22nd Sunday after Pentecost
October 16, 2005
Rev. Dr. Kenneth W. Wieting
Text: Matthew 22:15-22
To the church of Christ, loved by God and chosen by Him, Grace and peace to you.
Taxes! Taxes matter a lot! Because of what they do fro people and what they do to people, taxes matter. Taxes help provide many things for us such as roads and the protection of the armed forces and assistance when widespread disaster occurs. But taxes also do things to us. Since my coming to serve as your pastor 15 years ago, several former members of Luther Memorial who have moved out of Wisconsin or out of Shorewood have listed taxes as a significant reason. Taxes matter even to the point of affecting our membership. There is income tax, federal and state; fuel tax, federal and state; sales taxes, property taxes, stadium taxes, even attempted internet taxes. We have come to know the phrases “sin tax” and “death tax”. We have come to know the phrase “property tax freeze” and “tax freedom day”. The subject of taxes is bantered about from all sides of the political spectrum, sometimes with smooth and misleading intent. Taxes! Taxes matter, but how much? What are we to think of them?
“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”.
It was holy week and the stakes were high. Right wing conservative Pharisees actually cooperated with left wing liberal Herodians for the purpose of nailing Jesus. “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.” Smooth, flattering words were spoken from scheming hearts. Then followed the question about taxes meant to put Jesus in a deadly vice. Then as now, it was an explosive issue! Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
The Zealots said that to pay tax to Caesar was to forsake the reign of God. The coin had the image of Tiberius Caesar on one side and the image of his mother Livia on the other side. The inscription read, “Tiberius Caesar, majestic son of the divine Augustus”. The Zealots as well as many of the Pharisees thought that the Messiah would never recognize the political authority of Caesar. If Jesus answered “yes, you should pay taxes” they believed He would be totally discredited with the general population, His poll numbers would drop like a rock.
On the other hand, the Herodians had made their peace with Roman rule and were profiting from it. They lived off the high tax burdens of hard working people. From their elite position they would attack with vigor anyone who threatened their gravy train. If Jesus answered “no, don’t pay taxes”, He would be in danger of arrest and punishment from them as a revolutionary.
Envy and ambition make strange bedfellows. Politically speaking it was a shrewd and cunning question. Together, the conservative religious patriots and the liberal left collaborators put forward a loaded question to silence Jesus and to do Him in.
But their devilish, entrapping question was met with a divinely freeing answer. While the question dealt with coins bearing Caesar’s image, the answer dealt with souls bearing God’s image. While the question attempted to equate God’s kingdom with politics and power on earth, Jesus’ answer equated God’s kingdom with God and His things. Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”
What a masterful twist by the teacher of truth! The ruling elite in religion (the Pharisees) and the ruling elite in politics (the Herodians) were put in the position of having to answer their own scheming question. “Whose image and inscription is it?” 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.”
Dear Christians, we are to pay our taxes, even when we think the government is excessive or unfair or faulty. The rule of Rome included unfair taxation. The rule of Rome included immorality and dishonesty. The rule of Rome included idolatry in the cult worship of Caesar. In addition, the rule of Rome would soon persecute the Christian Church as illegal and even put Christians to death. Yet Christ’s apostles spoke exactly the same way about civil government as Jesus did. St. Paul describes it as God’s servant of wrath to bear the sword in this world. “If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue” (Rom. 13:1-10).
Jesus’ answer transcends human feelings and thoughts about politics and power. Caesar is not independent, but is in fact subject to Christ and His kingdom. God is at work for His Church also in the politics of worldly kingdoms, both good politics and bad, whether earthly power is rightly or wrongly used.
Consider the prophet Isaiah’s testimony to Cyrus. Despite the fact that Cyrus did not acknowledge God, God used him to set His people free from Babylon. “I am the Lord and there is not other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I the Lord do all these things.” While God is not the author of evil, He is always in control over evil. And just as He used Cyrus and Persia to bring restoration and prosperity to His people, so at an earlier time, He used Assyria and its rulers to bring devastation and deportation to His people (Isaiah 10). “I the Lord do all these things,”, even bringing physical defeat, even causing His people loss of house and home for the sake of their souls.
God uses Joseph Stalins, Sadam Husseins, John Kennedys, Ronald Regans, Bill Clintons, and George Bushes for His purposes. And the manner of this can’t be seen on the outside for as Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of th is world.” He may use leaders to bring prosperity. As He did with Cyrus, He may use one leader to overthrow another. He may use leaders to create disaster. But He always does it for the eternal benefit of His church (Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:22). “I am the Lord and there is no other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I the Lord do all these things.” This is vital to remember amid a decaying society or even persecution for the Church. As Dr. Luther once said, “Therefore we should not be afraid of powers. But we should fear prosperity and good days which cause us more harm than our anguish and persecution;” (Sermons of Martin Luther, vol. 5, p. 299).
Caesar’s Lord therefore says, “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Taxes are most always a big thing by human standards. We are to pay our taxes. But they aren’t the chief thing by God’s standards. “give …to God the things that are God’s”.
The Gospel is God’s. The Word of God is God’s. You belong to God, body and soul. While we are to give to Caesar precious coins of gold and silver, we are never to sacrifice to Caesar the truth of God’s Word or the welfare of our souls. We are never to give Caesar first place of our fear and love and trust.
That is sometimes trouble for us. We are tempted to make an idol of government, to treat Caesar like God. We want the government to be the great fixer of all ills or at least all those ills that come our way – Hurricanes – Earthquakes – Terrorism – Floods – Retirement needs - Bird Flues and other medical needs – etc. Smooth words in our country and in other countries come close to promising that the state will provide all we need from cradle to grave. We are encouraged to put our trust in government and the related institutions of education and insurance and human charity. We are encouraged to put our trust in the potential of man. That of course, as a ground of ultimate reliance, is a lie. We are tempted to treat Caesar like God.
Tragically, we are also tempted to treat God like Caesar. That is we are tempted to pay God as if we were paying Him taxes; half-heartedly attending worship now and then if no other priorities prevail; forking over some cash from leftovers figuring in as many deductions as possible; fulfilling our religious responsibilities to be good citizens of the church with an eye on others and what they are doing. Rather than joyful trust and cheerful first fruit giving, we can render to God reluctant offerings and carefully calculated and compared service. We can treat God like Caesar, doing our fair share, kind of like paying taxes!
“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”. Jesus’ command does not mean we shouldn’t work for lower taxes or less wasteful government or vote for honest and helpful representatives. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t seek all the deductions that are legal. It does mean we cannot hide behind the robes of Christ in an attempt to throw off taxes. It does mean that when all is said and done, God will use government to bring peace or to bring calamity as He wills, for the sake of His church.
God help us see the clear separation that Jesus draws between Church and state. Earthly rulers sometimes want to rule the country as if it was the Church and pretend they are kings like King David. Theologians sometimes want to play governor in the town hall and force God’s kingdom to come with ballot boxes or legislation. But such is not God’s will.
“Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s”, Jesus said. That can seem like a heavy burden, especially when the subject is taxes. But it is a burden that Jesus carried to perfection. He submitted to Caesar, even when Caesar appointed a governor name Pontius Pilate to be His earthly ruler. When Jesus stood before His governor on Good Friday, Pilate asked, “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above” (John 19:10, 11). Or, as He cause Isaiah to prophesy, “I, the Lord do all these things.”
And so Governor Pilate swung the sword of capital punishment that God ordained the state to swing (Gen. 9:6/Rom. 13:1-10). That sword struck down the only man who has ever been the perfect citizen. That sword struck down the one man who ever perfectly paid his taxes, not only in deed, but also in thought. Yes, all of your sins and all of my sins even in regard to taxes were washed clean by Him. Just as God anointed Cyrus to bring His people back from exile in Babylon, so He anointed His Son to bring us back from captivity to sin (all of it) and death and hell.
“Give to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s”. That’s what Jesus did! By giving Pilate submission and honor as His civil authority, Jesus also gave His Father submission and honor as His divine authority.. “My kingdom is not of this world”. Yet He submitted to the powers of this passing world to make peace for us by the blood of His cross. While calamity befell Him, eternal prosperity fell to us.
That’s what made your watery entry into God’s kingdom your greatest treasure. What benefits does baptism give? Dr. Luther asked. It works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this as the words and promises of God declare. You see, compared to what God gives you in Christ, taxes are simply no big deal. “Give to God the things that are God’s”, Jesus said. In making you His own, Jesus has given you to God, His holy Bride, without spot or blemish. Body and soul you now belong to God.
The crucified and risen Christ is in your midst today to bring you the royal gifts of His kingdom. Hundreds of Billions of tax dollars could not provide you with these gifts. They were purchased not with gold or silver but with His holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death. He comes to you not like the IRS with hand outstretched looking for gold. Rather he comes to you with heart and hands wide open and full of blessing for you. In Him all your debts are paid. In Him you are perfectly prepared for the final audit. He is the Lord, and He does all these things. There are no taxes here! You are free! Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” In the Name of Jesus, AMEN.
Rev. Dr. Kenneth W. Wieting
Text: Matthew 22:15-22
To the church of Christ, loved by God and chosen by Him, Grace and peace to you.
Taxes! Taxes matter a lot! Because of what they do fro people and what they do to people, taxes matter. Taxes help provide many things for us such as roads and the protection of the armed forces and assistance when widespread disaster occurs. But taxes also do things to us. Since my coming to serve as your pastor 15 years ago, several former members of Luther Memorial who have moved out of Wisconsin or out of Shorewood have listed taxes as a significant reason. Taxes matter even to the point of affecting our membership. There is income tax, federal and state; fuel tax, federal and state; sales taxes, property taxes, stadium taxes, even attempted internet taxes. We have come to know the phrases “sin tax” and “death tax”. We have come to know the phrase “property tax freeze” and “tax freedom day”. The subject of taxes is bantered about from all sides of the political spectrum, sometimes with smooth and misleading intent. Taxes! Taxes matter, but how much? What are we to think of them?
“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”.
It was holy week and the stakes were high. Right wing conservative Pharisees actually cooperated with left wing liberal Herodians for the purpose of nailing Jesus. “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.” Smooth, flattering words were spoken from scheming hearts. Then followed the question about taxes meant to put Jesus in a deadly vice. Then as now, it was an explosive issue! Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
The Zealots said that to pay tax to Caesar was to forsake the reign of God. The coin had the image of Tiberius Caesar on one side and the image of his mother Livia on the other side. The inscription read, “Tiberius Caesar, majestic son of the divine Augustus”. The Zealots as well as many of the Pharisees thought that the Messiah would never recognize the political authority of Caesar. If Jesus answered “yes, you should pay taxes” they believed He would be totally discredited with the general population, His poll numbers would drop like a rock.
On the other hand, the Herodians had made their peace with Roman rule and were profiting from it. They lived off the high tax burdens of hard working people. From their elite position they would attack with vigor anyone who threatened their gravy train. If Jesus answered “no, don’t pay taxes”, He would be in danger of arrest and punishment from them as a revolutionary.
Envy and ambition make strange bedfellows. Politically speaking it was a shrewd and cunning question. Together, the conservative religious patriots and the liberal left collaborators put forward a loaded question to silence Jesus and to do Him in.
But their devilish, entrapping question was met with a divinely freeing answer. While the question dealt with coins bearing Caesar’s image, the answer dealt with souls bearing God’s image. While the question attempted to equate God’s kingdom with politics and power on earth, Jesus’ answer equated God’s kingdom with God and His things. Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”
What a masterful twist by the teacher of truth! The ruling elite in religion (the Pharisees) and the ruling elite in politics (the Herodians) were put in the position of having to answer their own scheming question. “Whose image and inscription is it?” 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.”
Dear Christians, we are to pay our taxes, even when we think the government is excessive or unfair or faulty. The rule of Rome included unfair taxation. The rule of Rome included immorality and dishonesty. The rule of Rome included idolatry in the cult worship of Caesar. In addition, the rule of Rome would soon persecute the Christian Church as illegal and even put Christians to death. Yet Christ’s apostles spoke exactly the same way about civil government as Jesus did. St. Paul describes it as God’s servant of wrath to bear the sword in this world. “If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue” (Rom. 13:1-10).
Jesus’ answer transcends human feelings and thoughts about politics and power. Caesar is not independent, but is in fact subject to Christ and His kingdom. God is at work for His Church also in the politics of worldly kingdoms, both good politics and bad, whether earthly power is rightly or wrongly used.
Consider the prophet Isaiah’s testimony to Cyrus. Despite the fact that Cyrus did not acknowledge God, God used him to set His people free from Babylon. “I am the Lord and there is not other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I the Lord do all these things.” While God is not the author of evil, He is always in control over evil. And just as He used Cyrus and Persia to bring restoration and prosperity to His people, so at an earlier time, He used Assyria and its rulers to bring devastation and deportation to His people (Isaiah 10). “I the Lord do all these things,”, even bringing physical defeat, even causing His people loss of house and home for the sake of their souls.
God uses Joseph Stalins, Sadam Husseins, John Kennedys, Ronald Regans, Bill Clintons, and George Bushes for His purposes. And the manner of this can’t be seen on the outside for as Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of th is world.” He may use leaders to bring prosperity. As He did with Cyrus, He may use one leader to overthrow another. He may use leaders to create disaster. But He always does it for the eternal benefit of His church (Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:22). “I am the Lord and there is no other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I the Lord do all these things.” This is vital to remember amid a decaying society or even persecution for the Church. As Dr. Luther once said, “Therefore we should not be afraid of powers. But we should fear prosperity and good days which cause us more harm than our anguish and persecution;” (Sermons of Martin Luther, vol. 5, p. 299).
Caesar’s Lord therefore says, “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Taxes are most always a big thing by human standards. We are to pay our taxes. But they aren’t the chief thing by God’s standards. “give …to God the things that are God’s”.
The Gospel is God’s. The Word of God is God’s. You belong to God, body and soul. While we are to give to Caesar precious coins of gold and silver, we are never to sacrifice to Caesar the truth of God’s Word or the welfare of our souls. We are never to give Caesar first place of our fear and love and trust.
That is sometimes trouble for us. We are tempted to make an idol of government, to treat Caesar like God. We want the government to be the great fixer of all ills or at least all those ills that come our way – Hurricanes – Earthquakes – Terrorism – Floods – Retirement needs - Bird Flues and other medical needs – etc. Smooth words in our country and in other countries come close to promising that the state will provide all we need from cradle to grave. We are encouraged to put our trust in government and the related institutions of education and insurance and human charity. We are encouraged to put our trust in the potential of man. That of course, as a ground of ultimate reliance, is a lie. We are tempted to treat Caesar like God.
Tragically, we are also tempted to treat God like Caesar. That is we are tempted to pay God as if we were paying Him taxes; half-heartedly attending worship now and then if no other priorities prevail; forking over some cash from leftovers figuring in as many deductions as possible; fulfilling our religious responsibilities to be good citizens of the church with an eye on others and what they are doing. Rather than joyful trust and cheerful first fruit giving, we can render to God reluctant offerings and carefully calculated and compared service. We can treat God like Caesar, doing our fair share, kind of like paying taxes!
“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”. Jesus’ command does not mean we shouldn’t work for lower taxes or less wasteful government or vote for honest and helpful representatives. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t seek all the deductions that are legal. It does mean we cannot hide behind the robes of Christ in an attempt to throw off taxes. It does mean that when all is said and done, God will use government to bring peace or to bring calamity as He wills, for the sake of His church.
God help us see the clear separation that Jesus draws between Church and state. Earthly rulers sometimes want to rule the country as if it was the Church and pretend they are kings like King David. Theologians sometimes want to play governor in the town hall and force God’s kingdom to come with ballot boxes or legislation. But such is not God’s will.
“Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s”, Jesus said. That can seem like a heavy burden, especially when the subject is taxes. But it is a burden that Jesus carried to perfection. He submitted to Caesar, even when Caesar appointed a governor name Pontius Pilate to be His earthly ruler. When Jesus stood before His governor on Good Friday, Pilate asked, “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above” (John 19:10, 11). Or, as He cause Isaiah to prophesy, “I, the Lord do all these things.”
And so Governor Pilate swung the sword of capital punishment that God ordained the state to swing (Gen. 9:6/Rom. 13:1-10). That sword struck down the only man who has ever been the perfect citizen. That sword struck down the one man who ever perfectly paid his taxes, not only in deed, but also in thought. Yes, all of your sins and all of my sins even in regard to taxes were washed clean by Him. Just as God anointed Cyrus to bring His people back from exile in Babylon, so He anointed His Son to bring us back from captivity to sin (all of it) and death and hell.
“Give to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s”. That’s what Jesus did! By giving Pilate submission and honor as His civil authority, Jesus also gave His Father submission and honor as His divine authority.. “My kingdom is not of this world”. Yet He submitted to the powers of this passing world to make peace for us by the blood of His cross. While calamity befell Him, eternal prosperity fell to us.
That’s what made your watery entry into God’s kingdom your greatest treasure. What benefits does baptism give? Dr. Luther asked. It works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this as the words and promises of God declare. You see, compared to what God gives you in Christ, taxes are simply no big deal. “Give to God the things that are God’s”, Jesus said. In making you His own, Jesus has given you to God, His holy Bride, without spot or blemish. Body and soul you now belong to God.
The crucified and risen Christ is in your midst today to bring you the royal gifts of His kingdom. Hundreds of Billions of tax dollars could not provide you with these gifts. They were purchased not with gold or silver but with His holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death. He comes to you not like the IRS with hand outstretched looking for gold. Rather he comes to you with heart and hands wide open and full of blessing for you. In Him all your debts are paid. In Him you are perfectly prepared for the final audit. He is the Lord, and He does all these things. There are no taxes here! You are free! Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” In the Name of Jesus, AMEN.
posted by Luther Memorial Chapel at
10/17/2005
