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Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to Matthew chapter 22. Matthew chapter 22. We're going 
to look at verses 15 to 22 this morning. The larger context, 
the Lord Jesus Christ is disputing on the Tuesday of Passion Week 
with the religious leaders. Remember, when He comes into 
the temple on that Tuesday in chapter 21, verses 23 to 27, 
there is a question concerning His authority. Of course, our Lord answers that 
effectively. He then tells three parables 
against the religious leadership in Jerusalem, or in Israel, and 
indicates that Jerusalem will indeed be sacked. He says that 
in chapter 22, verse 7, in the final parable. Now there is a 
series of four questions. The Pharisees ask the first, 
the Sadducees the second, and then the third are the scribes, 
or a Pharisaic scribe. And then the last one, Jesus 
asks to his opponents. So this confrontation, this dispute, 
this debate, continues here in this particular section. So I 
want to read verses 15 to 22, and then we'll ask the Lord's 
blessing upon our study this morning. Then the Pharisees went 
and plotted how they might entangle him in his talk. And they sent 
to him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we 
know that you are true and teach the way of God in truth, nor 
do you care about anyone, for you do not regard the person 
of men. Tell us, therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to 
pay taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness 
and said, Why do you test me, you hypocrites? Show me the tax 
money. So they brought him a denarius. 
And he said to them, Whose image and inscription is this? They 
said to him, Caesar's. And he said to them, Render therefore 
to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things 
that are God's. When they had heard these words, 
they marveled and left him and went their way. Amen. Well, just 
before we pray, I did want to mention someone else that we 
should pray for. Author, Christian man Jerry Bridges 
went into cardiac arrest last night. He is 86 years old, so 
we'll remember to pray for our dear brother now. So let us go 
to the throne of grace. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
you for this opportunity to come to Holy Scripture. We thank you 
for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and the union that we 
have and the fellowship that we have as saints, called out 
of darkness into marvelous light, because of your grace and for 
your glory. We pray right now for Jerry Bridges. 
We commit this brother to you and to the word of your grace. 
He has served his Lord well. And if this is his time of departure, 
we pray that he would go to his reward, that he would cease from 
his labors and know that blessed and eternal rest with Father, 
Son, and Holy Spirit. If He is to recover, God, we 
pray that this would be evident, that He would make a turn for 
the better, that You would uphold Him, uphold His family and His 
friends as well. And our Father, now we pray for 
the illumination of the Holy Spirit. We pray that He would 
come to guide, to direct, to instruct us, help us to think 
righteously, help us to think biblically, help us to think 
Your thoughts after You. in the situations we find ourselves 
in. We know Scripture is sufficient 
for all matters of faith and practice, and God teach us and 
help us to put these things into practice in our own hearts and 
lives. We ask that you would forgive us for all of our sins 
and transgressions. We know that iniquity, we know 
that rebellion against you darkens our understanding and our hearts. 
How we thank you for the blood of the Lord Jesus, and even now 
we pray that you would cleanse us, that you would wash us, that 
you would fit us for service unto our God and for the reception 
of your holy word. And we pray these things through 
Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, as we look at this 
particular section or teaching, the question concerning taxes, 
we will do so under three considerations. First, the question itself, the 
question concerning taxes in verses 15 to 17. Secondly, the 
answer concerning subjection. because that's ultimately what 
it's about. The taxes are a foil. The larger concern is, is it 
proper for us as Jews to be subject to the Roman government? And 
then in the third place, we'll see the conclusion of the dispute 
in verse 22. Now, note in the first place, 
with reference to the question, we'll consider three things here, 
the parties, the plan, and the particulars. Note the parties. The Pharisees had heard these 
three parables told by our Lord Jesus. The Pharisees now depart 
according to verse 15. It says, then the Pharisees went 
and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. They went to 
the other religious leaders, they went among themselves, and 
they continued to plot, they continued to develop, or to try 
and figure out a way they can indeed undo the Lord Jesus Christ. And then they send their disciples, 
again, Pharisees, with these Herodians. And we'll look at 
the Herodians in just a moment. But the Pharisees would have 
been a party that would have paid their taxes. they wouldn't 
have liked it, they would have begrudged it, they would not 
like and appreciate the fact that Israel was subject to the 
Roman Empire, but nevertheless, they would have been those that 
paid taxes but wouldn't like it. So, of the two disputants 
here, the two opponents, the Pharisees would be anti-tax and 
the Herodians would be pro-tax. There's not a lot known about 
these Herodians. Many positions or hypotheses 
are out there concerning their identity. What most commentators 
land on is that they were a party obviously sympathetic to Herod. 
He was a half-Jew, he was an Edomite, and these Herodians 
would have been very supportive of him. He, of course, was pro-Roman, 
and so the Herodians would have been very much in favor of paying 
taxes. So, on the one hand, you ought 
to appreciate the diabolical wisdom of these two groups of 
opponents. They are seeking to bring Jesus 
onto the horns of a dilemma. And essentially the issue is 
this. If Jesus advocates paying taxes, then he's going to be 
wildly unpopular with the bulk of the Jewish nation. They don't 
want to pay taxes to Caesar. But if Jesus says He doesn't 
think paying taxes is lawful, then the Herodians will run quickly 
to the government officials and turn them in for sedition. So 
you see the diabolical wisdom involved in this particular situation. Note, secondly, their plan. This 
isn't a rabbinic dispute. This isn't simply persons theologizing. This isn't simply persons looking 
for answers to a particular question. The evangelist, Matthew, highlights 
for us three times their particular motive. They plot against him. Notice, verse 15, then the Pharisees 
went and plotted how they might entangle him in his talk. This 
isn't the first time. Notice in chapter 12 at verse 
14. Again, religious leaders. Matthew 
chapter 12, verse 14. On the occasion that our Lord 
Jesus had, what they thought, broken the Sabbath. The Lord 
upholds the Sabbath, the Lord does good on the Sabbath. But 
notice, in verse 14 of chapter 12, then the Pharisees went out 
and plotted against Him how they might destroy Him. And it's in 
this same way that they come to Him on this question concerning 
taxes. Notice in chapter 21, closer 
in terms of context, specifically in verses 14 and 15. This was 
on the day prior, this was on the Monday of the Passion Week. 
The Lord Jesus comes triumphantly into Jerusalem. Now notice what 
happens in 21.15. But when the chief priests and 
scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children 
crying out in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of 
David, they were indignant. They were upset. They didn't 
like this popular response to this self-proclaimed Messiah. 
They did not want this. They wanted to quell it. They 
wanted to crush it. And they wanted to do so by removing 
Jesus. They then say, Do you hear what 
these are saying? And then notice even closer to 
home, in the midst of the parables, after the second, in 21 verse 
45. Now when the chief priests and 
Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking 
of them. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared 
the multitudes because they took Him for a prophet. Why would 
they want to lay hands on Him? Because they want to destroy 
Him. They want to rid this world of their Messiah. They, of course, 
reject Him as their Messiah. So they plot against Him. In 
fact, in Mark 3, 6, the only other place where the Herodians 
and the Pharisees are coupled together, it says there that 
they were indeed seeking to destroy the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice 
as well they sought to entangle Him. Look at verse 15, how they 
might entangle Him. This is a word that has to do 
with hunting. The hunters in our church know 
that hunting means you try to find that which you hunt and 
kill it. You don't find that which you hunt and befriend it. 
You don't take the moose home and try and domesticate it. You 
don't put it in your backyard and feed it whatever moose eat. 
Herbage and that sort of thing. I'm looking at my hunter brothers 
and looking for some affirmation or confirmation. I don't think 
a moose eats meat. I know they don't eat meat. But 
you don't try and domesticate it. You entangle it for the purpose 
of killing it so that you can ingest it. This is what their 
endgame is. They want to destroy Jesus. They 
are seeking to entangle Him. R.T. Frantz says concerning this 
word, They're not just trying to get the better of Him in a 
debate, but they are inducing Him to say something which might 
prove incriminating. The stakes are high. And as we 
move through the passage, it's not simply tax evasion that is 
the crime in view. It is treason. You see, for the 
Jews to reject or resist paying taxes to Caesar is tantamount 
to saying that we don't want Caesar to rule over us. Again, 
not simple tax evasion, but it is an act of treason or sedition 
against the Roman government. They know all too well what they 
are saying. This is a popular issue among 
the men of this day, and so they come to Jesus and try to put 
Him on this horns of a dilemma. The third way that we know something 
of their plan is by what Christ says, Why do you test Me? Just like the devil in Matthew 
chapter 4. Jesus is led by the Spirit into 
the wilderness and the devil comes to test Him. Now these 
devilish men come to test Him by trying to put Him on the horns 
of a dilemma. Now note the particulars. They 
flatter Him. Make no mistake about it. Verse 
16 is flattery. In other words, he doesn't show 
partiality. He is going to cut to the quick. 
He is going to tell the truth. He is going to speak holy. Now, 
they don't believe this at all. They don't embrace this at all. What they are doing is they're 
disguising the venom with the honey. They're disguising the 
poison with something that tastes good. They come to Him playing 
this silly game. Riles says, let us beware of 
the flatterer. This is good counsel. Satan is 
never so dangerous as when he appears as an angel of light. 
The world is never so dangerous to the Christian as when it smiles. Notice as well something ironic 
in this statement. Verse 16 is true, isn't it? Isn't 
what they say concerning Jesus absolutely true? I mean, let's 
see it. Teacher, we know that you are 
true. Jesus will say in John 14, 6, I am the way, the truth, 
and the life. No one comes to the Father except 
through me. He says, or they say, and you 
teach the way of God in truth, nor do you care about anyone. 
Again, that doesn't mean he kicks people and he spits at people. 
The caring for the people there means he doesn't give preference. 
He doesn't show partiality. You do not regard the person 
of men. Here Spurgeon says, all that 
they said was true, but they did not mean it. Again, it's 
flattery. They're hiding the hook and the 
bait so that he'll take it and ingest it, so they can entangle 
him according to their plot, so they can remove him from their 
world. He goes on to say, Spurgeon, 
all that they said was true, but they did not mean it. From 
their lips it was mere cajolery. Great word, cajolery. Let us 
take note that when evil men are very loud in their praise 
of us, they usually have some wicked design against us. They 
fawn and flatter that they may deceive and destroy. That's what's 
in view. Now notice they question him. 
Tell us therefore, What do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes 
to Caesar or not? This is a theological question. When they say, is it lawful, 
they mean according to the law of God, according to Moses. According to those things which 
supposedly bind us together as Jews in the first century, subject 
to the Roman government, is it lawful in terms of theology? Their particular question concerns 
what's called the census tax, or a poll tax. This was levied 
once a year, and it was a denarius. It was a tax on agricultural 
yield and on your personal property. So it was Caesar's right to what 
you possess for living and benefiting under Caesar's particular rule. So that's the tax in question. 
Now the question is designed, as I've already said, to put 
Jesus on the horns of a dilemma. If Jesus says yes, he will be 
very unpopular with the rank and file of Jewish people. If 
Jesus says no, the Herodians will report him for sedition. 
In the Passion account, in Luke 23, this is precisely one of 
the charges that is leveled against Jesus, that He forbid us to pay 
taxes to Caesar. How do you get Caesar and his 
minions on your side? Well, you tell Caesar and his 
minions that this Jesus forbid us to pay taxes to you. He doesn't 
want to be subject. He doesn't want to submit. He's 
engaged in sedition or treason. So you see, Jesus is in between 
a rock and a hard place. I will probably say several times 
throughout the rest of this sermon that Jesus' response here is 
brilliant. Jesus doesn't need me to affirm 
Him, but rather what we do see is the way that Christ navigates 
this horns of a dilemma is absolutely amazing. Calvin says their principal 
object is to lead the people to dislike him. Okay? Get it. Jesus comes into Jerusalem 
on Monday. The people go wild. They're going 
nuts. They're crying Hosanna. They're 
praising. And these religious leaders see 
that and they can't stand it, they despise it. They know of 
his career, they know of his impact, they know what he's been 
doing, they've tried to silence him along the way, but now he's 
come into their fair city, now he's come into the precincts 
of the temple itself, and now he presents himself before these 
religious leaders and they ask him, by what authority do you 
do this? And he asks them. Why did you 
reject John the Baptist? We don't know what to answer. 
And then Jesus levels three parables at them, parables that are very 
clear, even such that Pharisees themselves could understand what 
was going on. They knew, according to the second 
parable, that He spoke these things against them. The reality 
that the kingdom of God Most High would be stripped from Israel, 
Old Covenant Israel, and given to a nation that was bearing 
fruits consistent with it. They understood all too well 
when Jesus talked in Matthew 22, 7 about the king burning 
the city. These men understood this. He 
was a threat, not only to the nation as far as they perceived 
it, but to the city, to the temple, and to them as religious leaders. So they under this, or they with 
this in mind go, they plot, they entangle, and they indeed are 
seeking to test him. The question does not simply 
concern tax evasion, but treason. There's a fellow mentioned in 
Acts 5 at verse 37, a man by the name of Judas of Galilee. D.A. Carson says that paying 
the poll tax was the most obvious sign of submission to Rome. I'll argue through the course 
of this sermon, based on Romans 13, that you pay your taxes. But in the grand scheme of things, 
tax evasion is not so serious as treason. Treason is a capital 
offense. Treason is a crime against a 
particular government that they don't take lightly to. And certainly 
this was one of the things that was welling up in the hearts 
of these men. Let's get Jesus to admit that we don't pay taxes. Carson says, paying the poll 
tax was the most obvious sign of submission to Rome. In A.D. 6, Judas of Galilee, the man 
mentioned in Acts 5.37, led a revolt against the first procurator 
because he took a census for tax purposes. Josephus writes 
about this. It was a tax revolt in A.D. 6. Again, it wasn't simply evasion, 
but it was treason. How do you think the Roman government 
dealt with that? They said, well, Judas of Galilee, 
we like what you have to say. We're going to give you a cabinet 
position and let you share your thought. No. They put down this 
revolt with great prejudice. You've heard that word before, 
not like the way we use it, but there was an actual class of 
persons called zealots in the first century. They came to more 
notoriety or they came to full development in the late 60s, 
just prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. The zealots 
claimed the poll tax was a God-dishonoring badge of slavery to the pagans. I simply bring this out so that 
you can hopefully feel the tension that's involved. Jesus is being 
asked to give a yes or a no. Jesus is being asked to either 
yay, pay, and make a lot of people unhappy, or no, don't pay, and 
get himself executed by the civil authority. The trap then put 
Jesus in the position where he would either alienate a major 
part of the population or else lay himself open to a charge 
of treason. Now let's look at the answer 
concerning subjection. In the first place, we see reproof. 
Verse 8, Jesus perceived their wickedness and said, why do you 
test me, you hypocrites? He perceived, he knew their wickedness. He knew this wasn't a rabbinic 
dispute in the temple precincts on the Tuesday of the Passion 
Week where we're going to have a dialogue and an interchange. 
He knew this wasn't a fellowship lunch that we have where we might 
have, you know, some contrary opinions on some theological 
issues, and it's good to rehearse those, it's good to debate, it's 
good to talk. I've always praised God. There's 
an atmosphere in our church where you don't have to toe the party 
line. You do with reference to the deity of Christ. You do with 
reference to the triunity. You do with reference to justification 
by faith alone. But postmills and onmills and 
premills can all dwell together in unity in our church. That's 
good. That's not what's happening here. 
That's not what's in view here. You see, if the Pharisees have 
their way and the Herodians have their way, Tuesday's going to 
end with Jesus being executed for sedition. Now, they do ultimately 
get their way under the plan and predetermined purpose of 
God so that Christ may indeed save His people from their sins. 
But this is what's in view. Spurgeon said, Our great thought 
reading King was not to be deceived by their flattery or their crafty 
questioning. Notice he knows that it's a test. 
And notice as well that he calls them hypocrites. Jesus wouldn't 
care one whit about our safe space today. Jesus would not 
be deterred from speaking truth. Pastor Porter mentioned with 
reference to John the Baptist, he wasn't a limp-wristed preacher. Would you go out to see? Would 
you go out to see some court prophet that's going to say what 
you want to hear? Did you go out to see a man who's bought 
and paid for by the government? No, you went out to hear the 
truth with John the Baptist. Well, Jesus Christ is the same, 
isn't He? You hypocrites! I love that instance 
in Luke's Gospel when Jesus is reproving the Pharisees, and 
someone says to Him, Lord, when You say this, You offend the 
lawyers too. And then He says, woe to You 
lawyers! He doesn't care about political correctness. He doesn't 
care about your safe space. He doesn't care about those things 
which are near and dear to your unregenerate heart. What Jesus 
cares about is truth. You see, what they said in verse 
16 is absolutely accurate. They didn't believe it, but it 
was true. He doesn't regard the face of men. He's not holding 
them in partiality. He's not saying, well, you're 
the religious leaders in Israel, and I have to be kind and pleasant 
to you. You know, there's that instance 
in Acts 23, where the Apostle Paul is before the high priest. And the Apostle Paul reproves 
the high priest, and he gets a slap in the face. And Paul 
says, well, I didn't know he was the high priest. Interpreters 
differ on that. They say, well, you know, Paul 
had malaria, perhaps, and his eyes weren't good, so he didn't 
know it was the high priest. And so you can't really fault 
him, because he invokes the Mosaic law that you shall not speak 
evil against a ruler. I don't take it that way. I didn't 
get with Calvin. I didn't know you were the high 
priest because you're not acting like the high priest. And if 
you need to be reproved, it doesn't matter who you are or what you 
say. And this is what Christ does. 
Hypocrites! You mask-wearing fools! Notice His response then, verse 
19, show me the tax money. It is intriguing, isn't it, that 
Jesus and His disciples don't have the tax money? Now, it could 
be inferred that they were poor. It could be inferred that they 
were tax evaders. I don't think so. It could be 
inferred that because the very inscription on the coin offended 
many Jews, they would never be caught dead with it in the temple 
precinct. Remember, the Jews operated according 
to the Second Commandment. They thought images of Yahweh 
were wrong, and they were right. But images of an earthly Roman 
god would be wrong as well. So why would we carry one around 
our pockets? It's another reason why they 
hated tax collectors in first-century Israel, because they trafficked 
in imagery. They trafficked in idols, as 
far as the common rank and file were concerned. Now, don't take 
from this that Jesus is against paying taxes. Don't take from 
this that Jesus is against looking at this particular image, but 
it is intriguing that he doesn't have the coin. But his opponents 
do. And this is the beauty of his 
answer. You already have the man's head in your pocket. You're 
already subject to him. It's been well said, whoever 
controls the money has the power. Bono also said, I don't have 
a problem with gun control. If there's a gun around, I just 
want to be in control. Who coins the money? Who puts 
their mug on the money? You're asking me about whether 
to be subject to this governing empire, and you've got this money 
in your pocket? He's already won the argument 
when they pull it out and hand it to him. He asks them, whose 
image is on it? Whose image and whose inscription? 
Well, it was Tiberius Caesar. And you know what it said on 
one side of the coin? It said, Tiberius Caesar, son 
of the divine Augustus. You understand that? They thought 
the Roman emperors were gods. This is why, when the Church 
called Jesus Lord and Savior, yes, it was to honor Christ, 
to be sure. It was to be consistent with 
Old Covenant revelation. But as well, it was to say to 
the Roman Empire, we're not going to call Caesar Lord and Savior. 
There's one Lord and Savior, and that's Jesus Christ. But 
you see, Caesar positioned himself as Lord and Savior over the Roman 
Empire. So on the one side of the coin 
it said, Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus, and on 
the other side, Pontifex Maximus, which means high priest. R.T. Frantz says, he is thus proclaimed 
to be not only son of the divine Augustus, but also a high priest. Listen, the two titles together 
could hardly be more calculated to offend Jewish piety. In other 
words, it couldn't get any worse for a Jew. It couldn't be any 
more of an affront to a pious Jew to consider what was on their 
coinage. So the question here that they 
ask Jesus, is it lawful to pay taxes or not? Jesus says, show 
me a coin. They hand him one. Spurgeon says, this tribute money 
was not a shekel of Jewish coinage. The Roman Empire, the Roman government 
allowed the Jews to do their own coins, the shekel for the 
temple tax. The Jews were able to engage 
in coinage, but to pay this census tax, it had to be the Roman coinage. It had to be this with Tiberius 
Caesar. Spurgeon says this tribute money 
was not a shekel of Jewish coinage, but money of the Roman Empire. 
This was a plain proof that whether they liked it or not, they were 
Roman subjects. You see his brilliance? You see 
the beauty? They put him on the horns of 
a dilemma. He'll ultimately say yes, but 
it will be qualified to be sure, but he's already shown them, 
he's already used them to indict themselves. You're a far cry 
from asking whether we ought to be subject to the Roman government 
or not when you're schlepping around their coinage, when you've 
got the image of Tiberius Caesar in your pocket, this one who 
is being accredited as son of the divine Augustus, as one who's 
being called high priest with reference to the Roman imperial 
cult. As Spurgeon says, Caesar was 
their ruler. Now, that brings us to consider 
finally, after they answer Caesar's, the implication drawn from the 
coin. Again, I don't think that Jesus 
wouldn't look at this coin. Jesus knew the coinage. Jesus 
submitted to the earthly government as far as they did not command 
him to sin. It wasn't so fastidious that 
he wouldn't mention Tiberius Caesar. He wouldn't mention this 
particular coin. But when they answer him, it's 
Caesar's. Now, Jesus draws out this implication. Render, therefore, 
to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things 
that are God's. Isn't that brilliant? Do you 
know how much glorious, wondrous, and awesome ethics and theology 
is packed into this statement? Render, therefore, to Caesar 
the things that are Caesar's. The tax is an obligation that 
you are due to pay him. You benefit from his roads, you 
benefit from certain things that are in place, you benefit from 
his standing army, you benefit, so as a result, render to Caesar 
the things that are Caesar's. The tax was a due payment for 
what they had received from the imperial government, which they 
had acknowledged by using the imperial currency. You see, these 
weren't the Essenes. These weren't some persons that 
went and lived out in huts and repudiated everything about the 
Roman government. These weren't the guys that constructed 
poles out in the wilderness and sat on top of them. Read the 
history of the church. You had monks that did that. 
Imagine that is your life. What's your job? I sit on the 
top of a pole. Anybody would be inclined to 
say, why do you do that, you knucklehead? Jesus never called 
you to sit on the top of a pole. Get down there and be salt, and 
be white, and be faithful, and be godly, and be upright. These 
guys weren't pole-sitters. They had the Roman currency. 
They acknowledged the Roman government. They benefited from it. The very 
fact that they got to coin their own shekels means that they had 
benefited from the Roman government. The kingdom that Jesus Christ 
preaches and inaugurates does not turn his people into political 
revolutionaries. That's something we have to observe 
here. We're going to make some application in a few minutes 
to try and say that the text does, as well, limit civil government, 
but we need to understand that. When Christ came on the scene, 
it wasn't as a political revolutionary. If that had been the case, when 
he was led by the Spirit out into the wilderness, it would 
have been to be equipped with guns, with ammo, with helmets, 
with flak vests, with a tank, with a helicopter, with all sorts 
of armament at his disposal. Because if he's going to revolt 
against the Roman Empire, he's going to do it right. He's going 
to win. That's not his purpose, brethren. That's not the point. Matthew 
1, 21 is a keyhole by which we interpret the rest of Matthew's 
Gospel. What's the purpose for the Lord 
Jesus? You shall call His name Jesus. 
For it is He who will put down the Roman government. For it 
is He who will bring up the Israelite nation. For it is He who will 
subject your enemies so that they are in utter subjection 
to you. No, it is to save His people 
from their sins. Christ is not a political revolutionary. When we get to Luke chapter 23, 
now, obviously the claims of Christ and the theology of Christ 
and the preaching of Christ has political implications, to be 
sure, but in terms of his assault on, you know, the Jewish nation, 
when they turn this around and say that he is in sedition against 
the Roman government, which they just lie in Luke 23, it's just 
patently false. Matthew Henry wrote concerning 
this passage. He says, "...that the Christian 
religion is no enemy to civil government, but a friend to it. 
Christ's kingdom doth not clash or interfere with the kingdoms 
of the earth in anything that pertains to their jurisdiction. By Christ kings reign." That's 
Proverbs 8, 15. Where do you think Paul, in Romans 
13, 1-7, and Peter, in 1 Peter 2, verses 13-17, got their doctrine? When they start to apply the 
reality of the Christian living in submission to a civil authority. 
Notice that Paul and Peter don't tell them, go buy guns like the 
Savior did. I'm not against guns, buy guns, 
but don't do it to go revolt against Ottawa. But brethren, 
that is not the instruction given by Paul and Peter with reference 
to the believer's responsibility to the civil government. But 
notice Jesus doesn't stop. Render the things, render to 
Caesar the things that are Caesar's. And to God the things that are 
God's. These men didn't have any concept of this, did they? 
These men had no inkling whatsoever of rendering unto God what was 
God's. This is a beautiful and balanced 
statement. Yeah, Caesar has lawful jurisdiction in certain prescribed 
areas. He's not without limit. He's 
not on God's level. He doesn't have supreme authority. 
He doesn't have absolute sovereignty. He doesn't have total dominion. So you render to Caesar what 
is Caesar's. But render to God what is God's. 
What does God do? God is due everything. It's intriguing. Some of the early interpreters 
saw that on this coin was the image of Tiberius. So therefore, 
Tiberius is due that image. It's got his picture on it. It must belong to him, right? 
That makes sense, doesn't it? Is everybody with me? Now, I 
know that there's a little difference between Tiberius Caesar and dead 
presidents or dead prime ministers, but at least right now we don't 
have an imperial cult. They had an imperial cult in 
the Roman Empire, and a means by which they celebrated this 
imperial cult was on the coinage. So if Tiberius' image is on that 
coin, then Tiberius' do that coin. Some make the connection 
between that image and the image of God. We are the image of God. So what is God do? God is do 
us. Not a coin, not a piece of paper 
money, but the totality of our being. Render to God, therefore, 
what is God's. Do not hold back allegiance. 
Yes, do what Caesar says that doesn't contradict what God says, 
but nevertheless, give yourself wholly to the Lord. Isn't this 
consistent with our Lord's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 
6, 33? Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, 
and all these things will be added to you. Isn't this consistent 
with what the Apostle Paul says in Romans 12? After having developed 
the doctrine of the Christian Gospel in chapters 1 to 11, he 
comes to apply it in chapter 12 and following, and he says, 
Therefore, beloved, by the mercies of God I beseech you, to do what? To present your bodies as a living 
sacrifice unto God. It is to be holy. It is to be 
acceptable. And this is reasonable or rational 
service. If what is true in Romans 1 to 
11, and it's been applied to you, why are you so stingy? Why do you hold back? Why do 
you give Him just a little thing here or there? You bear His image, 
therefore you belong to Him. You've been redeemed by His beloved 
Son, therefore you belong to Him. And as a result of that, 
yes, pay Caesar what is Caesar's, but give to God what is God's. Spurgeon says, to us the lesson 
of this incident is that the state has its sphere, and we 
must discharge our duties to it. But we must not forget that 
God has his throne, and we must not allow the earth kingdom to 
make us traitors to the heaven kingdom. Caesar must keep his 
place and by no means go beyond it. But God must have the spiritual 
dominion to himself alone. It's a beautiful answer, isn't 
it? Render to Caesar the things that 
belong to Caesar. Render to God the things that 
belong to God. Now note the conclusion of the 
dispute. They marvel at His wisdom. I 
mean, even they could see He successfully navigated that horns 
of the dilemma. He successfully answered. He 
showed us. He put us in our place. They 
marveled. Brethren, that's what verse 22 
says. When they had heard these words, 
they marveled. Huh. We didn't think He was going 
to get out of that one. Huh. That was pretty amazing. Huh, 
we thought for sure he'd be stumped there. We didn't see that coming, 
did we? They're walking back to wherever 
Pharisees and Herodians go, and they're musing on this interchange, 
scratching their melons and saying, we just didn't see that. He bested 
us! He got us! He confounded us. Guess what he's going to do to 
the Sadducees? The same thing. Guess what he's going to do to 
the scribal Pharisee? He's going to do the same thing. 
Guess how he's going to end this interchange when he asks them 
about the identity of David's son? He's going to do the same 
thing. You see, some in this world have 
good days. Some in this world give good 
answers when pressed. You watch political debates, 
for instance. Sometimes they'll make a zinger. Other days they 
just bomb. Christ is consistently brilliant. Christ is consistently wise. Christ is consistently legit. Christ is consistently able to 
shut the mouths of detractors. Christ is able to do always those 
things that please God. They marvel, and then they went 
their way. That's sad, isn't it? There'll 
be people today in this service that might marvel a bit at what 
Christ answered, and then depart and go their way. There'll be 
people all over the earth today that hear the Christian gospel. 
They'll hear the preaching of the cross. They'll hear of redemption 
through blood atonement. They'll hear of the beauties 
and the excellencies of this Christ. And they may even nod 
and say, wow, I never understood that. That's beautiful. It's 
wonderful. But they won't believe. They'll depart. What are you 
going to do this morning? I hope you'll all agree, at least 
at some root fundamental level, that what Christ does here is 
brilliant. Do you know it's brilliant as well when He says, The Son 
of Man did not come to seek and to be served, but to serve and 
to give His life a ransom for many. It's as brilliant when 
the Lord Jesus is speaking specifically concerning His death and His 
resurrection and that for sinners. You see, everything that Jesus 
says is brilliant, it's wise, it's excellent. Do not make the 
mistake of these Pharisees and Herodians today. Do not leave 
Him and go your own way. This is something specifically 
they had said concerning Jesus. Notice in verse 16, it says, 
Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God 
in truth. I don't know if Matthew wanted 
us to compare this as closely as I'm about to, but perhaps 
he did. He teaches the way of God in 
truth. These men marvel at his wisdom 
and then they depart in their own way. contrary to truth, contrary 
to that which is holy and good and righteous and excellent. 
You know, it's easy to see these fools in Matthew 22. It's easy 
to see these Pharisees and Herodians and say, Wow, you guys, you're 
not the brightest bulbs in the chandelier. And yet, as I said, 
right here in this place, some will hear concerning the brilliance, 
the wisdom and the excellence of Jesus Christ, and you're going 
to walk out that door or you're going to walk out that door on 
your own way. There is a way that seems right 
unto a man, but its way or its end is destruction, Solomon tells 
us. Do not be like these Pharisees 
and Herodians. Do not be like those who plot 
against Jesus, who seek to entangle Jesus, who try and test Jesus, 
and when Jesus successfully answers that, marvel at it because you've 
been bested in an argument, but not submit to Him, not bow down 
to Him, not confess Him as Lord and Savior. Do not make that 
mistake, friend. If you're here, you've probably 
been here before or some other house of worship. You have probably 
at some point in your life heard the message concerning Jesus. 
And I will ask you, why will you depart and go your own way 
today when you are presented with the majesty and the excellence 
and the brilliance and the glory of Jesus? Why do you refuse? Why do you resist? Why do you 
reject? I mean, even when you do come to Him plotting and seeking 
to entangle and testing Him, He answers. Do you know how many 
testimonies there's been in the history of the church of persons 
that set out to read the Bible simply to prove it to be false? 
What happens to them? They start in Dan. By the time 
they get to Beersheba, they're confessing faith in Jesus. Now, 
I know that doesn't happen every single time, but brethren, the 
Bible has stood the test of time for millennia. Don't you love 
it when detractors come and say, are you Bible-believing fools? 
It's like you're an ostrich sticking your head in the sand. Well, 
we know better, don't we? We know that those who resist 
and reject the Bible are the ostrich sticking their heads 
in the sand. They want to try and disabuse 
themselves of the knowledge of God. They don't like to retain 
the knowledge of God. And so, therefore, they shove 
their heads in the sand and hope he goes away. That will never 
work. That will never work. I think 
it was Gary DeMar, Greg Bonson said, if somebody pulls a gun 
on you in the parking lot, puts it up to your head, it will do 
you no good to say, but I don't believe in the existence of guns. 
I don't believe that guns exist. And yet some charging Christianity 
with pursuing some wish fulfillment, are engaged in their own wish 
fulfillment, repudiating the Lord God of truth, rejecting 
the entirety of this canvas that screams God, and they stick their 
heads in the sand, they may hear the brilliance of Jesus, and 
then they'll go their own way. Don't be a Pharisee or a Herodian 
today. Well, in conclusion, I think 
we see successfully the wickedness of this religious leadership. 
You see, by the time we get to all of it, by the time Jesus 
prophesies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, I hope none of 
us are scratching our heads saying, I wonder why? Why did God take 
vengeance upon this nation? Why did God visit them with this 
judgment? Look at them! He came to His 
own and His own received Him not. They crucified the Lord 
of Glory, the Messiah that was written of, the Messiah that 
their prophetic scriptures pointed to in great detail, very descriptively, 
and yet, They plot against him, they seek to entangle him, they 
test him, and ultimately, they'll drum up false charges against 
him, and then lead the crowd to say, away with him, away with 
him, crucify him. It is right, it is meat, it is 
just for this certain king to be offended at the way these 
persons responded to this invitation to the wedding feast, to burn 
their city. It is consistent with this king 
to take their kingdom from them and give it to a nation, the 
church that bears the fruits of it. Secondly, I hope you appreciate 
and I hope you praise God for the wisdom of our beloved Lord. 
He's not taken by flattery. How many of us at verse 16 would 
have said, wow, you guys are so nice. I just love to be fawned 
over. I just love to be flattered. What you say is so nice. What 
you say is so wonderful. Brethren, you know there's a 
good grid. Cast out the worst things people 
say about you and cast out the best things people say about 
you. You're probably in between. You're probably not the beast 
of revelation that some people identify you as, but you're not 
Paul. So do not be duped with flattery. Christ is not a narcissist. Christ 
isn't just drinking it in. Christ sees through this. He sees the daggers behind the 
smiles, as Davies and Allison remind us, and Jesus answers 
them most effectively. Thirdly, we ought to appreciate. 
Now this is a short, brief statement. Render therefore to Caesar the 
things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. 
But it's a packed statement. We certainly do not have time 
to go into everything concerning the believer and the civil authority, 
but let me just give you a few suggestions. In the first place, 
we must reflect upon the duties as outlined in Romans 13, 1 to 
7, including taxation in verse 7, and then as well 1 Peter 2, 
13 to 17, also Titus 3, 1 and 2. Let's reflect upon that. The Christian, insofar as he 
or her is able, ought to be a good citizen, ought to be someone 
that is praiseworthy by Caesar. Again, that doesn't mean Caesar 
is going to invite you over and give you lots of good things. 
In Romans 13, I think the praise that the magistrate gives to 
the believer is to leave him alone. No better praise could 
I receive from Caesar than that he leave me alone. That's it. Just leave me alone. I will feel 
praised. I will feel happy. I will feel 
delighted. The believer, secondly, must 
recognize that if the magistrate or government or civil authority 
commands us to disobey God, we must obey God rather than men. Acts 4, Acts 5, they were forbidden 
to preach the gospel. What does Peter say? Peter says, 
we must obey God. Thirdly, the believer should 
and must pray for those who are in authority. 1 Timothy 2, 1 
and 2. The backdrop, I think, is the 
exile in Jeremiah 29. The letter comes to the exiles, 
and the exiles in Babylon are told to pray for the peace of 
the city they find themselves in. They were not told to march 
against Babylon. They were not told to go against 
Nebuchadnezzar. They were told to pray for the 
peace of the city that they were in exile in, so that they might 
benefit from that peace. Paul does the same thing in 1 
Timothy 2, verses 1 and 2. Pray for kings, and all who are 
in authority. Why? So that we can lead a peaceable 
and a quiet life. Again, best thing government 
can do is to leave us alone, so that we can worship our God. 
The best thing Pharaoh could do was to let God's people go 
so they could go into the wilderness and worship Yahweh. He tried 
to append, he tried to stipulate, he tried to attach himself every 
step of the way until the death of the firstborn, and then the 
people went as well. We ought to recognize the limits 
of civil authority. The limits of civil authority 
render, therefore, to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. 
There is a definite number of things that belong to Caesar. 
He's not omniscient. He's not totalitarian. He is 
not Big Brother. He's not always watching you. 
He is not the omniscient state. Brethren, I think Christian believers 
today need to be reminded of this. There are limits set upon 
civil authority. They don't have the prerogative 
to do anything and everything. They don't have the right to 
our lives, to our children, to our money, to our this. They 
don't have total claims. They don't have the prerogative 
to demand full allegiance. Now, they'll always try, they'll 
always seek to encroach, they'll always grab a bit more if they 
can, but believer, you need to recognize that there are lawful 
limits that are to be appended to the civil sphere. We live 
in a society where we assume federal involvement from cradle 
to grave. I don't come as a prophet who 
lives out in the wilderness to yell at you people. The federal 
government just spent a few shekels to put my hip back together. 
I can't even envision a world where the government isn't involved 
in everything. But it's not always been that 
way. And I don't know that it's always supposed to be that way. 
Now don't leave here saying, Butler's preaching revolt, let's 
go to the wilderness, let's arm up, let's march on Ottawa. No, 
I am telling you, however, to recognize that your dependence 
is upon Yahweh. not cradle-to-grave dependence 
upon the civil state. Ask the question sometime, brethren. In a political election cycle, 
ask, what is the duty and responsibility of the state? It is very delimited 
in the Old Covenant. What was Israel doing? Were they 
involved from the cradle to the grave? Were the judges involved 
in every step of it? No. You know how many laws are 
in the Old Testament? There's the Decalogue, to be 
sure, the Ten Commandments, which are substance, foundational to 
all the rest. There's 613. You might think 
that sounds like a big number, but there's probably 613 laws 
that have been passed in Ottawa or in Washington this year alone. 
We've got tax codes that are that thick. Why do I have to 
be a rocket scientist or pay someone a great deal of money 
to pay my taxes? Again, I'm not advocating revolt. There is submission to the governing 
authorities, Romans 13. But brethren, realize your dependency 
is not on Caesar. When we ask the question of the 
New Testament, when Paul is speaking in Romans 13, notice he doesn't 
talk about stethoscopes, he doesn't talk about education, he doesn't 
talk about roads, he doesn't talk about all these systems. 
Those things might have been present, I don't know, but he 
talks about the sword. Why does Caesar wield the sword? It is 
to protect us from enemies foreign and domestic. It is to protect 
us from invaders that want to come and take what we've got 
and kill us, and as well it is for punishment of criminal doers 
in our societies. The role of government should 
be limited. The state is occupied in almost 
omnipresent presence in North America. Again, I'm not saying 
go live on a hut, go climb to the top of a pole. But at some 
point, believers have to ask the question, really, should 
they be doing all that stuff? Maybe we ought to vote for the 
guy who's not going to micromanage every jot and tittle of my redeemed 
humanity. You know what the best form of 
government is? Obviously, under Jesus Christ, 
self-government. Control yourself, and you won't 
need micromanagement from some sovereign state. should be very 
small when we boil it all down. John Chrysostom said, But thou, 
when thou hearest, render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's. 
Know that he is speaking only of those things which are no 
detriment to godliness, since if anything be such as this detrimental 
to godliness, such a thing is no longer Caesar's tribute, but 
the devil's. The devil's. I fear, brethren, 
that not just the world, but believers as well, have forgotten 
that fundamental economic principle called canned scaffold. There 
ain't no such thing as a free lunch. When it appears that the 
government is handing us freebies, we must understand they're getting 
it from somewhere. Any other society, any other 
thinking human calls this theft. When I take it from someone and 
I give it to someone else. You say, what if they don't take 
it from someone and they just create money? That's inflation. That ruins everybody. Let's just 
spread the misery to all. Brethren, you are not owed from 
cradle to grave. You are not owed freebies from 
the moment you peer your head out of your mother's womb till 
the day that you die. Again, I don't have all the answers. 
I'm not saying let's live in huts, let's go colonize the Kootenays. I'm just suggesting that biblical 
Christians start to think biblically. It's so frustrating. We don't 
have answers for the opposition. We don't have answers for the 
detractors, because at the time we can't formulate one iota of 
biblical teaching on anything. And then finally, the believer 
in spiritual authority. Caesar doesn't get absolute authority, 
or allegiance rather, but God does. If you learn anything this 
morning, learn that I didn't advocate revolt, but as well, 
learn that you owe everything to God Most High. You need to 
seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. You need 
to present your bodies as a living sacrifice to God. What does Paul 
do in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 when he's urging people in the church 
to flee sexual immorality? What does he do? You have a more satisfied life 
in that regard if you just toe the line? There'll be more fulfillment 
when you find the guy or the girl of your dreams. There'll 
be more wholesome in the long run. Those would all certainly 
be good pursuits. I don't think any of us should 
go out to try to make our lives miserable. But he says, glorify 
God in your body. Why shouldn't you yield to that 
temptation in the back seat of a car? Because you were purchased 
with a price. Blood has been shed. When that 
man or that woman tries to lay claim on something that is not 
their prerogative, you rear back in the language of Pastor Albert 
Ann and say, no, this body was purchased by Jesus Christ. You see, the principle, render 
to God yourself. Give Him everything. Give Him 
your time. Give Him your talents. Give Him 
your energy. We saw this on Wednesday night. 
Michael, that deadbeat, Michael, the wife of David, looking through 
the window in 2 Samuel 6 at verse 16, and she despises David in 
her heart because he's dancing and he's whirling about. Now, 
as I said on Wednesday night, do not come in here and dance 
and whirl about. That was connected to old covenant 
worship. There's an argument to be made 
as to why that's no longer acceptable in the house of God. But the 
point is, David was using accepted conventions. He takes off his 
royal robes, he's there in a linen aphod, and he is whirling about 
the Ark of the Covenant, because he's thrilled with his God! And 
she says, wow, and tries to indict him and say, oh, all the maids 
today got a good glimpse of the King of Israel, didn't they? 
And he says, no, it was before the Lord. I whirl and I dance 
and I praise and I scream because of God. It's not because of those 
maids. It's not because of what men 
say, not because of what men see. And then David actually 
has the gall to say, Michael, you ain't seen nothing yet. If this is indignified, you haven't 
seen anything yet. I will give my God the allegiance, 
the praise, the honor, the worship, and the adoration that is due 
Him. It's like Blakey said. I quoted him on Wednesday night. Yes, there's times for a calm 
spirit. Yes, there is time to be subdued. But certainly there is something 
awry when we give the world our zeal and coldness to Christ. When we're more fired up at the 
game or at the political debate, when we're more fired up about 
some recipe we discovered, I don't know that that actually happens, 
or we're more fired up about a deal that we sealed at work, 
or we're more fired up about the car that we've got, Brethren, 
there's something wrong in Zion when Jesus gets coldness and 
everything else gets our ardent zeal and our heartfelt devotion. I'm not talking about people 
out there. Examine your hearts. This is 
a call for all of us. Are we rendering to God the things 
that are God's? We are His image. He is owed 
us. The only way to render to God 
the things that are God's is through the cross. If you are 
not a believer here this morning, believe. Look to the Lord Jesus 
Christ, that one of whom we read, he preached, repent for the kingdom 
of heaven is at hand, that one who said, all those who come 
to me will have everlasting life. It is faith in Christ. It is 
belief in Christ. It is the cross of Christ by 
which we learn and are enabled to render unto God the things 
that are God's. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for the Word of God. We thank you for the kindness 
that you display to us. We thank you for your mercy and 
your grace. We would pray that you'd help 
us to understand this very short, very sublime and most excellent 
saying of our Savior, that we are indeed to render unto Caesar 
the things that are his. God, give us grace to render 
unto God the things that are his. Help us to see that you 
do have total rights to our allegiance. You have dominion and authority 
over us. Give us grace as individuals, 
as children, as husbands, as wives, as parents, as churchmen, 
as workers, as citizens. May we do all that we do for 
the glory and the honor and praise of our great God. We ask that 
you would go with us now. We pray that you'd bring us together 
tonight, that we may worship you in spirit and in truth. And 
we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.