Don’t Let Righteousness Steal Your Gratitude" (Part 4 of 5)
Matthew 22: 15-22; Romans 13: 1-8
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
October 22, 2017
But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ‘Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.’ And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’
They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’
Then he said to them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away. - Matthew 22: 15-22
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgement. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval; for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer.
Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, busy with this very thing. Pay to all what is due to them—taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honour to whom honour is due.
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. - Romans 13: 1-8
The past two weeks we have looked into a few of the parables Jesus taught in the synagogue; the parable of the wicked tenants (Matthew 21: 33-46) and the parable of the wedding feast (Matthew 22: 1-14). It was no coincidence that Jesus was speaking these parables in close proximity to the Pharisees.
In fact Jesus was challenging the Pharisees’ framework of faith. The Pharisees were the interpreters of the Law of Moses, the first five books of the Bible. Their sense of righteousness with God came from abiding by the Law of Scripture as a duty and obligation.
The tensions kept rising between the Pharisees and Jesus. You see Jesus was meddling in their lives and the Pharisees wanted him arrested and gone. Can you imagine that Jesus would meddle in someone's business?
The Pharisees grabbed their disciples and their buddies, the Herodians, to step into the boxing ring of debate. And they posed a loaded question to trap Jesus in his words: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?” (Matthew 22:17).
The Jewish people were not a free people; they lived under Roman occupation. My commentaries say, “This particular tax was the census. It was a head tax instituted when Judea became a Roman province.”[1] “The tax was a claim of [Roman] ownership over the land and its inhabitants. The census triggered The Zealot movement whom of which rebelled and resisted paying the tax." They rebelled because the land and the people belonged to God alone.[2] “The Pharisees were popular with the Jewish people because they in principle resented the tax but did not go as far as refusing to pay it.”[3] And then we have the Herodians who were Hellenistic Jews; they supported King Herod Antipas, who was a ruler of the divided kingdom of Judea and also an agent of Rome.
Jesus was surrounded by three differing interpretations of righteousness or obeying the rules of civic law and the Law of faith. And there was certainly a lot of animosity among those three.
Therefore, “if Jesus opposed the tax he would be accused of being a zealot and get in trouble with the Herodians and Roman officials. If Jesus agreed to pay the tax then he would alienate the Zealot movement.”[4]
The answer Jesus gives carefully sidesteps the trap. He not only finds common ground among the three Jewish groups but he also issues a challenge.
When he asks to see the coin, Jesus is making a point and a theological claim about honoring civic and faith responsibilities. The coin which was used to pay the census tax bore the image of the emperor. It would have said, “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus.” The emperor considered himself god, an authority to be worshipped, as well as the head of all households in Rome. The first century was an honor - shame society. If the ultimate head of the household was not honored, then shame would be the price and it would cost you greatly.
Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s. The only thing that belonged to the emperor was the coin that bore his image. Jesus says, so render it back to him. This was the only thing due to him.
Give to God the things that are God’s. Is there anything that does not belong to God our Creator? A few Scriptures come to my mind: “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1). “O Lord God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but we acknowledge your name alone” (Isaiah 26:13). “There is no authority except by God” (Romans 13:1). We have no higher loyalty than to God alone, therefore the kingdom of God claims all of creation and all orders of human life.
And as I read Jesus’ answer over and over I cannot help but wonder who bears God’s image?
Jesus Christ was the first to bear God’s image. In the beginning Jesus was the Word and everything came into being by him and through him (John 1: 1-3; Colossians 1:15-16); and then Jesus was revealed to us in the thin skin of humanity. Jesus Christ rendered his life in complete obedience to God (Philippians 2: 6-8). Last week we learned that Jesus Christ took the humility and shame of the cross and he rose to new life to make us right with God. Jesus rendered his life to claim us in his worthiness and righteousness. It is a gift and nothing we can earn.
And yet God’s amazing gift of grace not only ushers in God’s kingdom through Jesus Christ but also God’s grace changes our lives so that you and I now bear God’s image. Therefore, when Jesus says, “Give to God the things that are God’s,” our Savior is challenging the people of God – challenging you and me – to render our whole lives back to God alone.
I find this assigned Bible text of Matthew and Jesus’ answer to be so very timely. You and I have witnessed a lot of cultural shifts over the years. And we find ourselves living in a time where there are rising debates regarding what obedience should look like towards civic authority and the authority of faith. The debates across the board have gotten quite vitriol. All of the judging of civic and religious righteousness becomes a trap in itself that quickly steals our gratitude.
Brene Brown is a sociologist and has been a professor and researcher at the University of Houston for the past sixteen years. In her recent book, “Braving the Wilderness,” she says we are more sorted today into groups of like-minded political and faith beliefs. “Separating ourselves as much as possible from people whom think different from us has not delivered that deep sense of belonging that we are hard wired to crave…We don’t derive strength from our rugged individualism, but rather from our collective ability to plan, communicate, and work together.”[5]
As people of faith, we understand God’s Word as our guide to collectively work together in the kingdom of God.
It’s important to acknowledge that you and I have different families of origin and life experiences. These differing perspectives shape the ways we see the world and the ways we read and interpret God’s Word to guide our life and faith.
It’s also important to recognize that Scripture too has different views on how we are to live as citizens of the state and citizens of heaven.
“As a whole, we have [the Old Testament prophets] Elijah and Jeremiah condemning authorities. In the book of Revelation John of Patmos claims that imperial power comes from Satan, not God. Paul may encourage obedience to rulers, but he would never encourage total allegiance to an emperor; [that would be idolatry].
Paul’s words in Romans also do not tell us what to do when we as citizens of a democracy can help make laws, not simply choose whether to obey them. Paul’s letter does not really raise the question of the proper response to tyranny. It does not tell us what Christians should do in the face of Nazi power, or in the face of legal segregation. Christians looking for an easy answer to the question of how to be good citizens will not find such easy answers in the Bible.”[6]
As we follow Jesus’ instruction on giving to the emperor the things that belong to the emperor and to God the things that belong to God, we all have to make interpretive decisions on what obedience looks like and the implications. You know it’s true that if you get 10 Presbyterians in room you will hear at least 12 different perspectives on any given issue.
I trust you and I agree that our Christian responsibility is not to judge another’s righteousness or obedience to civic law or the Law of Love; that is reserved for God alone. Rather our Christian responsibility is to live faithfully in such a way that we might render our whole lives to God.
That kind of faithfulness means we allow the kingdom of God to reign in all aspects of our lives. The Law of Love reigns supreme and moves us to resist our individualistic nature to segment our lives into the compartments of family, work, faith, and politics.
The Law of Love urges us to never sever the ties that bind us for the sake of being right.
What is at stake is that you and I bear God’s image as the body of Christ. To bear God’s image is to come alongside others as Christ did to find common ground, to strive for the common good in all things, and to practice God’s Rule of unconditional love. We are to render our lives to God for Jesus Christ did nothing less than that.
Righteousness is a gift and a response to God’s ongoing work of reconciliation. Righteousness at its core is about right relationships between God and one another. It is a gift because Jesus Christ has made us right with God. It is a response for we are to work towards making right relationships.
God is reconciling the messy brokenness and divisions of the world in right relationships through the humility of Jesus Christ and the guidance of Holy Spirit. And our amazing God invites each of us to be a part of God’s kingdom vision using our differing gifts and interpretations.
And that is something to be grateful for.
In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.
Sources Referenced:
[1] New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary: Volume 7 Matthew (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015), p. 311.
[2] Reza Aslan, “Zealot,” (New York: Random House, 2013), p. 76.
[3] New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary: Volume 7 Matthew, p. 311.
[4] Daniel Harrington, “Sacra Pagina: Matthew” (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1991), p. 311
[5] Brene Brown, “Braving the Wilderness” (New York: Random House, 2017). P. 46-53.
[6] David Bartlett, “Romans” (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995), p. 116-117.
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