Grace to you and peace from God
our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text is the Gospel reading,
especially these words, “And they brought him a denarius.[b] 20 And Jesus said
to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar's.”
Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's,
and to God the things that are God's.” 22 When they heard it, they marveled.
And they left him and went away.”
Render is an interesting word. We
don’t use it, much, anymore. It can mean melt or extract. In the old days,
my grandmother would render down pig fat to make lard. It can mean to give
an opinion. A judge rendered the decision that I was guilty of not having stray
cats tagged and controlled – true story. It can mean to cause something to
become something else. By burning the grilled cheese sandwich, I rendered it
inedible. It can also mean to return
or to make restitution. This is what Jesus means, “Render to Cesar.” Return to
him that which is his.
For centuries, Jesus’ statement,
“Render to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s” has
been used to define and explain both a civil and church doctrine of separation
of church and state. Even Luther used it
in that sense, developing what we refer to as “the theology of the two
kingdoms.” He called God working in time through civil government the “Left
hand kingdom,” and God’s working into eternity through the church the “Right
hand kingdom.” He also argued that the Roman Empire should keep its nose out of
the Church while at the same time affirming God gives the gift of government
for the purpose of establishing good order so the church can function in
society.
But this is not the intent of
Jesus’ words against the Pharisees and Herodians. This phrase is not really about
the government, per se. It’s not about giving ten percent to the Lord and
fifteen percent to Uncle Sam. It’s not about separation of church and state.
It’s funny, if you stop and think about it. We focus on the “Render to Caesar,”
part of this. In so doing, we forget the latter part. Jesus’ focus isn’t on
Caesar; the focus is on God and paying to God that which is His.
Remember, we’re reading Jesus’
interactions with the Pharisees and Herodians. The Gospel lessons from the last
few Sundays have taken place during Holy Week as the tension ratcheted up
another notch as the Jewish leaders realized Jesus was speaking of their
unfaithfulness, their loss of the blessing of God, their failure to be good and
faithful servants. Now, in today’s reading, with their egos bruised and toes
smashed, they falsely flattered Jesus, gave hollow complements, I believe, to
lull Jesus into a false sense of congeniality and sociability. “Let’s butter
him up, so that He might slip up in the proverbial question of the legality of
taxes and we can get Him then!” If Jesus said, yes, pay the tax, the Pharisees
would jump on Him for supporting a government opposed to Israel; if He said no,
do not pay the tax, the Herodians could accuse Jesus of anarchy and
insurrection. It seemed Jesus was painted into the proverbial corner by asking
a this-or-that question.
Jesus’ answer, “Render to Caesar
that which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s,” is really a non-answer
regarding taxes. Jesus is not placing Caesar on one side of the spectrum and
God on the other, then asking people to decide whether your dollar goes to one
place or the other. It’s a false dichotomy: to put Caesar on the same plane as
God is a ridiculous impossibility. Caesar does not own anything that does not
first and foremost belong to and come from God. But Rome certainly tried. If
you were to look at a denarius, the coin of the realm at the time of Jesus, it
would have been struck with Caesar’s profile and a Latin inscription that,
translated, reads “Caesar Augustus, Son of a god, Father of the Country.” That
puts a different spin on “In God we trust,” doesn’t it? The coin demonstrates
the idolatry of Caesar, claiming godly authority and power. No - all things
belong to God – not Caesar - whether in this world or the life of the world to
come.
So, if “Render to Caesar that
which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s” isn’t about the separation of
church and state, or taxation, then what is Jesus speaking about?
To pay to God what belongs to God
is to behold Jesus, not Cesar, and to see Him as the Christ, the Son of God who
has come into the world to redeem the world. To pay to God what is God’s is to
follow Christ, who is God enfleshed. To pay to God what is God’s is to follow
His Son in obedient, faithful discipleship. In a word, “pay to God” means
repentance. The Jewish leaders and the Herodians missed it – they were too busy
trying to trap Jesus to receive Him as Messiah. I submit that we often miss, or
at least forget, who Jesus is because we are too busy seeing the government as
our god.
Repent – pay to God – for
overpaying to Caesar. I don’t mean taxes. Repent of making the government out
to be equal – or, even at times, greater - than God and His Word. Honor and
respect the government and our officials, yes; but repent for seeing the
government as the answer or the blame to all of man’s problems. Repent of the
abuses of government that we tolerate for the sake of expediency. Repent of
tolerating political foolishness for our economic benefit. Repent of misusing
power and authority, particularly over and against the poorest, the weakest,
and the neediest members of our society. Lest you think I speak only of those
who are in a political office, this applies to each of us. If you have spoken
ill of candidates or their supporters, shared social media posts of one party
in derogatory terms, gossiped and spun what “those” people represent, then you
repent. Repent of the politicizing and
polarizing language where we brand and label, slander and defame simply to prove
our point and win a war of words. Repent of seeing elections merely as how to
gain the most benefit instead of how a vote can help preserve and protect the
life and wellbeing of my neighbor, particularly the least in the Kingdom who,
you remember, are actually the greatest. Repent of mistaking the power of man
as the authority of God.
Remember: render can mean melt or
distill, to give an opinion, to make something something else, and to return. Christ
renders to God the fulness of everything for us. He renders Himself, setting aside
His full divinity to take up a servant’s form, making Himself completely
humble. He renders us worthy of saving, becoming sin for us. He renders His
life, His blood, as the payment price for us. He renders His holiness for our
sinfulness, His obedience for our disobedience, His perfection for our
imperfection. He renders His faithfulness for the times our faith is weak and
broken and bruised. He renders His cross and grave satisfy the Father’s
debt-price. And, in His resurrection, He renders sin, death and hell destroyed,
satan conquered, and heaven is ours. He renders us back to the Father who sees
us as dearly beloved children, holy and blameless in His sight. You belong to
God and He belongs to you.
Give to God what is God’s. The
Pharisees and the Herodians didn’t see that God was breaking into human history
and they refused to see Jesus as the Messiah. The Kingdom of God had come and
was about to be revealed with Christ reigning from His throne of the cross.
Jesus had asked for a coin,
remember, and asked whose likeness and name was on it. Now, turn the question.
Where has God put His name? On His Son, “This is my Son, in whom I am well
pleased.” Where has God placed His likeness? “If you have seen me, you have
seen the Father,” Jesus said. You see God in the person of Jesus, Immanuel, God
made flesh to dwell among us. You see God’s mercy at the cross, where the innocent
Son of God dies in your stead. There, God used Pilate – a corrupt instrument of
the Left-hand kingdom of God – to record His inscription: “Jesus of Nazareth:
King of the Jews.” You see God’s grace at the open tomb, where Christ rises,
conquering the grave.
God does these things, not only
in Christ, but also in you. You witnessed it this morning in Greyson’s baptism.
In baptism, you are clothed with Christ – your new Adam, your new Eve is in the
image of Christ, so closely connected to Jesus that you are baptized in His
name and given His name, Christian – little Christ. So you never forget the
blessings and promises of God, chiefly the forgiveness of your sins by grace
through faith in Christ Jesus, God continues to place His inscription to you in
His Word, and gives you the church to share that Word of faith, hope and love
with you and the world.
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