The story of Romeo and Juliet has for many years been the introduction for high school English students to the plays of William Shakespeare, considered by most to be the greatest playwright of all time, if not the greatest writer of all time. In that story, two teenagers fall in love. Nothing unusual about two teenagers falling in love, but there is a problem for this couple. They come from the Capulets and the Montagues, two families that have an ongoing blood feud. In today’s time, they might be the Hatfields and the McCoys. As they seek to understand these wonderful new feelings, Juliet is heard to naively, but wisely utter this question: “What’s in a name? Would not a rose by any other name smell as sweet?” As that story develops, we are reminded only too clearly of the innocence of that question. While Juliet looks beyond the title to the person behind it, her family will not be able to do so. In today’s message, we see the scheming of the not so innocent church leaders asking a question about an image. What’s in an image? To whom is our allegiance owed? It is a question to which there is no acceptable answer, or so it is thought. A question designed to trap becomes a lesson in identity.
In Matthew 21 and 22, Jesus has told three straight parables to the religious leaders and the crowd gathered in the temple court. This event probably took place on the Tuesday of Passion Week. After being taken to task in the parables, the Pharisees have had it. They have been laid bare and now they are head hunting. They leave the temple for a bit to come up with some new strategy. Matthew tells us that the Pharisees and the Herodians teamed up to trap Jesus. They say that marriage makes for strange bedfellows. That is certainly true here. These are very unnatural partners who ordinarily were at great odds with each other. The Pharisees opposed Roman rule and were totally against the payment of taxes to Caesar. Israel was a nation conquered by and under the control of Rome Rome
It is a tried and true technique of cross-examination to ask questions designed to solicit yes or no answers. You can control your result much better if you give one no room to make an explanation. The religious leaders would make good lawyers. They ask Jesus a yes or no question. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Of course, they dress it up with flattery, calling him Teacher, and trying to pump his ego. The Teacher title is probably designed to get the attention of the crowd, who will then be listening because the Teacher is about to answer. Of course the question has a no-win answer. If Jesus says no, he is going to be reported to the authorities and arrested for sedition and treason. If he says yes, he has just enraged a people unhappy with having to pay tribute to any “God” other than their own. To a Jew God was the only king. By this time, “Caesar” was not only a name, but also a title. Tiberius was the reigning emperor and this was the beginning of the age of emperor worship. So the Roman emperor was thought of as divine. The stage is set for Jesus’ undoing.
But Jesus won’t bite. He asks for a coin and is brought a denarius. It has the likeness of Tiberius inscribed upon it. This is typical of the times. Upon ascending the throne, one of the first acts of a Roman emperor was to have coinage struck bearing his likeness. This became the coinage of the realm. Jesus asks whose image appears on the coin. Of course he already knows the answer. “Caesar’s” is the reply he receives. This is correct in more than one way. It is indeed Caesar’s, as it is the very coinage that he caused to be minted for circulation. It is also the method of rendering a tribute tax to Caesar as emperor. What follows is nothing short of the high theology that we expect from the Son of God.
Jesus says “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” Great answer. The Pharisees and Herodians are both thwarted and amazed. They leave Jesus alone. This is a good lesson. Jesus is wise. Jesus has trapped the trappers. But again, as with so many places in Scripture, there is so much more.
Whose image appears on the coin? Why the head of state, of course. Very well then, says Jesus. It is made by the state for the use of the state. If the state assesses a tax, then pay it. Our taxes today are used to pay for a service received, a benefit awarded, a program perpetuated. We have images of past presidents and other leaders on our coinage. In Jesus’ day, the image was that of the Roman emperor. In that day as in this, coinage was a form of currency used to purchase goods and services and to pay debts and taxes. Jesus says to honor the tax levied by the state with the currency made by the state. But Jesus goes farther. He says to render unto God what is God’s, to honor the obligation mandated by God with the currency He made.
On the surface, Jesus has answered in keeping with Old Testament teaching. The books of Proverbs and Daniel remind us that we should pay tax to overlords since even the great owe their positions to God. This is echoed in the New Testament by Paul in Romans 13 and Peter in 1st Peter 3 to submit to the governing authority whatever it may be. Jesus is not concerned with a kingdom that exacts a tax and collects coins. He is rather building a kingdom of the spirit, a kingdom without boundaries, a kingdom which transcends the Caesars of the world, both then and now. Because of this, Jesus will not side with the religious zealots of Israel
Jesus is also warning us that while we should be respectful to earthly government and authority, we too have a higher duty. In the book of Acts (4:19), the story is reported of Peter and John appearing before the Sanhedrin. It is after Pentecost and they are filled with the Holy Spirit. They have performed miracles in the name of Jesus. The religious leaders are amazed at not only the courage, but also the knowledge and authority with which these unschooled, ordinary men are speaking. The Sanhedrin commands them not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus, to which Peter and John reply: “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking…” (Acts 4: 19). Later they are brought back before this ruling body and again commanded to stop. Their answer? “We must obey God rather than men.” (5:29).
It comes to that sometimes, doesn’t it? Most of the time, we can get along as we go along. We can obey man’s law and still follow God. But there are times. They come upon us in such awkward moments. We might need to say a prayer on a school ground or return thanks in a restaurant. We might need to stand while others sit or hold our applause while others clap or speak when we would rather remain silent. We might need to tell our boss that our walk with Jesus just won’t let us go where others go. We might need to stand on our knees so that others can see our real image. There is a relationship between God’s people and government. It co-exists peacefully, but always with some tension, for Christians have dual citizenship, and God’s kingdom must always claim our ultimate loyalty.
Does God have something like coinage? Where does his image appear? To look upon the face of God as a mortal is unthinkable. Even the great Moses who delivered God’s people into the Promised Land was unable to look directly into the face of God. Where is God’s image? How do we see him? What is His currency?
Let’s look back to the beginning. Genesis 1:26 says: “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.” Genesis 1:27 says “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them.” Genesis 9:6 reads “…for in the image of God has God made man.” The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8 that those who are called will be conformed to the likeness of God’s Son. In the kingdom of which Jesus has been teaching, the virtues of love and servant hood rule, and we are the coinage which is the currency of the realm.
In His image. We are in His image, in His likeness. We are God’s coinage. What a compliment! What a responsibility! If we are made in his image, do we not belong to God every bit as much as Roman coins belonged to the emperor? If we are indeed His currency in this world we live in, then please, let’s go spend ourselves in the way He would have us. Render unto God what is God’s.
No comments:
Post a Comment