus I want you to be, no other. In verse 23 it says, “He saw through their duplicity…” Duplicity means craftiness or deceit. When we try to twist Jesus and his politics into our own likeness that’s duplicity.
I’m not saying we all approach Jesus this way. Jesus doesn’t say everyone has wrong motives, just them. I think there would have been a way to ask this same question the right way. Just because we want to know Jesus’ political position doesn’t mean we’re bad, but we should test our own hearts. Why are we asking? So that we can win an argument against our family members and coworkers? So that we can feel superior to those on the other side of the aisle? Or so that we can live life God’s way?
Think about Jesus’ audience, those in the crowd and asking him this question. There were some there that day who wanted Jesus to answer one way and others there who him to answer the opposite way.
a. Herodians & Matthew = Pro-government pro-taxes
Mark’s gospel tells us the Herodians were some of those spies who came to question Jesus (Mark 12:13). The Herodians were named after Herod because they supported Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee. They supported the big government that was over Israel, Judea, and Jerusalem, and would have reported to Herod if Jesus was anti-taxation because they were pro-taxation.
And lest we’re too quick to judge them remember Jesus had at least one disciple who was also a tax collector, Matthew who we also call Levi (Mark 2:13-14). He worked for the Roman government, perhaps because it benefited him financially, but he also may have done so because he saw all the good Rome did for the nation of Israel. Rome brought peace, the Pax Romana, which was about 200 years of social and economic stability and prosperity for much of the ancient world. Rome built over 250,000 miles worth of roads and 50,000 of those were paved with stones, increasing trade and wealth for everyone.
So some in the audience probably wanted Jesus to say, “Pay your taxes.” That would benefit them and line up with their worldview. But others wanted the exact opposite.
b. Pharisees & Simon = Anti-government pro-freedom
The Pharisees are the more traditional religious audience who want everyone to follow the Old Testament holiness laws. They’re serious about God’s word and want Israel to be free from Rome’s rule. One of Jesus’ disciples was called Simon the Zealot (Luke 6:15). It could have been that he was a sympathizer or even a member of a band of rebels called the Zealots, which was started by that Judas guy over this very issue of taxes. The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary says this:
The Zealots were the extreme wing of the Pharisees. In contrast with other Pharisees they believed only God had the right to rule over the Jews. They were willing to fight and die for that belief. For them nationalistic patriotism and religion were inseparable.
The Pharisees and Simon might have pointed at the tax and said, “Look how Rome is using our taxes to fund their military, which they’ve used to crucify thousands and thousands of Jews. It’s immoral to pay the tax.” We should be using that money to fund the temple and feed the widows and poor. Fight back!
Now let’s take a moment to bring these two groups into today. Who do they sound like? At a very basic and oversimplified level the Herodians and Matthew seem to line up with those who are more liberal or Democrats. The Pharisees and Simon seem to line up with those who are more conservative or Republicans. Maybe as I was even describing one of those groups you thought, “Sounds good to me!” Wouldn’t it be great if Jesus was clearly in one of those camps? If he was clearly liberal or conservative? Maybe you think he is, but then why do both the liberal Herodians and conservative Pharisees band together to eliminate the real Jesus? It’s because his teachings are threatening their beliefs and power.
Lifeway Research just released a new study they did on churchgoers and politics. They found 46% of Protestant churchgoers in America under the age of 50 prefer to attend a church where people share their political views. But it’s not my generation that likes diversity in politics. As it questions people over 50 they seem to prefer more diversity. But no matter your age there’s still a significant portion who don’t expect agreement. The executive director of Lifeway Research drew this conclusion, “Politics doesn’t seem to be a high priority for most Protestants when choosing a church to attend. But for a small group of churchgoers, it’s really crucial.”
Another question showed that 51% believe their political views match those of most people at their church, but there’s another 49% who either disagree or aren’t sure. A previous study found that “only 1 in 10 would consider leaving their church over political views.” I hope that’s none of us!
There’s a great deal of diversity and expectations in the church around politics. We all bring our own thoughts and motives that we should take the time to prayerfully examine. When you think you know where Jesus stands politically… First, test your motives. Second…
2. Look for idolatry. (v23-24)
Idolatry isn’t a word we use very often. Idolatry is two things. It can literally be worshipping a statue, like the golden calf in Exodus. But at a more basic level idolatry is anything we value more than God (Exodus 20:3-6). So idolatry could be a statue you worship but also money, a career, family, fitness, television, food. It’s whatever we love the most. The people who ask Jesus this question are committing idolatry.
Luke 20:23-24 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied. (NIV®)
When they ask Jesus if they should pay the tax Jesus asks them to show him the coin they would pay the tax with, a denarius which is worth one day’s wages. Here’s a picture of it. On one side is an image of Caesar August and the other has a female figure seated on a throne. Just like our dollars say “In God we trust” these say “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus.” Essentially they say, “In Caesar we trust.”
Remember how Jesus framed his question, “Whose image [is] on it?” The Greek word for image is eikōn and it can be translated idol. By carrying that coin in his pocket at least one of the spies was carrying an idol with an inscription that declared Caesar to be the divine son of god. Where is Jesus right now? He’s standing in the temple courts (Luke 20:1). They’ve brought an idol into God’s temple. It’s like they’ve brought a Yankees hat to a Red Sox game! They’ve brought a Starbucks frappuccino into Dunkin Donuts! They think Meryl Streep is a better actor than Mark Wahlberg. It just so disrespectful.
Are your politics more important to you than Jesus? If you spend more time invested in the politics you can’t control than developing a relationship with the living God, then you’re committing idolatry. I have the tendency to do this but Jesus deserves to be first in our lives. Back in the Old Testament when Joshua was leading the invasion of Jericho he encounters God’s presence.
Joshua 5:13-14 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” (NIV®)
Joshua is leading a military engagement that God himself has approved but when he asks this divine messenger if he is for them or against them he says, “Neither.” He’s for the Lord! We don’t choose God to be on our team. He has his own team that we can join.
At his second inaugural address in 1865 President Abraham Lincoln spoke about the differences and similarities between the North and the South. The civil war was almost over and somehow he needed to bring healing to a nation. In his speech he said how each side asked God for the same thing:
“Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.”
Even as Lincoln condemns slavery he calls on his audience, the victors, to examine their own hearts and to admit that God’s ways are higher than our ways. God is on his own side. When you think you know where Jesus stands politically… First, test your motives. Second, look for idolatry. Third…
3. Give God everything. (v25-26)
Luke 20:25 He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
26 They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent. (NIV®)
Jesus says to give earthly rulers what they are due. Caesar is due the thing with his image and name on it, so money and taxes. But then Jesus contrasts this with what God is due, “Give God what is God’s.” What belongs to God? Everything! God is Lord of all the universe. He owns every coin every king and every kingdom. If putting his image on a coin makes that coin Caesar’s is there something God has put his image on that makes it his? You!
Genesis 1:27
So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them. (NIV®)
If you as a human being are made in God’s image, if you reflect his creativity and goodness and ability to be in relationship, it means you belong to God. Caesar can have his coin and his politics. God wants you! It’s not that he wants to own you. He wants to be in relationship with you. He wants to love you and for you to experience his love. He wants to give us life and joy and happiness. But there’s a problem, sin. .
In Genesis 3 humans broke what it means to be made in God’s image by disobeying God. We became broken images that dimly reflects God’s goodness, like a cracked and tarnished mirror. That’s what sin does. It breaks us and our ability to love God and others. And for the longest time the story of humanity was of one broken generation passing their brokenness onto the next generation. Until one day a baby was born who wasn’t broken. A baby was born who perfectly reflected the goodness of God, Jesus. The book of Hebrews calls Jesus, the Son of God, the exact representation of God.
Hebrews 1:3a The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being… (NIV®)
Jesus lived a perfect life so that one day he could go to the cross and pay the penalty for our brokenness. He who was not broken became broken so that you and I can become whole again (2 Cor 5:21). If you confess your sins and believe in Jesus he will make you whole too. He will pick you up, dust you off, and begin to repair the cracks and shine the dullness and pretty soon you’ll reflect God’s goodness and holiness too.
As the Herodians and Pharisees are trying to get Jesus caught up in a silly little debate about a tiny little man on a small little coin, the fullness of God’s glory and perfection is standing right in front of them and they miss it. They miss their opportunity to encounter the one true priceless image of God! But you and I don’t have to miss him. Today, you can encounter the living God. You can encounter the perfect image. You can encounter your Savior. You can encounter Jesus.
When you think you know where Jesus stands politically… First, test your motives. Second, look for idolatry. Third, give God everything. If you do this, I think at the end of the day you’ll be less interested in having Jesus standing in your camp and more interested in Jesus himself.
Pastor Jonathan Romig preached this message at Cornerstone Congregational Church.
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